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STRESSING that XML support will be indispensable for companies hoping to become true e-businesses, Software AG has launched in the Asia Pacific its much-hyped Tamino information server. This is the world's first relational database management system and transaction server solution capable of storing and retrieving data in native eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format.

While good old HTML or HyperText Markup Language will still be around, websites need to offer transactional services if they are to enter the next stage of web presence and become more than just online catalogues. This is where XML comes in, with vendors and analysts agreeing that it is the lingua franca or data format of choice for e-business transactions. Like HTML, XML is part of the Standard Generalized Markup Language for web tags. As its name implies, however, XML is more flexible than HTML, allowing users to define context-based tags specific to different industries. This helps facilitate transactions between e-businesses across the globe as a form of universal language. More information on XML can be found at www.xml.com and www.xml.org.

At the Philippine launch on Friday, Wilson Tan, Software AG Asia Pacific's vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific Region, said that local companies must go into XML to offer innovative e-business services. He cited as an example Hospital Information Systems linked electronically to the network of medical insurance companies.

"The insurance company keeps its data one way, while the hospital has its own way. With XML support, however, when an X-ray image is sent electronically, both sides recognize it as an X-ray image because of the common XML tag," Tan explained.

Tamino is actually part of Software AG's overall Xenon (XML ENabled Open Network) architecture for XML applications. While more components will be released throughout this year, X-Machine and X-Node are already in Tamino. X-Machine enables storage of data in its native XML format, while X-Node allows access to existing data sources while allowing users to publish them in XML format.

"We call Tamino more than a database because of this. With X-Node, you can hook to your legacy databases and port them to the web as XML," said Clive Tilbrook, product marketing director at Software AG Asia Pacific.

In the country, Software AG Philippines Inc. reportedly has two prototype installations for Tamino. While declining to name the two prospective customers, Software AG Philippines sales and marketing director and acting country general manager Jenifer Chua Sun said that one of them is a government agency.

"They're going to use XML because they want to offer WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) applications, and of course WML (Wireless Markup Language) is based on XML," Sun said. "If we can imagine how many citizens need access to government services, now this could be done using mobile phones for quick retrieval of data."

Yet why did a government agency think of going into WAP to offer its services when many Filipinos still do not have a cellular phone, let alone a WAP phone?

"We presented it to them and they were very interested," Sun said. "It hasn't been contracted to us yet. We're still doing the prototype."

Tilbrook also said that emerging WAP services would be a key driver in the growth of XML.

"Another advantage of Asia is really WAP, because of the penetration of mobile phones. Here, we see WAP services growing even though WAP phones are still expensive, and of course the prices of the units will go down," he said.

Though acknowledging that the first step is to evangelize on XML and convince businesses that real applications are already available, Tilbrook said that he does not expect the process to be difficult.

"I don't think that generating awareness is going to take that long. All vendors have accepted the XML standard," he said, citing Microsoft, Sun and Oracle as chief examples. "The thing that I think differentiates us is that while these other vendors are supporting XML, they are not focusing on it as we have. But their support will help increase awareness."