Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Unleashed: Developer's Guide

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Unleashed is your tool to unleash the power of Microsoft's BizTalk Server 2004. Learn how to use the server as an enterprise application integration tool and how to exploit its key strengths to orchestrate e-commerce business processes in B2B and B2C environments. Providing complete coverage of system architecture, application integration, messaging and migration, Unleashed also illustrates practical application of the server through an entire section dedicated to real-world case studies of businesses using BizTalk Server 2004 on a daily basis. As seen in these examples, there can be obstacles along the way to success, but Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Unleashed will help you overcome each one.

Scott Woodgate is a Lead Product Manager for BizTalk Server at Microsoft corporate campus in Redmond. Scott has been a member of the product team since the heady days when BizTalk Server was merely a code name. He currently manages the BizTalk Server technical product management team. His team provides worldwide technical readiness, competitive analysis, and plans future versions of the product on the basis of customer, partner, and analyst feedback. Scott has contributed to two previous BizTalk Server books; he holds five university degrees, including a PhD in Organometallic Chemistry specializing in osmabenzenes, and he is a huge fan of his native country New Zealand's major sport, rugby.

Stephen Mohr is a senior software systems architect with Omicron Consulting and XMLabs in Philadelphia, USA. He has more than 15 years of experience developing software and systems for various platforms. Stephen is the author of numerous books for Wrox and Que and has spoken at a variety of international conferences. He has research interests in distributed computing using service-oriented architectures. Stephen holds BS and MS degrees in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Based in San Diego, Brian Loesgen is a principal consultant with Neudesic, a firm that specializes in .NET development and Microsoft Server integration. Brian is a Microsoft MVP for BizTalk Server 2004. Brian has more than 18 years of experience in building advanced enterprise and mobile solutions. He is a coauthor of the Professional XML, Professional ASP/XML, Professional Windows DNA, Professional ASP.NET Web Services, and Professional VB.NET Web Services books from Wrox. In addition, Brian has written technical white papers for Intel, Microsoft, and others. Brian has spoken at numerous major technical conferences worldwide. Brian is a cofounder and President of the International .NET Association (ineta.org). He is the President of the San Diego .NET user group, leads the San Diego Software Industry Council Web Services SIG, and is a member of the Editorial Board for the .NET Developer's Journal.

Susie Adams is a MTC Technical Director with Microsoft Corporation. She has more than 18 years of application integration and development experience and currently focuses her attention on the architecture, design, and integration of service-oriented enterprise Web applications as well as traditional Enterprise Integration (EAI) using .NET and BizTalk Server. She has contributed to several industry technical journals, was the lead author of BizTalk Server Unleashed, a contributing author of Visual InterDev Unleashed, bothpublished by Sams, and a contributing author of Microsoft Press's Visual InterDev 6.0 Enterprise Developer's Workshop. She has spoken at several industry trade show conferences, including the Visual Basic Insider Technical Summit (VBITS), Microsoft Developer Days, and Microsoft TechEd. Susie can be reached at susiea@microsoft.com.

Alex Cobb is a Senior Technical Product Manager in the Business Process and Integration division of Microsoft Corporation. He has been a member of the BizTalk Server team for four years. Alex is a frequent speaker at Microsoft events and conferences. Prior to joining Microsoft, Alex held both technical and business positions in the financial services and international trade industries. Alex received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Colorado.

Benjamin Goeltz is a system architect specializing in the enterprise application integration space. He has designed and implemented solutions for each version of BizTalk Server and was heavily involved with prerelease versions of BizTalk Server 2004 and its associated adapters. Ben's work has been focused in the energy, professional sports, manufacturing, and food processing and distribution industries, where he has deployed solutions integrating both internal (EAI) and external (B2B) systems to support mission-critical business processes. In addition to his client work, Ben has authored content used in BizTalk Server 2004's help file, as well as a published white paper on the product. Ben works for the Bellevue, WA branch of the Interlink Group (http://www.ilg.com), which is a Microsoft Gold Partnered consulting firm headquartered in Denver, CO.

Brandon Gross is a solution architect for the services company Interlink. He received a degree in Information Systems and Accounting from the University of Washington. Since graduation, Brandon has worked on Microsoft-based integration projects for medium-to-large enterprise clients in a wide range of industries, including government, resources, high-tech manufacturing, and the software industry. He has experience in a breadth of Microsoft technologies, including Com+, .NET, BizTalk 2002, and most recently, BizTalk 2004. He also has experience with industry business-to-business standards, including RosettaNet and OAGIS.

Chris Whytock works as a software engineer in Microsoft's business process and integration division. In his seven years of professional engineering, he has developed applications in a wide range of fields, including graphics, precision measurement, audio/video processing, and business processes. He has also written for MSDN and has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Waterloo.

Erik Leaseburg has been a consultant with Microsoft Premier Services for the past five years. He works with .NET and BizTalk Server early adopter partners and customers to provide training, support, consulting, and architectural guidance. Erik's technical focus areas include .NET and COM-based architectures, BizTalk Server 2000/2002/2004, .NET integration, deployment, operations, monitoring, support, and .NET development/migration. He has been a consultant for 10 years developing applications, Web sites, and EAI architectures that span multiple operating systems and environments.

Gavin Islip is a consultant with the Microsoft Services Partner Advantage group based in Issaquah, Washington. He works with major Microsoft partners, including Independent Software Vendors and System Integrators, to help them develop solutions based on Microsoft technology. He is currently working at the Unisys Microsoft Innovation Center in Redmond where he helped develop the BizTalk Server 2004 Certification Program. Gavin has been a software development consultant for eight years, spending the last four years working at Microsoft. In his previous life he worked as a professional trombonist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Imran Aziz has a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has worked in the software industry for more than eight years in varying roles, such as software design engineer, development consultant, and program management. He is currently working at Microsoft as a lead program manager in the business process and integration division.

Kevin Smith has worked for Microsoft for the past six and a half years. He worked as a software design engineer in the core engine team for BizTalk Server 2000 and 2002 and was the Technical Lead SDE for the Messaging Sub-Service for the BizTalk Server 2004 release. He now works for Microsoft Consulting Services in the U.K., helping customers architect enterprise solutions using BizTalk Server 2004.

Michael Roze is a Software Design Engineer with Microsoft Corporation and Redmond, USA. He has worked on the BizTalk team for over 2 years with expertise in Performance, Scalability, High Availability and distributed computing. He has over 14 years experience developing software and systems for various platforms. He has also consulted on Microsoft and other competitive technologies.

Naveen Goli is a Test Lead with Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, USA. He is currently working with the BizTalk Server product unit at Microsoft Corporation. He has more than 12 years of experience developing software and systems on Unix and Windows platforms. Naveen holds a postgraduate Diploma in International Trade from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in India and a MS degree in computer science from Monmouth University.

Puru Amradkar is currently working as Program Manager on the BizTalk team with Microsoft Corporation.

Stephen Roger is a director with Interlink in Seattle, Washington. He has more than 15 years of experience in developing business applications, with a current focus on solutions based on integration technologies such as BizTalk Server. Interlink has been designing and building solutions with BizTalk Server since its initial release in December 2000.