This hour Microsoft launched an important release to BizTalk Server 2006, called R2.  Don’t ask me why they did not just call it BizTalk Server 2007.  At this point, they could have even pulled off 2008.  Frankly, the release is significant enough in my mind.  Certainly, the hours we put behind developing automated interfaces with GXS Trading Grid warrant it.  But, R2 works. 

One thing that is particularly cool in the new version is the automatic fashion by which a BizTalk user can synchronize trading partner information automatically with their customers on-line via GXS Trading Grid.   Embedded, pre-configured Web services make requesting, formalizing, mediating and testing a new trading partner relationship a snap.  It really is as simple as the great ‘1-Click’ Amazon Prime feature or the easy-to-use ‘Accept’ button on LinkedIn.  It’s called GXS Trading Grid for BizTalk Server.

When Microsoft selected GXS Trading Grid in 2006 as its recommended network for BizTalk Server, we simultaneously took the opportunity to work with BizTalk with equal enthusiasm.  After all, BizTalk is the most popular integration software package in the market, with (my guess) 40% market share by number of customers.   **Note, Microsoft highlights GXS on the new BizTalk R2 home page in several places (http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/default.mspx) including support for GXS Trading Grid for BizTalk Server and recognition of our gold medal ‘Power of Partnerships’ award from START-IT Magazine!

What does this mean practically?  A customer using Microsoft BizTalk to integrate their internal business applications can – via a single connection to GXS Trading Grid – integrate with one, ten, hundreds, or thousands of trading partners regardless of the protocol (http, ftp, AS2, etc) and message formats (EDI, RosettaNet, CIDX, PIDX, etc) required by each partner.  Last week, we helped one BizTalk customer, for example,  easily integrate with a set of partners requiring support for TRADACOMS – an EDI standard popular in the UK. 

In B2B integration, exciting times are just beginning.