Sun, other tech pioneers advance DSML in directory-enabled e-busi nessproducts

[Ann Kelly <akelly@bowstreet.com>]

> Sun Microsystems, other tech pioneers advance DSML 
> in directory-enabled e-business products
> 
> Bowstreet, Critical Path, iPlanet, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, 
> and others embark on XML-based Directory Services Markup Language 2.0
> 
> PORTSMOUTH, NH, July 18, 2000 -- Bowstreet (www.bowstreet.com), a leading
> provider of XML infrastructure for business-to-business (B2B) web
> marketplaces, today announced that eight new technology companies,
> including technology giant Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW), have
> implemented Directory Services Markup Language (DSML) in their solutions.
> This vendor commitment to DSML, the Bowstreet-initiated XML standard that
> bridges the gap between  directories and XML-based e-business
> applications, highlights the power of directory information in connecting
> multiple companies' business webs. 
> 
> Sun has introduced a technology preview of a DSML module for the Java
> Naming and Directory Interface* (JNDI). JNDI is part of the Java* 2
> platform, providing Java applications with seamless connectivity to
> heterogeneous enterprise naming and directory services. Using JNDI,
> developers can access data - including information about people and
> computing resources - from any vendor's directory. The DSML module fits
> beneath the JNDI API, allowing developers to manipulate and update
> directory contents and export them in DSML format, making it easier to
> customize and deploy B2B applications on a massive scale using a standard
> API. With the addition of the DSML module, JNDI will power highly
> customized B2B applications that employ rich data about people, machines,
> web services and other resources.
> 
> "To fully enable e-business applications, directory services must support
> XML-based access to the identity, policy and other information that they
> contain," said Jamie Lewis, CEO and research chair of The Burton Group.
> "Implementation of the DSML specification on the part of vendors such as
> Sun shows that we're making progress toward that goal. And with the
> additional functionality that will be in version 2.0, DSML will help
> companies build e-business applications that allow them to create, manage
> and maintain business webs."
> 
> Seven additional technology companies are also implementing DSML support.
> Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) has added DSML functionality in its DirXML, a
> product that allows organizations to distribute data ownership while
> centralizing information availability. IBM's (NYSE: IBM) Business
> Transformation and CIO organization is leveraging and exploiting DSML as
> part of its strategic initiative with XML; SLAPHAPI allows quick, easy
> access to LDAP directories from web applications written in any language.
> Critical Path (Nasdaq: CPTH) places DSML in leading LDAP directory and
> meta-directory products.  iPlanet (Nasdaq: SUNW/NYSE: AOL) recently
> released a DSML-enabled version of its LDAP software developer's kit, a
> tool that allows programmers to easily use the iPlanet Directory Server.
> Radiant Logic recently introduced DSML into its Virtual Directory Server
> software, a technology that enables directories to become central
> aggregation points for all key enterprise data. In addition to the
> directory, application and server vendors, DSML is also gaining strong
> momentum with XML companies like infoShark, which integrates DSML into its
> XML-based data interchange technology. Another XML company, Intalio, is
> planning to use DSML to enable process repositories that allow business
> partners to collaborate on the definition of Partner Interface Processes
> and manage their entire lifecycle.
> 
> Industry builds solutions around DSML
> Last year, Bowstreet, IBM, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MFST), Novell, Oracle
> (Nasdaq: ORCL) and the Sun-Netscape Alliance proposed to create DSML, an
> industry standard schema for describing directory contents and structure
> in XML. In late fall, the DSML 1.0 specification was completed and turned
> over to the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
> Standards (OASIS) and Microsoft's BizTalk. Bowstreet was the first company
> to deliver a product supporting DSML, the Bowstreet(tm) Business Web
> Factory. The Business Web Factory platform enables non-technical business
> people to create, customize and manage multicompany business webs. 
> 
> "From the start, we thought DSML would be a linchpin for the next
> generation of e-business," said Bob Crowley, president and CEO of
> Bowstreet. "It's rewarding to see leading technology vendors using it to
> fully activate directories for industrial strength e-business and business
> webs."
> 
> "DSML, as an extension of XML, enables easy sharing of valuable business
> data and business processes within and across company boundaries," said
> Paul Smart, vice president and general manager, Net Directory Business
> Unit, Novell. "This initiative helps to establish directory technology,
> such as Novell's eDirectory and DirXML, as the infrastructure for
> e-commerce and e-business applications."
> 
> "We are currently leveraging DSML with our RadiantOne Virtual Directory
> Server product," said Michel Prompt, CEO of Radiant Logic, Inc.  "DSML is
> a very useful standard and we look forward to the added functionality,
> such as the ability to support LDAP queries in DSML 2.0."
> 
> "Critical Path is committed to providing businesses with the leading
> directory solutions available and we believe that DSML will be one of the
> formative components for directory interoperability over the next few
> years," said Archie Reed, senior director of product architecture. "By
> supporting DSML, we add another flexible component to our directory
> solutions enabling our customers to easily share mission critical
> information across disparate business processes, applications, databases
> and directories."
> 
> OASIS committee bears down on DSML 2.0
> This first wave of DSML-powered products comes as technology experts, led
> by James Tauber, Bowstreet's director of XML technology, start work on
> DSML 2.0, the second generation of the specification. The DSML 2.0
> Technical Committee is being established by OASIS, and the committee is an
> open forum that includes technology experts from some of computing's
> biggest companies, including Bowstreet, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle and
> iPlanet.  Additional technology companies taking a leadership role in DSML
> 2.0 include Critical Path, infoShark, Netegrity (Nasdaq: NETE), Oblix and
> Radiant Logic. 
> 
> DSML 1.0 describes directory contents in XML. DSML 2.0 will give companies
> standardized XML format to access directory information wherever it exists
> on the Internet and provide a common XML description for manipulation of
> directory information such as queries, comparisons, updates, additions and
> deletions. XML-based applications will consume the DSML information in
> business webs.
> 
> The committee will also consider DSML 2.0 provisions for:
> *	identifying the source of directory entries;
> *	organizing directory entries hierarchically;
> *	normalizing distinguished names from different vendors' directories;
> and 
> *	describing or standardizing access control information.
> 
> For more information on DSML, please visit www.dsml.org.
> 
> About Bowstreet
> Bowstreet provides next generation Internet infrastructure designed to
> transform the World Wide Web from a collection of static web sites into a
> fluid web of interconnected businesses called "business webs." These
> dynamic and highly customized B2B marketplaces enable companies to sell
> new products and services, create new channels of distribution and develop
> new business models at a fraction of the time and cost of today's
> approaches. Bowstreet's patent-pending product, the Bowstreet Business Web
> Factory, is designed to enable companies to form instant B2B connections,
> create richer offerings for existing customers and enable line-of-business
> managers to take complete control of e-business without technical help.
> For more information, visit www.bowstreet.com or call 603-559-1900.
> # # #
> Bowstreet is a trademark of Bowstreet.com Inc. All other company names and
> products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
> companies.
> 
> Contact:	
> Ann Kelly
> Bowstreet
> 603-559-1557
> akelly@bowstreet.com
> 
> Jeff Aubin 					 
> Beaupre & Co. Public Relations Inc. 		
> 603-559-5838					
> jaubin@beaupre.com	
> 
> 
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