Introduction

I was in the San Jose airport several days ago, and a fellow passenger on my flight noticed the backpack I was carrying. On it was the BizTalk 2010 logo – I’ve carried the backpack for seven years. He asked if I worked with BizTalk, and mentioned that he had heard of the product. The rest of the conversation was about other technologies; the only other mention of BizTalk was that he understood it to be an extremely complex server platform.

Several things stood out to me about this conversation.

First, I’ve traveled extensively over my career of 17-plus years, and this was the first time anyone ever asked me about BizTalk as a platform. BizTalk has always had a limited audience. There have been rumors since its inception that it was being discontinued. However, there are organizations that have implemented it and now depend on it. These organizations would be very hard pressed to find another platform that provides similar functionality. Very few organizations move away from BizTalk. Generally, once the platform is adopted, it stays.

Second, of those people who have heard of BizTalk, few have actually developed on it. It is a special skill set that can work with the product. Being able to work within an organization and know a platform that can be used to easily integrate internal systems or interact with external entities is a rare ability, and one that will allow you to work in a variety of capacities and with many systems and platforms. BizTalk and integration are both very valuable skills. Being able to converse across platforms and discuss how data can be shared continues to be very important.

BizTalk is a niche product, but its place in the Microsoft offerings has been rock solid. It is a platform that has lasted for 17 years, and will likely be around for many more. Knowing the full product is important, as each organization uses different components of it. Understanding the business rules engine, business activity monitoring, the use and configuration of the various adapters, and the EDI engine is important as a BizTalk developer.

I am certain that BizTalk won’t generate another conversation for me in an airport in a very long time. But I am certain that there are organizations that need skilled people right now to help them with their BizTalk implementations. I know that many of these organizations need to upgrade to the latest version of BizTalk, and that many need to reexamine their solutions and update their code base. The topics in this book should provide approaches that will simplify these activities and help ensure the final result will last for years to come.