Chatty Microsoft Is All BizTalk

R2 releases are available to Software Assurance subscribers for no extra charge. Other enterprises must pay as if the software is a new version. Microsoft started this R2 practice with Windows Server 2003, as the company seeks to align product development with annuity contracts and to encourage more customers to add on Software Assurance.

"The vast majority of BizTalk customers have Software Assurance," said Steven Martin, Microsoft's director of the Connected Systems Product Management. One reason: "Regular shipments."

BizTalk Server definitely releases on a more frequent schedule than many other Microsoft products, and Martin is proud of the achievement. "This has been one of the best records for shipping in the company," he said.

BizTalk Server 2006 launched in November 2005 with SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 but wasn't available for about another six months. Microsoft launched BizTalk Server 2004 in March 2004. The recent release schedule is unusually brisk for server software.

The shipment record and high number of Software Assurance customers raise a question: Has the BizTalk group caught onto something that other Microsoft development divisions should copy?

SharePoint Server is another example of Microsoft back-end software releasing on a fairly brisk schedule. Both products have deep ties with Office 2003 or Office 2007—and Microsoft claims brisk BizTalk and SharePoint adoption growth. The strongest update for both products appears to be among larger enterprises with Software Assurance in place.

Microsoft issues annuity contracts on two- or three-year terms. However, if Microsoft fails to ship an upgrade during the contract term, the customer loses out and pays for something not delivered. Microsoft makes no promise, nor is it under any contractual obligation, to deliver new product versions within the two- or three-year period. The R2 releases are part of Microsoft's effort to release something every two years.

Maybe, it's coincidence, but BizTalk and Sharepoint servers consistently and reliably ship.

Something else: Both products anchor Microsoft's push into information processing, anchored around Office. Microsoft positions BizTalk Server for SOA (service-oriented architecture) and BPM (business process management) functions.

BizTalk's Office integration is fairly deep, with .NET Framework as the glue, so to speak. The graphic above displays the concentric circles of Microsoft's integration strategy, with .NET Framework at the core. The approach also resonates well with Software Assurance.

By the way, the BizTalk group's level of organization and efficiency doesn't end with the software. The PR team provided lots of material about the BizTalk Server 2006 R2, including a data sheet with quotes from eight analysts. The information is appreciated, but we do our own reporting, thank you.

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• Microsoft Software: Rent Me, Microsoft Watch, July 20, 2007
• Software Assurance Storm Warning, Microsoft Watch, July 9, 2007
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• Software Reassurance, Microsoft Watch, February 19, 2007