Allaire, IBM, Mercado buy into XML

By ELLEN MESSMER
Network World, 07/26/99

Last week Allaire, IBM and Mercado each unveiled electronic commerce products that boast newfound support for XML, the format-neutral way to simplify document interchange on the Web.

Allaire this fall plans to ship an XML-based add-on to its ColdFusion application server that will let customers include e-commerce functions to their sites. IBM next month will ship its flagship electronic catalog suite, Net.Commerce, powered with XML. This month, electronic catalog vendor Mercado Software will ship its Intuifind e-commerce catalog servers with the ability to store data in XML format.

Allaire is devising a development package called Spectra to add metatag support to its NT-based ColdFusion application server. Allaire's Spectra add-on package, expected to cost $3,495 per server, will also let the ColdFusion application server tackle e-commerce tasks that include procurement workflow, content management, transaction processing and personalization, so a buyer can get specific pricing.

IBM is taking its first swing at XML for electronic catalogs with its Net.Commerce 3.2 suite, now in beta testing. Catalog Architect, the tool for creating content for the Net.Commerce catalog, will be able to generate text and images in XML format.

One beta customer, the Victoria's Secret e-commerce site, says using XML may help in converting between different data types as catalog content gets moved around in the production process.

"The content changes every few weeks, and we're often marrying it with outbound e-mail," says Frank Giannango-nio, vice president of direct marketing for The Limited's technology services, the division in charge of the Victoria's Secret site. Net. Commerce 3.2 suite, which starts at $5,000, will also have a way to perform "plain-English searches," such as "Show me all the pantsuits in petite sizes."

Mercado is adding XML into its catalog servers, the Intuifind Merchant Catalog for business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions, and the Intuifind procurement catalog for business-to-business procurement.

Mercado products, available this month for Unix and NT, can send and receive data in multiple formats and aggregate the information for a Web view by buyers. They will also be able to convert that into format-neutral XML.

The Intuifind Merchant Catalog 2.0 starts at $50,000, and the Intuifind Procurement catalog starts at $500,000.