Native XML databases can give your company an edge right now when they're used as an intermediate cache in transaction-processing environments. This is particularly true if you exchange dissimilar data with a large number of other companies. By shifting to data exchange that uses a single format--XML--you'll reduce the amount of work needed to process data while also gaining the performance boost that comes with a native XML database.
However, native XML databases will also play a key role as you implement Web services. As you begin to consider your Web services strategy and the use of technologies such as SOAP, UDDI, and ebXML, you'll want to consider using native XML databases. XML is a key part of Web services technology and those using native XML databases will find it easier to implement Web services in the future.
Taking action
Before investing in native XML database technologies, test the XML capabilities of your existing databases. It's likely that your database will be able to translate from its relational form into XML document structures. You'll need to measure how quickly that translation is performed.
Perhaps more importantly, if you use multiple back-end data sources, such as multiple relational databases from different vendors, object-oriented databases, or data stored in file systems, you'll need to see if one of your existing databases can accept and translate data from other data sources into XML. You want to avoid having multiple databases doing XML translations, as this will only add to processing time.
Most native XML databases can be downloaded (or ordered on CD) in a trial form. You'll definitely want to evaluate several native XML databases before deciding which approach is best for your company.
Maggie Biggs has more than 15 years of business and IT experience in the financial sector. She has implemented multiple integration projects that leverage Java and XML.
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