Update:

This was in response to chromatic above. User error hit reply to the wrong node.

I was going to reply until I saw your update and then didn't and now I am again anyway. My point was soley based on a storage mechanism. I agree with all your points and one of the problems I have with XML is the complexity of retrieving data from it; though good schemas and document control can make this less of a task.

I think XML as a storage mechanism has been a hard road for me personally, but having to work with varied systems recently I have found that the intial design and implementation hurdles are worth the extra effort. You will always find the data you used in an application today required by a different application tomorrow, and XML is the closest I have seen for a "Universal Adapter" or whatever the funky sputnik looking orb is in the IBM advert.