BizTalk 2013 Catches Up to Platform

BizTalk Server 2013, released Apr. 1, 2013, is the first version of the product to work with Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012, and the first version to qualify for product support on the Microsoft-hosted Windows Azure cloud platform. BizTalk Server is Microsoft’s server product for application integration, business-to-business commerce, and related functions. The update extends BizTalk’s supported life and enables customers to move BizTalk installations to Microsoft’s latest platform, while Azure could make BizTalk installations easier to deploy and maintain for business-to-business commerce. However, BizTalk Server 2013 also brings a per-core licensing model that could increase future costs.

Messaging Hub for Integration

BizTalk Server 2013 includes a messaging engine that serves as a hub for application-to-application communication and a workflow system (called Orchestration) for programming business processes that cut across applications. BizTalk has built-in management tools, such as Business Activity Monitoring, which enables organizations to capture and analyze status data from business processes, and Visual Studio plug-ins for coding custom integration solutions on top of the product. BizTalk Server also provides a large collection of components for specific types of systems, including messaging adapters for connecting to specific business applications from Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and other vendors; messaging support for electronic data interchange (EDI) standards in finance, healthcare, and other fields; and components for asset tracking and supply chain management with Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags.