New technologies are making a large impact in the health and safety industry. Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) is being used to integrate the vast information resources that previously were kept in reams of paper in company file cabinets or in proprietary applications.
The driving need to open up these proprietary systems and extract the valuable information they contain has led to the development and use of Web services in the health and safety industry. Web services, which utilize XML as the common communications protocol for sharing of informational resources, make up the building blocks for the much heralded .Net product from Microsoft.