|
MSFT tests commerce ware
|
 |
August 14, 2000: 4:59 p.m. ET
Biztalk Server 2000 software to link different computing systems
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Microsoft Corp. on Monday launched a test version of electronic commerce software designed to make it much cheaper and easier for companies to manage the exchange of goods, services, and market information over the Web.
A test version of the new product, called Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000, can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft Web site. BizTalk Server is part of the .NET platform Microsoft announced on June 22.
 Most companies now use custom-designed software to link applications together and run business functions, such as supply-chain and inventory management. This can be time-consuming and involves the use of high-priced human labor.
"In the B2B economy, I want all of the resources that are important to my business -- whether it's my own employees, my suppliers, or my partners --tied into a single network that takes the cost and complexity out of the day-to-day job of running a business," said David Wascha, Microsoft's product manager for BizTalk Server 2000, in a news release. "To attempt to do that today, you need a small army of high-priced developers and a lot of time, and there is no guarantee that when they are done you'll have what you are aiming for."
Microsoft's (MSFT: Research, Estimates) aim with BizTalk is to create an out-of-the box way for companies to connect different applications and use them for Internet-based commerce. It takes advantage of the XML language, which is a standardized, platform-independent way to exchange data over the internet, much as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a set of standards that let Web users exchange information found on Web pages.
Once applications are connected within a company or between companies, BizTalk enables those applications to run together to manage a business process, such as filling customer orders or managing inventory.
"The Internet and technologies like XML are reaching the point of maturity where companies are connecting internal applications and business partners, but what they are finding is that there is still this huge problem of orchestration," Wascha said.
In an interview with CNNfn.com, Wascha said that many of the companies that sell e-commerce software make five times as much revenue from consulting services needed to install and integrate the software than they do from the software itself. By providing an out-of-the box solution, BizTalk can cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting costs, Wascha said.
"These companies have no incentive to make their software easy to use if they can charge $100,000 for someone to assemble it," he said.
Microsoft aims to release a commercial version of BizTalk at the end of the year. While the company hasn't announced pricing for the product, the pricing is expected to be based on how many central processors the servers running it have.
BizTalk will compete with software from IBM, webMethods, and possibly future offerings from Oracle. Last May, webMethods (WEBM: Research, Estimates) strengthened its competitive position against Microsoft in the application integration market by agreeing to acquire Active Software (ASWX: Research, Estimates) for $1.3 billion in stock. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
