ARCHIVED: What is a white paper?

White papers are documents released by companies, organizations, and government agencies to authoritatively describe products, technologies, and policy. Though a white paper is not necessarily an unbiased report, it will typically provide a more detailed overview than press releases and many other forms of documentation.

In addition to providing information, however, white papers are also often used for marketing purposes. As a result, it is not uncommon for different vendors to produce competing white papers on the same topic. There are literally thousands of white papers covering a broad range of topics. Many are available online, especially from corporate and organizational web sites.

For examples of white papers from the technology industry, see Sun Microsystems' software white paper archive at:

For examples of policy white papers, see the European Commission's white paper directory at:

Comments/Questions/Corrections