Adapters Acquired for BizTalk Server

Eight new BizTalk adapters purchased by Microsoft from iWay Software will provide application integration and business-to-business integration for several popular business applications, such as JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, Siebel, and TIBCO’s Rendezvous. Having Microsoft-branded adapters could appeal to customers creating BizTalk-based solutions involving these applications, since the core technology involved in the solution (including the adapters) will be provided and supported by a single company—Microsoft. However, the move reminds partners that Microsoft will compete in the BizTalk Server add-in market where the company sees a strategic advantage.

Adapters Link BizTalk to Other Systems

BizTalk Server is a business-logic processing platform that is used for enterprise application integration and business-to-business integration. For example, a BizTalk solution could coordinate the exchange of data between a Web-based application used to capture online purchase orders and a back-end financial application that processes and tracks those orders. BizTalk Server uses modular connection components called adapters to exchange data messages with the systems being integrated. The adapters work by converting data between application-native formats and BizTalk’s XML schema, which allows BizTalk Server to mediate transactions among the applications.