Microsoft Targets SMBs, Channel with Integration Platform

Microsoft is concentrating on building its software integration solutions business with BizTalk Server, a platform designed for customers and solution providers to build and deploy integration solutions. The first version, BizTalk Server 2000, was released 14 months ago and has attracted more than 800 customers, according to Microsoft officials. Now the company is launching the newest version, BizTalk Server 2002, while focusing on building more partnerships around the software to increase channel sales. So far, Microsoft has teamed with such partners as systems integrators Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst and Young, Compaq Global Services and KPMG Consulting around BizTalk Server.

"It's a product that requires a strong channel, and we're going to put even more focus on partners going forward with BizTalk" says Eric Swift, lead product manager for BizTalk Server. "Partners put solutions on top of the server and system integrators bring the skills to implement the solutions."

Microsoft says BizTalk 2000 was designed to make software integration easier by "lowering the barrier of entry for companies of all sizes to participate in XML integration within the firewall and across the Internet." To that end, the software giant is targeting customers in the SMB market and offering competitive pricing to beat out other software integration players such as webMethods and Tibco.

"The old integration market was big at the high end, but BizTalk, depending on the solutions package, is between $100,000 and $400,000, which is much lower than the traditional integration software prices of around $1 million,' Swift says.

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BizTalk Server is tightly integrated with other Microsoft products such as SQL Server and the emerging .Net portfolio, Swift says. The new BizTalk Server 2002, which launched Monday for general availability, includes additional support for building Web services through Visual Studio .NET, as well as new SEED technology, which allows large trading hubs to quickly publish configuration information to their trading partners for rapid business partner connectivity.