Tower opts for XML
Tower opts for XML
Tower Software will become one of the first records management vendors to embrace the Extensible Markup Language (XML) using a specialised application from German vendor Software AG.
Tower will integrate the new Tamino XML server application into its TRIM records management software.
A new product called recXML will enable the export of records and associated electronic documents as a composite XML object, according to the companies. This export, which is accomplished by publishing from within TRIM to the Tamino server, will allow documents and images from the TRIM repository to be moved out to intranet or extranet data stores, or to be used in enterprise information portals.
Straughan Schofield, operations manager for Tower Software, said part of the impetus behind recXML was strict specifications for XML-compliant records management systems from government organisations like the US Department of Defence, and Public Records Offices in Victoria and the UK (see May/June 1999, page 20 for a case study on the PROV).
WONDERFUL VEHICLE
"We believe that XML is a wonderful vehicle for passing documents," he said. "We have a couple of requirements from organisations around the word such as the Victorian PRO that all require the capability to process data in a standardised form."
Mr Schofield said that the development of recXML was not a precursor to Tower moving its entire storage architecture across to XML, as the new language was "not an appropriate mechanism" for enterprise records management.
"We're not changing our fundamental storage mechanism from a relational database to an XML database. It's horses for courses," he said.
The new application will also help with interoperability between TRIM and external applications, by using Microsoft's BizTalk business-to-business communications protocol to help exchange data between heterogeneous systems.
"recXML is all about BizTalk," said Mr Schofield. "If an organisation on the other side of world in using a records management system other than ours, [TRIM users] can use BizTalk as a pipe to get information out to them."