Introducing Microsoft BizTalk Server

In today’s globalization market enterprises find the need to integrate and automate their business process. As a part of Windows Server System, Microsoft BizTalk Server enables you to efficiently integrate applications, systems, employees, customers, and partners to automate and deliver interactions.

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 also works with third-party proprietary server applications that run on mainframes, UNIX servers, and Windows systems. BizTalk Server uses XML-based software adapters to communicate with server applications. BizTalk Server also provides simple graphical tools and development tools for enterprises to automate business processes. Moreover, BizTalk Server 2004 also includes new services such as a group of Business Activity Services (BAS), a Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) Framework for analyzing running business processes, support for business process provisioning and configuration, and services to interact with trading partners. BizTalk Server 2004 also adds technology to create Human Workflow Services (HWS), for business people to interact from Microsoft Outlook and other similar applications.

Some of the important features of Microsoft BizTalk Server are as follows:

• Rules engine: Allows you to define, manage, and deploy complex business rules for many business processes across the organization. It is core functionality for any business.

• Data transformation services: Enables data to be transformed in various formats such as XML, EDI, and RossettaNet that are used by different business applications organizations.

• Data analysis services: Enables you to combine, access, and analyze critical data through graphic tools and the automated data mining tools are used to discover patterns and spot trends.

• Process automation and management services: Supports the integration of applications and data sources into efficient business processes within or across various organizations.

With Microsoft BizTalk Server accelerators you can easily develop and implement integrated technology systems. You can use these accelerators for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), HL7, RossettaNet, and SWIFT. Similarly, Microsoft BizTalk Server adaptors are important to interoperate with different applications and technologies. Apart from the adaptors that Microsoft provides, there are various vendors who also provide BizTalk server adaptors.