Microsoft launches BizTalk Server 06

Microsoft has officially launched BizTalk Server 2006, and outlined tighter integration between the networking tool and the latest version of its CRM software - CRM 3.0 - which was launched last year.

At the BizTalk launch, which took place at the London Stock Exchange, the software giant also announced it has "greatly simplified the licensing" of BizTalk and reduced the costs.

David Gale, a launch customer with Derby City Council, claimed that since using BizTalk 2006 with Microsoft CRM 3.0 his organisation has been able to make some real cost savings.

Derby is part of a unitary authority so all the services offered by the various branches of government and input from the private sector are brought under one roof through the Derby City Partnership. According to Gale, the various elements can plug in to the system as they are required, using Microsoft CRM and BizTalk.

Gale said: "As we get a new requirement, we can roll out a new BizTalk service with CRM 3.0, at around £2,000 to £3,000 a pop. That's a completely new service from scratch - a small part of what you would expect it to cost."

A major criticism of BizTalk in the past has been the sheer complexity of trying to establish the costs of an application that can be spread across many different systems and software platforms.

Microsoft is now selling BizTalk for $29,999 for an enterprise licence, $8,499 for a standard licence and $499 for a developer's licence.

Microsoft also announced it was extending the software application plug-ins that would now come as part of BizTalk, including support for all of Oracle's family of applications - JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Siebel - according to Steve Martin, Microsoft's director of business process management.

Martin did not include some other notables, including Salesforce.com and SAP.

Colin Barker writes for ZDNet UK