UN claims software venture will cut costs for SMEs

The project - which is a joint venture between the UN and the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) - is intended to unify XML standards into a single specification, called ebXML.

Ray Walker, chairman of the UN's CEFACT technical body involved in the project, told silicon.com: "An XML standard will allow constant flow of business information without any extra configuration or set-ups. ebXML will allow SMEs in particular to exchange their information without having to resort to complex and expensive electronic communication upgrades."

Klaus-Dieter Naujok, chairman of the venture, sees ebXML replacing age old computational methods: "For decades business purchase documents were using an electronic data interchange (EDI) which is an electronic communication of business transactions, such as orders, confirmations and invoices, between organisations. But XML will allow SMEs to participate in document exchanging without the investment that EDI requires."

A spokesman of the Federation of Small to Medium Businesses (FSB) endorsed the standard: "Any standards promoting technical interoperability and thus SMEs' access to better technologies, is definitely welcome. ebXML will allow SMEs to standardise business communication costs effectively."

The ebXML standard is also supported by industry heavyweights such as American Express, Andersen Consulting, Commerce One and Sun Microsystems.