Adapters Connect to Oracle, SAP, and Siebel

The BizTalk Adapter Pack 1.0, a new software integration product released Mar. 2008, delivers messaging and data access components that connect .NET Framework applications to Oracle databases and SAP and Siebel systems. The Adapter Pack could prove especially valuable for extending non-Microsoft line-of-business systems with applications developed using Microsoft tools and platforms. However, the Adapter Pack does not yet work with Microsoft’s latest server OS and developer tools. SharePoint integration remains to be tested and documented.

Messaging, Data Access for Line-of-Business Systems

Despite its name, the BizTalk Adapter Pack does not require Microsoft’s BizTalk Server application integration product. (Microsoft has begun using “BizTalk” as a general-purpose brand for business process management, workflow, and messaging technologies.) The Adapter Pack delivers two main integration features:

Messaging adapters. These components help developers create Web services that call functions on Oracle databases and on SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Siebel customer relationship management (CRM) installations. Specifically, the adapters extend the Windows Communication Foundation, Microsoft’s Web services messaging API, to support Oracle, SAP, and Siebel protocols. Developers can then create Web services that make Oracle, SAP, and Siebel data available to any clients that can communicate with Web services.