Extensibility announces first commercial product for BizTalk Framework schema validation

Extensibility to provide enhanced schema facilities for the BizTalk Framework.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (July 9, 1999) -- Extensibility announced today the first commercial product for BizTalk Framework schema validation. XML Authority 1.1 will provide import and output support for BizTalk Framework compatible schemas and for the XDR schema format and for the W3C schema specification when it becomes available. It will also provide advanced support for XML namespaces. The test version of XML Authority 1.1 will be made available free of charge to XML Authority 1.0 customers in late July. A special trial version of XML Authority 1.1 will be accessible for download from the BizTalk.org site at http://www.biztalk.org in August.

"The BizTalk Framework aims to accelerate the adoption of XML with a set of design guidelines that encourage the consistent development of XML schemas," said James Utzschneider, director of business frameworks for Microsoft. "Extensibility's XML Authority will facilitate this goal by providing migration tools that customers can easily use to migrate their existing XML schemas to the BizTalk Framework."

Using XML Authority 1.1, developers can create and exchange schemas compliant with the BizTalk Framework specifications. "Moreover," explains Reid Conrad, Extensibility's president and CEO, "existing schema formats such as DTD's, can easily be ported to the BizTalk Framework."

XML Authority 1.1 is the first commercial product to provide schema validation for the BizTalk framework. "This will enable users to get started now in developing BizTalk Framework compatible applications," Conrad added. "Developers who want to publish for schemas in the BizTalk.Org schema repository will be assured that their schemas meet the BizTalk Framework specification."

Extensibility is working with Microsoft on advanced facilities for the publishing and access of valid BizTalk Framework schemas on the BizTalk.Org site. Additionally, collaborative efforts will ensure full implementation support with future products compatible with the BizTalk Framework from Microsoft and Extensibility.

"Our joint efforts will quickly enable the potential of XML and schemas for the integration of disparate applications and business processes," said Lee Buck, Extensibility's CTO. "XML Authority 1.1 is the first deliverable in our advanced initiatives."

About XML Authority

The XML Authority 1.1 beta will be available free of charge to Extensibility's XML Authority 1.0 customers in late July. XML Authority 1.0 is available for downloading now at http://www.extensibility.com. XML Authority is $99.95, multiple user x-Packs are available: 5-user, $449.95; 10-user, $849.95; 50-user, $3,995.00. A 10-use trial version may also be downloaded from the Extensibility site.

About BizTalk

Introduced by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in March, the BizTalk Framework makes it easy for businesses to exchange information between software applications and conduct business over the Internet with trading partners and customers. The BizTalk Framework includes a design framework for implementing an XML schema and a set of XML tags used in messages sent between applications. Microsoft, other software companies and industry standards bodies will use the BizTalk Framework to produce XML schemas in a consistent manner to enable integration across industries and between business systems, regardless of platform, operating system or underlying technology. More information about the BizTalk Framework is available at http://www.biztalk.org.

About Extensibility, Inc. Extensibility, Inc. provides cutting-edge XML schema development, conversion and management solutions. XML Authority, which enables users to build business and industry vocabularies for the Internet, is the first product in the company's portfolio. Extensibility's tools facilitate the transition of traditional applications to the next generation of Internet information systems. Based in Chapel Hill, N.C., the company was founded in 1998 and is a member of the W3C Schema Working Group and OASIS.