Hyperion, Microsoft and SAS drive XML for analysis

Hyperion, Microsoft and SAS Institute have announced a new release of the XML for Analysis (XMLA) specification. XMLA 1.1 provides an updated specification and API standard for vendors to access multidimensional databases as a Web service.

It is the first version of the XMLA specification to be created in conjunction with members of the XMLA Advisory Council, a standards group formed after Hyperion and Microsoft released XML for Analysis Specification Version 1.0 in 2001.

XML for Analysis Specification Version 1.1 is available for Web download at http://www.xmla.org.

In addition to the new release of the XMLA specification, the XMLA Advisory Council has added seven new members. The new council members - Crystal Decisions, INEA, MIS AG, MJM Consultant, Panorama Software Systems, SAP AG and Silvon Software - bring additional analytics expertise to the group.

"With the new specification and additional council members, we`re gaining important momentum in the adoption of XMLA as a standard for creating Web-based analytic solutions," says Robert Gersten, chief development officer for Hyperion. "This will help ensure that businesses have an open standard that is scalable to meet distributed analysis needs across the enterprise. Towards that end, Hyperion has incorporated support for XMLA in its next version of Hyperion Essbase XTD, the open, integrating platform for business performance management."

"We gladly welcome the new members to the XML for Analysis Council. Their support is further proof that XMLA is an important focus for major business intelligence vendors," says Bill Baker, GM of SQL Server Business Intelligence at Microsoft. "XMLA creates a standard for Web-based business intelligence. The new specification provides another step toward our vision of making business intelligence pervasive and accessible to everyone."

The new council members join a growing group of industry leaders that have announced their support for XMLA. XMLA Council members also include Alphablox, ANGOSS Software, Applied OLAP, Applix, Aspirity, ArcPlan, Brio, Business Objects, Cognos, Comshare, DSS Lab, Lawson, MicroStrategy, ProClarity, Simba Technologies, SPSS, Temtec and Vigilance.

In addition to releasing the new Version 1.1 of the XMLA specification, Hyperion, Microsoft, SAS and Simba Technologies recently hosted an interoperability workshop in Vancouver, to demonstrate the new XMLA standard working on an open, integrating platform for the analytics and business intelligence market.

The event provided a forum for XMLA council members to begin work on subsequent versions of the specification, as well as providing council members the opportunity to test XMLA consumers against XMLA provider offerings. Software providers testing their products included Comshare, Hyperion, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, SAP, MIS AG and Simba. Consumers included ArcPlan, Aspirity, Microsoft, MIS AG, ProClarity and SPSS. The event marked the first time that member companies with client applications using the specification could test against analytic data providers that support XMLA. A total of 20 XMLA Council members were represented.