Microsoft to Sponsor Cross-Industry Interoperability Track as Part of XML 2007 Conference

November 6, 2007; 04:59 AM

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDEAlliance, a leading industry association advancing XML and information technologies best practices, today announced that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will host an Interoperability Track as part of XML 2007. The track will take place on Tuesday, December 4 at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston, MA. Sessions will take place throughout the day. Microsoft is the exclusive premiere sponsor of XML 2007 slated for December 3-5.

The goal of the Interoperability track is to present hands-on sessions and practical answers using XML to some of the challenges that currently exist in building applications that cross multiple platforms such as Java, .NET, PHP and Ruby.

“XML, since its inception, has always bridged technical communities and helped enable real-world interoperability scenarios across heterogeneous platforms,” said Jean Paoli, General Manager of Interoperability & XML Architecture at Microsoft and co-creator of the W3C XML standard. “XML 2007 is a place where we can really converge and have balanced and pragmatic interoperability discussions based on technology, not politics.”

Participants from the industry include Miguel de Icaza from Novell, Douglas Crockford from Yahoo!, Vijay Rajagopalan from Microsoft and other well known technology leaders from the PHP and Ruby community.

The track will feature four sessions on Tuesday Dec 4:

• 9:00 – 10:30: Document Interop: Ecma Office Open XML and OASIS ODF
• 11:00 – 12:30: Enterprise Interop: Identity and XML
• 2:00 – 3:30: Web Interop: Ajax with XML and JSON
• 4:00 – 5:30: Interop Round Table & Happy Hour - Development Discussion on Interop and XML with industry leaders from the 3 topic areas. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks hosted by Microsoft.

Interoperability has long been a feature of Microsoft’s products and technologies, achieved through product engineering with strong support for XML, by working with customers, partners, competitors and government, by providing access to Microsoft technologies, and through engagement with standards-setting organizations. In its approach, Microsoft strives to bring technologies to market in a way that balances competitive innovation with the real interoperability needs of customers and partners.

“Microsoft is committed to bringing XML 2007 focus – XML-in-Practice – into action by hosting an interoperability track,” said David J. Steinhardt, President & CEO, IDEAlliance. “IDEAlliance is pleased to partner with Microsoft and bring this industry event to our XML 2007 community.”

For information about the interoperability track visit: http://2007.xmlconference.org/public/content/home

For information on sponsorship opportunities at XML 2007, visit http://2007.xmlconference.org/public/content/sponsors-and-exhibitors

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft is committed to delivering interoperability “By Design”, and embraces the community as one of the primary ways to achieve pragmatic interoperability.

About IDEAlliance

IDEAlliance is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to advancing user-driven, cross-industry technology solutions for all publishing and content-driven enterprises. IDEAlliance develops specifications, identifies best practices, and fosters business alliances to advance technology solutions. Our membership is made up of those who create, produce and deliver content, digital assets and knowledge-based information, and the technology vendors who support and facilitate these supply chains. IDEAlliance provides an open environment in which members can strategize, innovate, standardize, and implement solutions to the real business challenges of their organizations. Go to www.idealliance.org for more information.