GOL-IN endorses XML

By John Gøtze

GOL-IN delegates conclude that XML will soon be an important tool to advance interconnected E-governments.

PRESS RELEASE
August 6, 2002

In a limited, informal survey, representatives of 17 nations conclude that XML will soon be an important tool to advance interconnected E-governments. Knut Rexed, outgoing Chair of the Government On-Line Network (GOL), today announced the results of the survey to provide additional insights into the possibilities of XML to help create interconnected governments.

Background. "Is XML in the Mainstream in Governments; or, is it a Niche Tool? This is a timely question because of the rising interest in XML by policy and senior management officials. While there are good examples in governments indicating that XML does integrate information created by disparate systems, we did not know whether it is being actively considered by officials outside the XML technical community," said Chairman Rexed.

The Government OnLine (GOL) network of delegates offers an opportunity to query policy and senior E-government officials in member countries. Since these officials are not in the immediate XML standards community their responses as policy and management officials provides some insights into whether XML is a mainstream initiative or a niche tool in their governments.

Results of the survey. Most of the GOL delegates responding to the survey are active in e-government management and policy roles. In time, they and their colleagues in similar roles will have the responsibility to decide on and to implement XML solutions. To a series of questions designed to assess their understanding, the delegates showed good knowledge and an informed understanding about the possibilities for XML.

The majority of the respondents understand that XML will connect the information produced by most computer languages. They recognize that XML will enable dissimilar computer systems to communicate with each other. They fully understand that XML is an evolving tool that continues to change; and, they are well aware that through XML a government could, for example, tie together several disparate systems and provide a simpler, consolidated solution on line for citizens and businesses.

The second series of questions was designed to elicit the views of the delegates about the prospects of XML to accelerate e-government progress in their nations. Their responses indicate that intergovernmental management (horizontal, seamless government) is a top priority in government.

While XML may allow E-government to proceed more quickly, the delegates feel that the costs of using XML can be substantial; and, that their governments do not always have a good idea of the costs of using XML. Governments will need to know more about XML and the potential for payoff before investing substantial resources in it.

They do feel however that governments can do remarkable things with XML without the need for massive change to mature legacy systems. A technical solution like XML is preferable and much more feasible; and, they feel that XML really does allow horizontal, intergovernmental management probably at a reasonable cost.

The conclusion. According to this survey, XML is already more than a niche tool and it has the potential to begin to accelerate progress toward interconnected e-governments.


References. See the Government On-Line home page at governments-online.org for further information about this organization.
Contact frank.mcdonough@gsa.gov for additional information about the survey of GOL delegates.
For information about the XML architecture and family of standards, see www.w3c.org/xml.
For FAQ's about XML see www.ucc.ie/xml.
For applications in governments worldwide see 'newsletters' at: www.gsa.gov/intergov.

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