The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) project has began a public beta testing of UDDI Business Registry.
The UDDI Business Registry is an XML-based Web service that enables companies to list their electronic trading requirements on the Internet to stimulate the growth of business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
Since the establishment of the UDDI project two months ago, an additional 94 new members have signed on, including Intel and Hewlett-Packard, bringing the total number of vendor participants to 130 and reaffirming the directory's status as an industry standard.
Companies that list in the directory are able to publish identifying information about how they are able to conduct e-commerce transactions, and can search for suitable trading partners via the registry's search mechanism.
"The success of the UDDI project in the past two months proves that companies are eager to work together for interoperability," said Jack Verdins, market manager for the application and integration middleware division at IBM Australia. "Once beta testing is completed, the initiative will open up the world of e-business and e-marketplaces for all players."
Ariba, Microsoft and IBM currently administer the registry, but have indicated that future versions of the business registry will add other companies as operators.
Listing in the UDDI Business Registry is free, and the first point of contact is www.uddi.org/register.html.
