PDC05 - Day 2 Windows Workflow Musings

  • Article

So finally, we can talk about Windows Workflow Foundation, one of the worst kept PDC05
secrets of the last day or so! First of all, some links
to the key information, the beta download, and the now-available book ...

All in all, neat stuff. However, please note that Windows Workflow Foundation does NOT replace the need for BizTalk Server!
There are specific use cases for each offering that are fairly clear cut. I'll spend some time walking through the toolset, and identifying the various differentiating
points over the coming months. At the end of the day, Windows Workflow Foundation is really a framework for building embedded workflow,
whereas BizTalk Server is an enterprise-ready, scalable messaging engine with technology/application adapters, business rules, BAM,
trading partner management, application workflow, B2B workflow, single sign on, and so forth. BizTalk represents an entire EAI/B2B/BPM platform,
while Windows Workflow Foundation provides base level functions for embedded workflow. Clear as mud?