Great news for the BizTalk community, after many speculations about the end of BizTalk after Tony Meleg’s session and with the upcoming integration features of Azure, Microsoft just released today the announcement of Microsoft BizTalk Server vNext.
For now, this version is called BizTalk Server 2010 R2 (you can see the full announcement here).
📝 One-Minute Brief
This post officially announces the next version of Microsoft BizTalk Server, initially dubbed “BizTalk Server 2010 R2” (later released as BizTalk 2013). The roadmap focuses on three key pillars: modern platform support (Windows Server 8, SQL Server 2012), improved B2B capabilities (HIPAA 5010, SWIFT 2012), and cloud readiness through tighter integration with Azure Service Bus and new flexible licensing models.
When can we expect this release?
BizTalk Server 2010 R2 will be delivered approximately 6 months following the release of Windows Server 8. Release timing for Windows Server 8 is yet to be announced and will be disclosed by the Windows Server team in the future.
What can we expect from this release?
BizTalk Server 2010 R2 will focus on three primary themes:
- Platform Support – Supporting new and current server and development platforms
- Improved B2B – Aligning with industry standards and continuing to invest in performance improvements
- Ready for the Cloud – Enabling customers to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing
Platform Support:
- New Platforms and Infrastructure:
- Windows Server 8. (*)
- SQL Server 2012. (*)
- Increased Developer and IT Productivity:
- Visual Studio 11 (*) and Windows 8 (*) to develop solutions.
- In-place migration from BizTalk Server 2010.
- Extended Platform Integration:
- DB2 client connectivity to SQL Server, conversion of commands to T-SQL, and migration of packages to stored procedures.
- Adapter connectivity to new data sources, including IBM Informix V11 and IBM IMS/DB V11.
Improved B2B:
- Agile Alignment to Industry Standards
- Regular updates to schemas, accelerators, certifications, and adapters. Highlights include:
- Healthcare: HIPAA 5010 extensions: 2777CA, 999, HL7 2.5.1
- Finance: SWIFT SRG 2011 support, SWIFT SRG 2012, SWIFTNet 7.0 (new messaging platform)
- Improved Performance and Scalability
- HL7 MLLP adapter performance improvements
- Better performance with ordered send ports
- Enhanced scale-out configuration with multiple hosts
- Expanded adapter options for faster batch processing
Ready for the Cloud:
- Extend on-premises solutions to the cloud
- Easily extend your on-premises BizTalk Server solution to the cloud in a secure manner
- Tighter integration of on-premises BizTalk Server applications with Windows Azure Service Bus
- Improved Licensing
- Adjustments to licensing that are geared towards cloud hosting, including:
- Purchase from a hoster on a monthly basis (SPLA)
- Register your existing license with a hoster (License Mobility)
Note: (*) Release dates for these products have not been disclosed yet
With this release, Microsoft continues to deliver a mature, reliable, and stable integration server that honors the trust of the thousands of customers who run their mission-critical business processes on BizTalk Server.
