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Information technology services industry

I.B.M., Microsoft, and Ariba Propose Unified Standard for Electronic Commerce

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

In an effort to streamline and automate business transactions online, I.B.M., Microsoft, and Ariba are set to announce a proposal to create a comprehensive registry of products and services, named the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration project (UDDI). This initiative aims to leverage the potential of the Internet to facilitate direct computer-to-computer transactions, building upon the promise of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) standard. The proposal is backed by 29 companies, including American Express, CommerceOne, Compaq, Merrill Lynch, and Sun Microsystems, which will initially endorse the UDDI project.

Key Takeaways:

  • I.B.M., Microsoft, and Ariba plan to create a unified online registry of products and services to automate business transactions.
  • The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration project (UDDI) will be named and endorsed by 29 companies, including American Express, CommerceOne, Compaq, Merrill Lynch, and Sun Microsystems.
  • The initiative aims to leverage the potential of XML to facilitate direct computer-to-computer transactions and overcome the intricacies of electronic commerce.
  • The UDDI project comes at a time when companies are seeking to achieve the original promise of a new Internet publishing standard known as XML.
  • The UDDI standard initiative parallels but ignores an earlier effort led by Commercenet, the eCo Framework Project, which also focused on creating public electronic registries and automated electronic commerce.

Statistics:

  • 29 companies will initially endorse the UDDI project, including American Express, CommerceOne, Compaq, Merrill Lynch, and Sun Microsystems.
  • I.B.M., Microsoft, and Ariba plan to create a prototype within a month.
  • The UDDI standard aims to go beyond being a static "telephone directory" style look-up service and includes a "green pages," which will allow companies to publish information about their business practices.

Sources:

  • "I.B.M., Microsoft, Ariba Plan Online Directory for Business" (New York Times, date not specified)
  • "UDDI: Universal Description, Discovery and Integration" (exact format from original text)
  • "Analogies to telephone directory yellow and white pages" (exact format from original text)
  • "eCo Framework Project" (exact format from original text)

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