Bryan Beske

Bryan Beske, chief information architect at Worthington Industries and an 11-year veteran of EDI technology, expressed doubts about XML's worthiness as a replacement for EDI.

"As a heavy manufacturer, our mentality is that, if it isn't broke, don't fix it," Beske said."EDI is a proven technology, and I don't really think that it will go anywhere."

He said that XML is good for moving information from application to application, but that he doesn't see it taking off in terms of transmitting mainstay business documents like purchase orders, invoices and advance shipping notices.

"By and large, most businesses' core business transactions are EDI.EDI is tried and true," Beske said.

Bryan Beske - Director of Enterprise Architecture - Worthington Industries

Bryan Beske , Director of Enterprise Architecture - Worthington Industries