January 17, 2000 Web posted at: 9:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT) by Eugene Grygo

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(IDG) -- CrossWorlds Software has embraced the Extensible Markup Language (XML) through a forthcoming offering, the XML Connector that serves as an interface for handling XML-based messages.

This latest Connector from CrossWorlds, available at the end of this month, will work with a variety of emerging, industry-wide XML specifications, said Vas Vasiliadis, a product manager at CrossWorlds.

"We've seen a lot of our customers really pushing for XML support," Vasiliadis said. The use of XML simplifies matters for the CrossWorlds architecture because it provides "a common object model," he said.

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The vendor can then add value by providing connectivity, mapping, and translation capabilities. The Connector to come will offer a translator that accepts, parses, and interprets XML templates into a CrossWorlds format, Vasiliadis said.

CrossWorlds' XML Connector will allow for the integration of XML data to legacy homegrown applications as well as a garden variety of front- and back-office and supply-chain packages, Vasiliadis said. The XML Connector will work closely with CrossWorlds' business process-modeling capabilities and Collaboration modules as well.

Future industry-specific XML plug-ins will include the XML specifications for supply-chain links among IT products and service suppliers as set forth by RosettaNet, an industry consortium, Vasiliadis said.

The CrossWorlds support for RosettaNet's framework and XML-based Partner Interface Processes (PIPs), or computer-to-computer dialogs, will come after RosettaNet members complete their internal implementations of the RosettaNet specifications, said Vasiliadis.

On Feb. 2, "Econcert Day," RosettaNet members are expected to be ready to go into production with these specifications, RosettaNet officials said.

"We anticipate that a short time thereafter we'll have a solution out there," Vasiliadis said. "The engineering effort is not that significant."

When the RosettaNet plug-ins become available, the XML Connector will map customers' applications to the RosettaNet PIPs infrastructure, Vasiliadis said. The XML Connector will also provide mapping to the RosettaNet data-transaction document-type definitions that are part of the PIPs architecture.

In a separate announcement, Delphi Automotive Systems recently agreed to license CrossWorlds' software. Delphi will be using the vendor's application integration package to provide enterprise-wide links for its installation of the SAP R/3 enterprise resource planning suite. The R/3 and CrossWorlds deployment will facilitate communication across Delphi's manufacturing and supply-chain infrastructures.

The agreement represents $5 million in licensing sales and approximately $2 million in consulting services for integration, said Bart Foster, senior vice president of marketing and business development at CrossWorlds.

The CrossWorlds deployment will serve as the foundation for Delphi's current and future electronic-commerce efforts, said John Jalovec, director of global programs, information systems, and services at Delphi.

Pricing for the XML Connector ranges from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on the portfolio of applications that need to be integrated, officials said.