Sun Microsystems and Software AG have formed a business alliance to develop add-on technology for Software AG's Tamino XML Server 4.1 to support Sun's StarOffice Software 6.1 productivity suite. A prototype of the software was demonstrated at Computer Faire last week.
The add-on will deliver a cost-effective solution to increase workgroup productivity and security by providing access to powerful collaboration functionality, digital signature support and connectivity with back-end applications.
Moreover, it will ensure interoperability and user ownership of data through adherence to open XML standards from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
According to Software AG South Africa's Joe Curran, this is a particularly important alliance for this country because many of the growing popularity of open systems, particularly within government departments.
He said Tamino's data and metadata indexing features will enhance StarOffice's enterprise searching, publishing, security and reliability capabilities compared to using file systems for data storage.
"Enterprise customers are demanding simple, yet powerful tools for advanced document management to allow sharing, searching and centralised storage, resulting in improved productivity, security and collaboration," Curran said. "The StarOffice/Tamino combination delivers these benefits - all based on open file formats and open protocols."
The StarOffice/Tamino add-on will bring multi-channel publishing to life. With data stored in XML, content is easily published in various formats, such as PDF or HTML, enabling the seamless integration of third-party products via open standard interfaces. As a result, customers will be able to process XML documents directly in their applications, through rule-based transmission via fax server or publishing to mobile devices. In addition, the Tamino XML Server integrates into existing back-end systems, enabling bi-directional data exchange with these applications through easy-to-configure Software AG adaptors. Thus, documents from linked systems can be compiled and processed directly in StarOffice Software, giving users the option to store documents with a secure digital signature in Tamino XML Server.
The Tamino/StarOffice add-on will support Sun Solaris 9, Windows and Linux; information on the availability of the free introductory version is expected to be released later this year. The Tamino XML Server 4.1 is now available for Windows; versions for Solaris and Linux are expected to follow. Pricing starts at $49 for the Tamino XML Server (per user/seat).
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