The vision for BizTalk vNext aka OSLO - models are the applications

I often get asked by the customers how the vNext of BizTalk is going to look like...there is some exciting news on this frontier..

The launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, .NET Framework 3.5 and SQL Server 2008 (with which customers can achieve a very solid, dynamic, scalable and reliable enterprise platform) provides the basic foundation stone for the next generation of SOA and Web-based applications spanning "on premise" software and ‘in the cloud' services, an approach we call "Software + Services". Two key areas of investments have been made:

To deliver a world class SOA platform across client, server, and cloud. We have been a thought leader in Web services and SOA technologies since the very beginning and have delivered industry leading technologies such as the WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) and BizTalk Server.

To deliver a world class and mainstream modeling platform that helps the roles of IT collaborate and enables better integration between IT and the business. The modeling platform enables higher level descriptions, so called declarative descriptions, of the application.

This set of technical investments will unify our services and modeling platforms, by moving from a world where models describe the application to a world where models are the application. This will bridge the traditional gap bewteen the IT Pros & Business Analysts. This effort is also called "OSLO". Click here to view what some of our Senior Leaders have to say. Click here for the BizTalk roadmap.