With Contenta 4.0, the latest version of its flagship XML Content Management Systems, XyEnterprise is focused mainly on expanding the number of operating systems and databases its systems will run on. Most notable are the edition of support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and support for MS SQL Server databases on the back end.This does a nice job of rounding out the choices administrators have, as the system already runs on Sun Solaris, multiple versions of Microsoft Windows and Windows server, and includes support for Oracle databases, expanded to include Oracle 10.2 support in this release.

And while the spotlight in this release is on the platforms and databases on which Contenta 4.0 runs, a few pieces of new functionality have been added. Graphics management support has been improved, and Contenta 4.0's browser-based user interface Contenta Web has been significantly enhanced to allow users the freedom to choose either the client application or just a Web browser to create and manage content.

All and all, the first half of 2008 has been good for XyEnterprise. Earlier this year it rolled out an updated version of Contenta for DITA, which supports the DITA OASIS standards used for creating and managing XML-based technical documentation. It also acquired XSystems, a long-time partner whose products include a number of editorial tools. It's fair to assume that many of the features of the products in this acquisition will help enhance the XyEnterprise core product set.

For an enterprise that uses XML standards for its content management needs -- and there does seem to be a growing trend moving in that direction -- XyEnterprise has built a compelling set of products and is certainly worth investigating.