ALEXANDRIA, VA (December 4, 2001) -- The Information and Content Exchange working group of IDEAlliance (ICE) is now developing ICE2, the next generation of this open, layered protocol for establishing and managing controlled data exchange between business partners. Scheduled to be released at next September's Seybold San Francisco 2002 event, this new version of ICE will be the first update since ICE 1.1, released in August 1999. The original ICE specification (ICE 1.0, released in October 1998) was developed using the then-new XML standard as its data protocol format. Initially used for Web content syndication, ICE is now a crucial component important for business-to-business data exchange as well. ICE is a "user-driven" standard, developed by a number of key content providers and software vendors. The ICE specification, now hosted by IDEAlliance, facilitates the controlled exchange and management of electronic assets between networked partners and affiliates. Some key functions of the current release of the ICE 1.1 specification include: *Standardizing the management of subscriptions *Automation of content delivery *Communication of metadata relevant to syndication, such as usage constraints, IP status, reuse, business terms, ownership and release/expiration dates. *Automation of operational issues, including error messaging, logging, delivery and notification According to Dr. Richard Martin, EVP and CTO of Active Data Exchange, Inc., the next version of ICE will further reduce the cost of doing business online and streamline the process of online communications and content exchange "Technology has advanced tremendously since original releases, and the key web infrastructure standards have matured," Martin said. Larid Popkin, CTO of 3Path, Inc., and Chairman of the ICE Authoring Group noted, "Through implementations and deployments of ICE, lessons have been learned, fueling the need to build a modular approach to ease implementations and define extensibility." Martin elaborated on a few of the tasks to be incorporated into ICE2. They include: *Integration of the latest standards (Schemas, namespaces). *Express ICE as a Web Service (UDDI, SOAP, WSDL). * Elegant implementation of metadata tags (PRISM and RDF). *Well-defined protocol extension mechanism. *Negotiation of non-ice delivery, FTP and simple "get" mechanism. *Support the concurrent syndicator/subscriber. *Multi-level distribution. *Development of a framework for a public catalog. Those wishing to participate in the development of ICE2 are encouraged to join the ICE Authoring Group. Members of the Authoring Group will work with users and vendors in face-to-face meetings, listservs, and conference calls regarding the formulation of ICE2. Interested parties can also join the ICE Network, granting them access to minutes from ICE Authoring Group meetings. ICE Network members also participate by reviewing draft specifications and providing direct input to the Authoring Group. The next ICE Authoring Group face-to-face meeting will be held December 9-10 at the Dolphin Hotel, Disney World, Orlando, Florida in conjunction with the IDEAlliance XML 2001 Conference and Exposition. Live demonstrations of the ICE specification by members of the ICE Authoring Group can be seen at the IDEAlliance Booth on the Expo floor throughout that week. About ICE ICE (Information and Content Exchange --www.icestandard.org) is a key industry initiative hosted by IDEAlliance and sponsored by a group of companies who have a common interest in solving the problem of automating and managing the exchange of every type of content. The group consists of software developers and companies who distribute or consume content, whether commercially or within intranet and extranet frameworks. The ICE Authoring Group and the ICE Network are open to all companies and include organizations such as 3Path, Inc., Active Data Exchange, Inc., Adobe Systems, Inc., HP, Cablevision Systems, Documentum, Inc., Easypress Technologies, FullDegree, Inc., Infopark AG, Intershop Communications, Interwoven Inc., IntraNet Solutions, Kinecta Corporation, MediaApps, National Semi-Conductor, Oracle Corporation, Tribune Media, and Vignette Corporation. 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.