14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft aims no less than to deliver an apex of productivity to corporate users in scenarios involving integrated systems, automatic processing and communications across international supply chains. In order to take efficiency to the edge, the Redmond company announced the immediate availability of BizTalk Server 2006 R2. This is the fifth major milestone of Microsoft's offering combining core service-oriented architecture with technology focused on business process management. On September 10, Don Ferguson, Microsoft Technical Fellow in the Office of the CTO and former IBM Chief Software Architect will unveil BizTalk Server 2006 R2 in Taipei, Taiwan. But the product will enjoy two additional events, one in Sydney, also courtesy of Ferguson on September 13, and one in Chicago on October 2, with the participation of Kevin Turner, Chief Operating Officer.
"For customers to successfully extend their core business processes to reach across applications, partners and platforms, they need a way to connect their existing systems regardless of vendor, age, platform, protocol and geography," said Steven Martin, director of the Connected Systems Product Management at Microsoft. "With BizTalk Server 2006 R2 customers choose how they want to connect applications, platforms and people - we provide them with the tools to do it."
BizTalk is designed to enable corporate customers to achieve a high level of interconnectivity not only by bridging the systems inside their own organization, but also by connecting to business partners. Microsoft placed strong emphasis on the enhancements introduced with version R2, including frequency identification (RFID) and electronic data interchange (EDI).
"Increasingly, companies need to extend business processes out to the edge - such as to branch locations, business partners and vertical supply chains. With innovations such as RFID, native support for EDI and Applicability Statement 2 (AS2), and integrated support for vertical industry standards such as SWIFT, HL7, HIPAA, and RosettaNet, BizTalk Server 2006 R2 delivers an integrated platform for supply-chain connectivity and process collaboration. BizTalk Server 2006 R2 is also available in a new Branch Edition version that enables connecting intraorganization hub-and-spoke supply-chain processes," Microsoft added.