XML Conference and Exposition 2002 Event Delivers New Technologies, Applications, and Increased Attendance

December event drew 35% more attendees than previous year

ALEXANDRIA, VA (January 17, 2003) - XML Conference and Exposition 2002, held this past December in Baltimore, Maryland, saw a marked increase in conference and exposition attendance. Produced by IDEAlliance, the 2002 event provided the very latest in XML technologies, tools, and standards development.

"The XML 2002 event recently held in Baltimore, in December, saw a 35% increase in attendance over the previous year," said David Steinhardt, President and CEO at IDEAlliance. "Despite the economic challenges that were being faced in 2002, this increase shows the importance that XML continues to play in the IT industry. In 2003, it is clear that XML will continue to provide solutions and positively impact the future of technology worldwide."

Highlights of the event included opening keynote presentations from Robert Haycock, Manager for the Office of Management and Budget's Federal Enterprise Architecture Initiative and Pam Samuelson, Professor, University of California at Berkeley. Haycock provided a perspective on the role of XML in federal government initiatives, while Samuelson focused on the copyright wars that have now come to the attention of the XML community. Also on opening day, the Annual XML Cup Award was presented to Jon Bosak and Tim Bray, for their outstanding contributions to XML.

"XML 2002 was lively and informative from beginning to end,"said Eve Maler, Web Technologies and Standards at Sun Microsystems. "offering a dizzying array of XML-related news, best practices, techniques, lessons learned -- and even artwork. From publishing to e-business to knowledge management, Baltimore had it all."

"This year's XML 2002 show really excelled," said Beth Micksch, Program Manager, Wolters Kluwer, USA, "Every year this event gets bigger and better. It was very apparent in Baltimore that fewer people are trying to figure out what XML is and what it can do for them, the focus is more on XML applications. There was definitely more interest in sharing implementation experiences and seeing all the new tools available. This conference is the only XML event that I attend."

On the vendor front, Microsoft presented and demonstrated Microsoft's XML Vision, "Office 11", which generated much interest in the conference session as well as on the exposition floor. An impressive lineup of exhibitors was present in the expo hall, which was made up of many first-time exhibitors, as well as many XML veterans. The XML Incubator featured more than 10 companies with pre-released products that are currently in development.

XML Conference and Exposition 2003 will take place at the Philadelphia Convention Center, December 7-12, 2003. Once again, the event will showcase the most cutting-edge XML tools and technologies, as well as featuring the most prominent experts in the IT industry, as well as the largest XML Expo in the world. The XML 2003 Call for Papers will be posted on the website in Spring of 2003.

For more information on the 2003 Conference and Expo, please visit www.xmlconference.org or call +1 703 837 1070. The Call for Papers will be posted sometime in early 2003. Reviews and recaps on the 2002 event are also available at www.xmlconference.org.

About IDEAlliance

IDEAlliance (International Digital Enterprise Alliance) is a not-for-profit membership organization. Its mission is to advance user-driven, cross-industry solutions for all publishing and content-related processes by developing standards, fostering business alliances, and identifying best practices. IDEAlliance has been a leader in information technology since 1966 (founded as Graphic Communications Association) having fostered the development and adoption of standards such as ADIS, GRACoL, ICE, JIFFI, Mail.dat, papiNet, PRISM, PROSE XML, SPACE XML, SGML, and XML. Learn more about IDEAlliance at www.idealliance.org.

Contact

Tanya Bosse
Promotions Manager
IDEAlliance
703.443.1717
tbosse@idealliance.org