BizTalk Update To Add RFID Links, Better EDI Connections

A planned upgrade to BizTalk Server 2006 will bring new RFID connectivity and improved EDI linkage, Microsoft said this week.

BizTalk 2006 Release 2 (R2) is due out in the first half of 2007, with early preview code to be made available soon. The current BizTalk 2006 shipped a few months ago.

"What's new here is we're making Microsoft RFID technologies available as part of BizTalk Server and, secondly, we'll include EDI and AS2 technologies," said Burley Kawasaki, group product manager for BizTalk Server. AS2 is EDI, or electronic data interchange, over the Internet. Wal-Mart uses AS2, he said.

EDI is sometimes disparaged as old technology because of its roots in the mainframe and minicomputer era, but it’s also the conduit of crucial supply-chain information between and within companies. And it’s not going away, Kawasaki noted.

"In fact, it's growing as people do more B2B commerce and bring more and more processes and partners into the chain," he said.

New projects tend to use XML, but legacy systems are still integral to the supply chain. "The basic point is that EDI is viewed as too expensive and too hard. By putting it into BizTalk, we hope to ease that," Kawasaki said. Until now, BizTalk had relied on EDI technology supplied by partner Covast.

Both RFID and EDI links are critical in reaching certain customers, according to solution providers.

"Big and small companies run on EDI, but no one wants to touch it because it works as it is and it takes so long to get things qualified. Small food suppliers, for example, can't sell to grocery chains if they don't do EDI," said Robert Shear, president of Greystone Solutions, a Boston solution provider specializing in application integration and custom applications. "EDI feeds the supply chain stuff."

The RFID link means BizTalk will now be able to connect to shop-floor applications where gear carries RFID tags. A year ago, Microsoft talked generally about its development of RFID technologies at TechEd and promised deliverables within a year.

Peter Regen, vice president of Unisys' Global Visible Commerce practice, said this is a sign of RFID entering the mainstream. His Reston, Va.-based group helps customers track, trace and secure assets using RFID, satellite and other technology.

"The fact that the world's largest software company now offers RFID products gives customers confidence that we're not relying on small, third-party products," he said. "Specifically, this product is a low-cost solution. They're aiming to make this ubiquitous."

The technology will integrate with SAP and other solutions. The EDI support is also useful because now Biztalk will "let you work in both worlds–the past world of EDI and moving forward into RFID," Regen said.

The new release also will have improved ties to subsystems in the upcoming Office 2007 and Windows Vista. BizTalk 2007 R2 will offer the same workflow with the new Windows Workflow Foundation flowing into the next major release, Microsoft said. The company is expected to talk more about the Windows Workflow plans at TechEd next week in Boston.

This story was updated Wednesday afternoon with additional solution provider comments.

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