Microsoft Corp. is extending the connected enterprise and is leveraging its existing partnerships with its new release of BizTalk Server 2006 R2, an enterprise-grade solution for supply chain business management that uses service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) technologies.
The BizTalk Server line of products first became available to customers seven years ago as an integration solution. BizTalk Server 2006 R2 marks the company’s fifth full version of the product and also comes equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities to make business integration automation processes easier across local and global IT infrastructures and organizations.
Chris Brakel, product manager for eBusiness at Microsoft Canada, says since BizTalk’s initial launch, the company has seen a great deal of interest and demand this solution, especially within the large enterprise market space.
“We have over 7,000 customers with BizTalk globally and over 250 customers across Canada,” Brakel said. “There’s a huge market for BizTalk and integration servers particularly with large enterprises because these businesses are either looking to connect their internal enterprise or are interested in connecting to their business partners.”
Brakel says choosing BizTalk is a win-win solution for both customers and partners because businesses can efficiently connect to other enterprises, and partners can leverage off of BizTalk by adding their own services to increase their overall margin potential.
“There’s a huge opportunity for the partners, especially for our system integrators (SIs), who are working with large enterprises,” Brakel said. “This is a great business to be in because this is something that customers are looking for.”
TransCanada, an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Calgary, recently made the decision to go with BizTalk.
Jim Clark, program manager at TransCanada Gas Transmission North West (GTN), says the company first began implementation of BizTalk Server 2006 R2 back in the January-February time frame of this year and so far he says, it has met all of TransCanada’s business needs.
“We’re using this new version for its EDI capabilities,” Clark said. “Using the new solution, we can help reduce the time it takes for our customers to do business with each other. This ultimately leads to more satisfied customers.”
While Clark insists the actual installation of BizTalk was simple, he also credits Microsoft’s support services as playing a critical role in helping with set-up.
“We participated in Microsoft’s [Technology Adoption Program] TAP Program,” Clark said. “We also had weekly conference calls with their technical folks to discuss any issues or concerns we had. The support that Microsoft offered us was second to none.”
Brakel says Microsoft’s TAP Program is one that usually comes out six to nine months before a product is released to the manufacturer. Before the launch of BizTalk Server 2006 R2, Clark said over 190 customers and partners participated in the program worldwide. Once enrolled, partners and customers are given access to training and can then offer feedback and suggestions to Microsoft before the actual release of the product.
“Our partners play a massive role with BizTalk Server 2006 R2,” Brakel said. “Our partner ecosystem not only helped customers get an early peek at the product with TAP, but we were also able to get feedback from over 190 of our partners. Majority of these partners have already installed BizTalk before, so they’re used to the way it works and they’re keen on helping us see what could be better this time around.”
BizTalk Server 2006 R2 gives customers access to real-time data collected from integrated systems as well as offers users real-time visibility. For customers who are currently using older versions of BizTalk Server 2004 and 2006, Brakel says an upgrade to the new version is an effortless and seamless one.
Catering to businesses of all sizes, BizTalk’s latest release is available in a variety of editions including, a developer edition, branch edition, standard edition and an enterprise edition, offering businesses enterprise-class quality across the board.
The trend moving forward says Brakel, is to continue to evolve Microsoft’s SOA platform by taking on a software plus service approach. He also says customers and partners can expect to see the release of the BizTalk Server Adapter Pack, which is currently in beta, somewhere in the first half of the next calendar year.
