SAN FRANCISCO, California. October 27, 1998.
The ICE Authoring Group and Advisory Council today announced they have cooperatively completed the ICE 1.0 (Information & Content Exchange) specification. Based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML), ICE 1.0 is the world's first protocol to enable content syndication. The protocol has been designed to significantly reduce the cost of online business by providing the standard to build Internet value or trading networks, such as syndicated publishing networks, Web superstores and online reseller channels. More than 80 companies in the authoring group and advisory council -- including Vignette, Microsoft, National Semiconductor, Adobe, Sun and CNET -- unveiled ICE 1.0 today at the ICE 1.0 Summit: Building Internet Value Networks held in San Francisco.
``It is unprecedented that so many industry leaders have agreed on the importance of a standard and completed it in less than ten months,'' said William Blundon, executive vice president of the Extraprise Group. ``Content syndication and ICE offer the critical foundation to turn islands of Web sites into networks of value for customers.''
Syndication and Internet Value Chains
Syndication is defined as the controlled exchange and management of business-to-business assets. ICE 1.0 is designed to automate this sharing of information across businesses and facilitate complete, connected Web applications across industries such as financial services, publishing, high technology and travel. For example, with ICE compliant products and services:
An online travel site could easily create a travel superstore destination by licensing Web-based restaurant and hotel guides, vacation club materials, weather reports, and other travel-related content.
A software company could build an online reseller network for its products by allowing thousands of software commerce sites to automatically integrate product and pricing information from the company's centralized Web site, making it easy and economical to promote their product line without requiring resellers to absorb the expense of daily, manual promotion of the product line on their Web sites as information regularly changes.
An electronics manufacturer could create a highly integrated business chain through its distributors and retailers, ensuring that the most accurate, up-to-date information on its products and pricing reaches every person in the network without relying on time-consuming, manual and error-prone processes.
History of ICE
The Authoring Group first proposed ICE in February 1998. Between April and June 1998, more than 70 companies joined forces to become the Advisory Council chartered to review and suggest changes to the Authoring Group. Many vendors have begun developing ICE-compatible products and services.
ICE and XML
Unlike most ``vocabularies'' of XML, ICE goes beyond just being an XML data format. ICE defines a complete server-to-server syndication protocol and processing model. The ICE protocol is built using XML for data formatting, and a variety of communication protocols such as HTTP and FTP. ICE uses XML to describe syndication subscriptions, content packaging, scheduling information, business rules, and all other aspects of automated asset exchange. The ICE server-to-server protocol and processing model uses HTTP, FTP, and other standard technologies to provide a reliable and efficient method for automating the exchange of content, management information, and log data between syndicators and subscribers.
ICE Authoring Group Members
Members of the ICE Authoring Group include Adobe; Channelware; CNET; Hollinger International; Microsoft; National Semiconductor; Net Perceptions; News Internet Services; Preview Travel; Sun Microsystems; Tribune Media Services; Vignette Corporation and Ziff-Davis.
ICE Advisory Council Members
Members of the ICE Advisory Council include: 3Com; @Work Technologies, Inc; Abilon, Inc; Active Research, Inc.; Allaire Corp; Andromedia; Bay Networks; BT Laboratories; Cascade Systems; ChannelWare; Chicago Tribune, CKS; ClickShare Service Corp.; CNN; Commercial Dynamics PTY Ltd; Content-X; CSC; Current Analysis, Inc; Documentum, Inc.; Dominion Digital Inc.; Dun & Bradstreet; Eggheads GmbH; Engage Technologies; Epicentric, Inc., Fujitsu Limited; Future Tense; Helsinki University of Technology; Hewlett-Packard; Hoover's Inc.; I-3 Telecom, Inc; iCat Corp; ICL; Imark Technologies, Inc.; Inso; Inteco, GmbH; Interactive Bureau; International Reading Assc; Intershop Comunications, Inc; Intranet 2001, Inc.; Junglee Corp; Look Smart; Lumeria, Inc.; Magnifi, Inc.; Media Asset Management Group; Mosby; Motorola, Internet & Networking Group; NC Focus; OnDisplay; Opass Inc.; PA News; Paper Space Publishing Technologies; PC World; Personify; Perspecta, Inc; Pointcast, Inc; Random House, Inc; REMAP Corp; Renaissance Engineering, Inc; Reuters NewMedia; Samsung Info Systems America; Seybold Publications; ShiftKey Software, Inc.; Softcom, Inc; StarWave; TestDrive, Inc; TheStreet.Com; TopTier Software, Inc.; USWeb Corp; VEO Systems Inc.; Verano; Vertical Holdings, Inc; Vtopia, Inc; Web Concepts LLC; webMethods, Inc.; XML Solutions, LLC and Xenosys Corp. and others.
About ICE
Information & Content Exchange (ICE) is a protocol designed to significantly reduce the cost of doing networked business online and increase the value of business relationships by facilitating the controlled exchange and management of electronic assets between networked partners and affiliates. The ICE specification provides businesses with an XML-based common language and architecture that will facilitate the process of automatically exchanging, updating, supplying and controlling assets, such as content without manual packaging or knowledge of remote Web site structures. For businesses, ICE will make it easier to build value chains from suppliers to distributors to end-users. For consumer Web sites, end users benefit from more complete and easier to use Web destinations that reduce the frustration of having to surf through many inadequate, narrowly focused Web sites in order to find what they need.
Note: Product names and terms in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
SOURCE: ICE Authoring Group and Advisory Council