BizTalk Server 2009 is the new name instead of BizTalk Server 2006 R3. Does this mean that it will be a complete new version of the product of just an extension of BizTalk Server 2006 like R2? What can be expected from this version is :
– Support for the latest Microsoft Platforms including Hyper-V Virtualization, Visual Studios 2008, .Net 3.5, SQL 2008, and Windows Server 2008.
– Enhancements to SOA and Web Services, B2B Integration, and Developer Productivity.
– Additional enhancements driven by customer feedback.
Many people including myself have blogged about R3 or mentioned it somewhere. Steve Martin mentioned in his blog post yesterday that it will be a major version change. That is a bit different than announcement made early this year (April 2008), where the product would take advantage of 08 wave of products (OS 2008, .NET 3.5, Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008) and deliver customer requested capabilities like:
– New web service registry capabilities with support for UDDI version 3.0
– Service enablement of applications (through new and enhanced adapters for LOB applications, databases, and legacy/host systems)
– Service enablement of “edge” devices through BizTalk RFID Mobile
– Enhanced interoperability and connectivity support for industry protocols (such as SWIFT and EDI)
– SOA patterns and practices guidance.
One can see similarities in list of capabilities, but what are additional enhancement driven by customer feedback. The same as mentioned for R3 or others. CTP are already released to selected customers and next CTP update will be Q4 of this year. Hopefully I can my hands on it so I can have a look. More information can be found at his post. At BizTalk Server website item ‘Where are we going’ there is more around this coming release. Finally there is a new logo as well.
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