XML Without Tears

The question has been raised more than once: is it possible to realize the benefits of intelligent content without using XML? It is a very good question which deserves a good answer. The fact of the matter is that, today, the answer is a qualified “No.”

It is true that a team can conceive, design, build, and deploy a specific content application using the technology that its organization has at its disposal; an example could be an integrated work environment leveraging Microsoft Office and SharePoint. And it is true that this content application might deliver outstanding benefits without anyone’s ever seeing an angle bracket.

But two things need to be pointed out. One: when you lift the lid on this content application to see how the Microsoft tools have enabled it, one finds XML and lots of it. Two: before long, this specific content application will need to connect with other content applications which operate in other organizations and run within other technology environments. Perhaps the original content application needs to exchange information with a supplier whose environment is largely based on an SAP solution. In this case, the role of XML becomes more important and demands a little more attention. Further, if this network of content applications is expected to evolve gracefully over time, amid a constant stream of software and business changes, then the importance of XML reaches the point where everyone must concede that without it none of the application investments would be very intelligent. Thus XML is integral to the concept of intelligent content.

However, this short example is useful because it also highlights how XML needs to be used in order to realize an intelligent content solution: XML must be effectively invisible to everyone involved, with the exception of the specialists to facilitate the design, development, and deployment of these solutions. The really good news is that with the state of technologies today, it is completely feasible to construct highly intelligent content solutions that leverage XML and the tools that people are most comfortable using. It is literally possible to use XML without tears. By providing a little background on XML and how it has become a foundation part of the technology landscape, this talk introduces how the powerful capabilities associated with XML can be exploited by any organization and by using the tools that they have today.

Joe Gollner

Joe Gollner (www.gollner.ca) is the Director of Gnostyx Research (www.gnostyx.com), an initiative he recently launched with the purpose of helping organizations adopt open content standards and leverage intelligent content technologies. In this activity, he focuses on providing objective, independent guidance (based on 20 years of wide-ranging implementation experience) on how to establish a practical content strategy and how to manage the design, development, and deployment of cost-effective solutions.

Prior to launching Gnostyx, Joe was Vice President and Chief Solution Architect for Stilo International (www.stilo.com) where he led a world-class team in the design, development, and deployment of industrial-strength content management and publishing solutions. Previously, he was the founder and president of XIA Systems Corporation, a widely respected XML solution integrator that he founded in 1998 and that he sold to Stilo International in 2004. Before XIA, he was best known for his ground-breaking content solution work within the international defense community. Over the last twenty years, Joe has designed and managed the implementation of numerous large-scale content management and publishing solutions in such diverse industries as aerospace, defense, education, healthcare, transportation, engineering, energy, legal, publishing, software, automotive, telecommunications, and government. During this time, Joe worked closely with some of the world's most innovative implementers of intelligent content technologies including Boeing, Samsung, Nokia, Schlumberger, Alcatel-Lucent, Xerox, the US Department of Defense, NATO, and the Russian Academy of Science. Joe served as an Artillery Officer in the Canadian military and was educated in a wide variety of subjects at Queens University (Bachelors of Arts, Mathematics and Literature) and the University of Oxford (Masters of Philosophy). He has completed graduate programs in project management, business analysis, and knowledge management. Joe is a popular keynote speaker at major content management events and for several years chaired the XML World Series of conferences.