Business software maker SAP AG has announced plans to become an operator for the UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) Business Registry.
SAP will build, run and maintain a global UDDI node, joining existing operators Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co., Peter Barth, SAP’s technology marketing director, said Thursday.
The UDDI registry, billed as the first true Yellow Pages for the Web, seeks to make it easier for businesses to provide information about their products and services on the Web, as well as to locate partners and customers. Companies can submit information to the registry free of charge, to be posted using a common set of identifiers. The registries are replicated across all nodes on a regular basis, making the same data available to all users, but on a noncentralized basis.
In addition to its role as an operator, SAP will let its customers register for the UDDI business registry through its SAP Service Marketplace, integrating information from back-office systems into the registry.
“SAP will make all its applications’ functionality available as Web services, so you can go beyond just stating what your company is, but even, say, offer real electronic services, such as product availability check,” said Barth.
SAP has already registered itself and started to publish its service offerings in UDDI, and is encouraging other businesses to do the same.
“What is lacking at this point is real, usable content,” said Barth.
