I’ve been working at Sun since 2001 as close architectural consultant on various pioneering uses of XML, SOA and Semantic technologies in a couple of divisions, first through Fourthought and now through Zepheira. Sun has been the practical landing pad for some of the topics I visit so often here and in my articles. I tend to not talk much directly about my work with them, in order to respect any commercial advantage they may deem, but I often wish more details were open, and not just the strategic overview as in the SwoRDFish paper. It delights me then that my long-time manager Kristen Harris, Director of Content Management Engineering, has recently been opening up some useful details as part of her group’s effort to reach out more to the community of Sun users, and to technical communities on the Web overall.

It’s worth paying attention to Kristen. She has perhaps the most finely balanced perception I have ever seen of technological advancement and business practicality. I’ve watched executives send more and more responsibility her way as she’s proven how capably she manages technology and people. I’m clearly biased, flattered by her consistent seeking of my counsel for so long, but from what I’ve seen I’m hardly alone on my opinion. We had a joint presentation at XML 2007 to present some of our shared work. I wasn’t able to go due to personal circumstances but I understand it was well received. We’ll be making a different presentation of our work, with more of a focus on our use of Semantic Technology at STC08. If you can’t make it, you might want to follow Kristen’s discussion of our work.