Capturing Customer Data

So far, most of the customer-related XML applications have been one-way: from the company to the customer. But initiatives are under way (such as the XForms specification being developed by the W3C) for describing Web-based forms in XML. Unlike existing HTML forms, XML forms promise to help constrain data entry based on expected data types and application rules.

XML is a natural format for data collection, but the required tools and platforms are not yet available. Even after XForms becomes an official W3C recommendation, there will be a long wait for Web browsers that support the more sophisticated forms standard.

Although Web-based XML forms will not be available in the near future, proprietary vertical applications can begin incorporating XML right away. XML is an excellent format for storing responses to surveys, training records, status reports, expense reports, and so on. With the wide variety of XML parsers available, adding XML to existing applications is relatively painless.