BizTalk Framework Defines Business System Interaction

The BizTalk Framework defines a message format that uses standard and emerging Internet technologies to consistently represent and transmit business documents based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Using the BizTalk Framework and a BizTalk Framework-compliant server (such as Microsoft’s recently released BizTalk Server 2000), a company can integrate disparate computer systems within their company’s firewall and span firewalls to facilitate business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce between systems on the Internet. By basing Version 2.0 of the BizTalk Framework on the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) version 1.1, Microsoft further commits to using the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for the interchange of business data.

Why the BizTalk Framework Is Necessary

A number of problems can arise when interfacing computer systems from different companies or business units to support a single business process. Consider a scenario in which a purchaser wants to order items from a supplier. To complete this business process, the two companies will have to exchange business messages that both describe and acknowledge the order. They may use completely different accounting and order-processing systems; therefore, they will have to agree on formats for business documents and messages so that they both can process each order and acknowledgment. The Internet provides an inexpensive, immediately available network for transferring this information, which may make it more appealing to companies than establishing private or dedicated networks between all business partners.