Austin, TX-based Vignette Corp. unveiled the initial components of its strategy to enable service-based commerce applications on the Web.
The company rolled out StoryServer version 3.2, calling it “the first content
application system to integrate XML services for practical business use.”
Also unveiled were Information & Content Exchange (ICE), a new XML-based
and OPS-compliant open specification for business-to-business electronic asset exchange, and Site-to-Site, a preview of new syndication server technology that puts ICE into action.
The expanded product line will enable new classes of global publishing,
customer self-service, electronic commerce, and knowledge management
applications that provide commercial Internet, intranet and extranet
businesses with the ability to increase their Web-based business reach and return on investment, the company said.
“Web commerce is no longer about creating a relationship between one customer
and one site,” said Ross Garber, Vignette president and CEO. “It’s about
communities of customers interacting and transacting with networks of
businesses and suppliers to create robust online markets. We are delivering
the platform for this next stage of Internet business: service-based commerce.”
“XML is key to the service-based commerce model, and our next- generation
software will help companies deploy XML-enabled content applications that transform islands of Web sites into globally connected business chains,” Garber added.
StoryServer 3.2 provides new features, including a developer’s
release of XML Services, scheduled for general availability in the second
quarter. XML Services extend StoryServer 3’s single model for application
development and content management so that it now can combine relational,
unstructured, rich media and XML-based content together for integration of
XML-based content into Web enterprises. And it now is available for Power PC Macintosh computers.
StoryServer version 3.2 is available now at no cost to current Vignette
customers. For new customers, pricing starts at $20,000.
In related news, several Internet leaders formed an authoring group with Vignette to co-develop the ICE specification. They include Adobe, CNET, Firefly, Hollinger International, National Semiconductor, Net Perceptions, News Internet Services, Preview Travel, Sun Microsystems (Javasoft), Tribune Media Services, and Ziff Davis. The specification will be submitted to a standards body within the next 120 days.
