An XML appliance is a separate computer system with deliberately narrow functionality that exchanges XML messages with other computer systems. XML appliances secure, accelerate and route XML so enterprises can cost-effectively realize its full potential for messaging and service-oriented architectures (SOAs). They are designed specifically to be easy to install, configure and manage. While some XML appliances must rely on specialized hardware and software to accelerate the processing of XML messages, others accomplish the same tasks using standards-based hardware and operating systems.