communication between backend systems (XML messages)
the fastest and the cheapest integration in a heterogeneous environment
can be built on the top of web-services stack
data format of choice for various applications
XML based formats guarantee access to data for a long period of time
XML based formats are more open and improve automatic processing
all mainstream applications (including MS Office and OpenOffice) are converting to XML based formats
description of configuration for complex systems
more robust then plain text files