JDF BASICS -- It's Just the Ticket

In time, Zwang says he expects vendor support to "shape up nicely," including system interoperability. Early on, however, the most progress is likely to be made by companies providing turnkey solutions, he adds.

The length of the JDF adoption cycle will depend on how much incentive the vendors are given to implement it, Zwang points out. "Since everybody is going to offer it, JDF compliance won't end up being a real value-add or product differentiator," he notes. "People are still not completely satisfied with the current state of the spec. Until they feel the pressure from a marketing standpoint, some companies will continue to wait to see the next version."