SDL snags XyEnterprise

Ah, another week, and still more consolidation in the content management space. This time it's XML content management vendor XyEnterprise getting snagged by SDL. As Ann Rockley [1], the XML guru and president of the Rockley Group points out in an analysis on CMS Watch [2], there are some questions about this purchase--especially since SDL already owns SDL Trisoft [3], which is in itself an XML content management system.

Apparently, SDL believes there is room for both products in their arsenal with Trisoft concentrating on DITA and XyEnterprise taking on S1000D (another XML content management standard). As we learned a few weeks back at our webinar, Using DITA to Streamline Your Workflow [4], companies can take advantage of XML content management standards like DITA to generate documents from a single source of document components.

Hosts Bill Trippe and Dale Waldt from the Gilbane Group [5] pointed out the advantages of this approach and judging from the number of questions we received, there is a lot of curiosity around the reuse concept. By purchasing XyEnterprise, I'm guessing that SDL wants to make itself a key player in the XML content management and Component Content Management market by covering as much of the market as it can.

This purchase gives them the opportunity to do that, but as Rockley points out, how well this will work in practice remains to be seen. In any purchase, merging the technologies and cultures of two organizations takes some work, and it will be interesting to see if SDL can successfully incorporate XyEnterprise into the fold and offer its customers a comprehensive XML solution set.

For more information:
- see Ann Rockley's analysis [2] on CMS Watch
- and the SDL Trisoft press release [6]

Related Articles:
SDL Tridion releases web marketing suite [7]
One on One with Arjan van Rooijen of SDL Tridion [8]