[January 17, 2000] e-STEEL Corporation today announced that it is teaming with two internationally-recognized technology leaders to form a strategic alliance to develop and implement integrated end-to-end e-Commerce solutions for steel industry members. The alliance with webMethods and Computer Sciences Corporation will also produce SML (Steel Markup Language), a new open standard protocol for Internet-based electronic sharing of information between buyers and sellers of steel products. Based on
Contacts:
Dofasco - Gordon Forstner
905-548-7200 ext 2200
gordon_forstner@dofasco.ca
e-STEEL Corp.- Sherry Sigler
917-464-0445
sherry@e-steel.com
CSC - Lisa Meyer
973-243-7735
lmeyer3@csc.com
References:
[January 17, 2000] "Partnership to Develop New e-Commerce Standard for Steel Industry. Integration of Prominent North American Steelmaker Dofasco Begins." - "e-STEEL Corporation today announced that it is teaming with two internationally-recognized technology leaders to form a strategic alliance to develop and implement integrated end-to-end e-Commerce solutions for steel industry members. The alliance with webMethods and Computer Sciences Corporation will also produce SML (Steel Markup Language), a new open standard protocol for Internet-based electronic sharing of information between buyers and sellers of steel products. Additionally, e-STEEL announced a strategic partnership with Dofasco Inc. one of North America's largest and most profitable steelmakers. Dofasco, a charter member and strategic investor in e-STEEL, will serve as the launch site for the integration initiative, and will be the first member to incorporate SML. e-STEEL is the neutral, negotiation-based, online B2B exchange for the $700 billion global steel industry. Alliance Reports that SML Standard is Critical to Industry Adoption SML, which is expected to become the standard within the steel industry for B2B e-Commerce will be used to create consistencies across companies' technology platforms. Based on
XML , the emerging Internet standard for data-sharing between applications, SML will enable Internet-based integration of a range of services and will facilitate stronger and significantly more cost-efficient system-to-system transactions. webMethods role in the alliance will be to provide the backbone to deliver SML, other existing XML standards, and EDI connectivity." [local archive copy][January 28, 2000] "XML Gains Another Convert: Steel Industry -- Project Will Develop Industry-Specific Extensions To Boost E-Commerce." By Clinton Wilder. In InformationWeek Issue 770 (January 24, 2000), page 79. "Industry by industry, the Extensible Markup Language is gaining ground as the standard for E-business. Messaging technology provider WebMethods Inc. said last week it will work with integrator Computer Sciences Corp. and online marketplace operator E-Steel Corp. to develop the Steel Markup Language, or SML, a set of XML extensions for the steel industry. SML's goal is to build steel-industry-specific data formats, such as the chemical makeup, weight, and dimensions, using XML specifications... If steel companies standardize on SML, it could boost E-commerce in the industry by making it easier to import data into steel buyers' and sellers' legacy applications and inventory databases from transactions conducted in online exchanges, such as E-Steel and MetalSite. Dofasco Inc., a steelmaker in Hamilton, Ontario, will be the first E-Steel member to incorporate SML, although E-Steel expects to unveil additional adopters soon. E-Steel members include about 50 steel mills and hundreds of steel buyers, including General Electric Company."
[February 12, 2000] Ed Note: Kevin Buck wrote in "Alphabet Soup" [Section: Editor's Note] InformationWeek Issue 772 (February 07, 2000) "Kudos to those defining Extensible Markup Language schemas for vertical markets ("XML Gains Another Convert: Steel Industry," Jan. 24, p. 79). Phooey on those attempting to coin another acronym, SML, by saying they are adding XML "extensions" for the steel industry. Pat them on the head for doing the right thing, but slap their wrist for listening to their public relations department..." [Um... maybe. By this reasoning, "phooey" should probably be pronounced upon a hundred (or two) similar coinages; XML languages for specific application domains are inevitable, as are acronyms. A more positive spin: collaborative work within many vertical industries is focused upon creation of common vocabularies and well-documented schemas; this has to be good in relation to its opposite (no collaboration, no standards). What more reasonable outcome other than that a name/acronym might be given to newly-created vocabularies? We're witnessing an astonishing phenomenon, even if some aspects of the change appear awkward. Today, webMethods saw a 400%(+) increase in stock price at their IPO. -rcc]
