B2B e-Commerce, XML, BizTalk, RosettaNet

If you are attempting to follow the business of technology these days, the most common buzzwords you are coming up against are probably B2B, XML, and BizTalk. 

Simply put, B2B e-Commerce (Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce) is that branch of commerce that deals with direct, unmediated, online trade between companies as opposed to the consumer-oriented type of e-Commerce known as B2C (Business-to-Consumer). In the past, the foundation for such exchanges was EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), but the majority of solutions are now based on XML. 

XML is a tagged language like HTML, but rather than specifying document format, as HTML does, XML specifies the data structure of the document. In B2B scenarios, partners decide which data structure to use to exchange information (using a schema) and then transfer the information. The systems sending and receiving XML documents may be on different operating systems, and they may use different databases, but as long as they can send and accept ASCII data, they can exchange business documents seamlessly.

BizTalk is an industry initiative, started by Microsoft, that seeks to simplify the exchange of information between business partners. Microsoft is developing a product (BizTalk Server), and a guideline (BizTalk Framework™), and it has released a demo (Technology Preview) of the future BizTalk Server.

Some industries are trying to organize themselves. RosettaNet is a B2B initiative by and for IT Supply Chain partners.