[tax] Gartner Research Commentary on XML defined standards

Greetings,

Attached is a recent Gartner Research Commentary that may be of interest to
the committee.  The document takes a fairly negative view of the current
state of affairs for XML-defined standards, but the conclusions and bottom
line of the article seems to confirm that the work we have planned for the
Tax XML TC is headed in the right direction.
The document contains some misinformation relating to some of the standards
efforts cited in the article.  As an example that we are familiar with, the
characterization of TaXML  as an effort by "a single company [to] develop
and publish a standard for public development and use" is inaccurate and
not up-to-date.  However, while the examples may not be appropriate, the
sentiments expressed are certainly ones we should be aware of and factor in
to our plans.
We will be contacting the author, Rita Knox, to update her on the work
being planned for the Tax XML TC,  and solicit her opinions on our
apporach.

Regards
John and Michael


(See attached file: Here's What's Wrong With XML Defined Standards.pdf)