Systems Integration with BizTalk Server

BizTalk Server is an integration server that uses a publish and subscribe architecture. It's designed for eBusiness applications that use adapters to receive and send messages, implement business processes through orchestration, and include management and tracking of these different parts. BizTalk Server also includes trading partner management for business-to-business messaging, high availability to maximize uptime, a development platform to create your own components, an administration console to manage your artifacts, and business activity monitoring to manage aggregations, alerts, and profiles. This technology stack provides a range of functionality and features for developing, implementing, operating, and maintaining your solution.

BizTalk Server provides the following integration services that you can use in conjunction with Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet (BTARN). For more information about BizTalk Server integration services, see BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet.

Message Integration

BizTalk Server integrates different entities (departments, business partners, vendors) by automating message exchange. It uses XML as a common communication protocol. It uses XML Schema Definition (XSD) schemas to describe and validate messages, and XSL Transformations (XSLT) to transform data from one message to another.

The BizTalk Server integration engine routes messages from one location to another. It features a publisher/subscriber model that enables one department to publish a document, and another to subscribe to it. The subscribing department can subscribe to the message without the publishing department knowing about it. This enables efficient handling of partner organizations, replacing point-to-point communications with a flexible hub-spoke arrangement.

Business Process Automation

BizTalk Server automates and integrates business processes by using a process map referred to as an orchestration to link a set of distinct, related actions in a single process. By creating an orchestration, you can link steps based on data exchange and analysis, such as message receiving, message sending, decisions, loops, and other operations. With an orchestration, you can create a business process that will run automatically when an event occurs.

Using BizTalk Server, you can dynamically change a process based on business rules. This gives you the flexibility to change the actions taken in an orchestrated process according to business considerations. An example is restricting the approval process for billing orders to those orders over a certain threshold.

Integration of Heterogeneous Systems

BizTalk Server can integrate IT systems in a heterogeneous environment in which systems transmit data in different communications protocols. It does so by using adapters to connect to systems using different protocols. It supports using File, FTP, HTTP, SMTP, SOAP, and SQL adapters. You can create custom adapters by using the BizTalk Adapter Framework. For more information, see create custom adapters.

Role-Based Tools

BizTalk Server is a development and execution environment in which developers, IT professionals, and business professionals collaborate to create, implement, operate, maintain, and customize the system. BizTalk Server provides each of these roles with tools customized to their use.

For more information, see A Role-Based Product, and About the RosettaNet accelerator.

See Also

How BizTalk Server Solves the Business Need
What BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Adds to BizTalk Server