XML / BizTalk
Omicron’s History with XML and BizTalk
1998 – Omicron’s First XML project
Omicron’s early support of key technologies continued in December of 1997. Omicron had the chance to bid on an RFP for what became a product in the content management space. Recognizing the serendipity of the still evolving specification from the W3C, Omicron made XML a core architectural element of the bid and then the software offering. In these early days, it was just a matter of what XML parser to use as how to use XML. The XML parsers varied greatly in performance and compatibility.
1998 – Omicron’s BizTalk History
Due to our early support of XML, Omicron recognized the value of a platform like BizTalk (from Microsoft) in March of 1998 and published the position paper: “Impact of BizTalk Initiative to the Industry”. This was before the first NDA conference of BizTalk to a group of venders in May of 1998. The conclusion of the paper puts BizTalk Initiative (not yet even a product) in perspective:
“Microsoft will propel the industry toward interoperability with BizTalk by making this enabling XML technology generally available at each tier of the commerce pipeline. In addition to the creation of standard XML schemas based on XML-Data for common business transactions and interaction, Microsoft will incorporate XML capabilities into products such as Office, SQL Server, and Site Server. The goal will be to enable partners…”
Two years later, in March of 2000, Omicron publishes the first book on BizTalk (Via SAM Publishing) almost a full year ahead of the first release of Microsoft BizTalk.
Why XML?
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is helping companies improve computer-to-computer communications over the Internet. This new language gives businesses the ability to both structure the information they exchange and define how that information should be presented. XML will have an important and lasting impact because it improves the way companies - and applications - share information. XML lowers the technical barriers to Internet communications by giving developers a consistent way to create new data formats. Because XML is extensible, firms can begin with a format that supports a simple exchange and expand that foundation to meet new demands as they emerge.
Why BizTalk in a Hub-and-Spoke Architecture
In a point-to-point topology, applications that exchange information communicate with each connected system through a separate interface. To build an interface, the sending and receiving systems must establish a connection and exchange data in a mutually acceptable data format and messaging protocol. If there are several systems that are recipients for the same type of information, the sender may have to implement several distinct interfaces, each with its own transmission and security controls.
An alternative is to establish an interface from each participating system to a central hub. The hub assumes responsibility for routing and distribution of messages. The result of the hub-and-spoke topology is that the number of interfaces to each system is reduced. The work that is required when a adding a new recipient is limited to one side of the hub – the other participating systems in the message flow are unaffected.
Business Process Monitoring (BPM)
Leveraging a hub-and-spoke architecture allows for a Business Process Monitoring (BPM) system to be created. This architecture results in a system that will maintain a record of the data that is received from all systems, and will track all actions performed on the data. This “audit trail” not only satisfies the requirements set forth in many interpretations of today’s regulatory areas such as 21 CFR Part 11 regulation or Sarbanes-Oxley, but also will enable users to perform various preset and ad-hoc analyses concerning performance, throughput, lag times and error rates. This allows users to get a snapshot of the business processes that the hub is responsible to facilitate.
Our experience has taught us everything...
See how we have helped a few of our customers:
How to Leverage Omicron and BizTalk
Omicron has created a series of services to help companies take advantage of our deep understanding of XML and BizTalk. These services vary in scope and duration. The value of the methodology of these projects allows customers not only to leverage our deep and intimate knowledge of all of BizTalk, but also to come up to speed quickly on the technology. Turn to the people who Microsoft turns to in order to help customers adopt BizTalk. Take advantage of our BizTalk Workshop and BPM Assessment solutions. |
