Sep 11, 2007This article was originally published by RFID Update.
September 11, 2007—Microsoft officially announced the availability of BizTalk Server 2006 R2, the software solution designed to seamlessly connect an enterprise's processes and applications. One of the new features most touted by the software giant is its enhanced support for RFID.
"This is the first time that we've shipped any RFID technology from Microsoft," Microsoft Connected Systems Division director Burley Kawasaki was quoted.
The product has been a long time coming, and some in the industry believe it could have a materially positive effect on RFID adoption as it makes sophisticated RFID data capture and management capabilities affordable and accessible to smaller enterprises. Microsoft itself is pushing that angle. "By entering the market with its own BizTalk RFID software, Microsoft could help kick off a wave of adoption, by helping to standardize technology and reduce costs for RFID on the Windows platform," said B. Robert Helm, director of research at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.
Adding meat to such proclamations is the list of partners that have announced support for the new solution, among them Avery Dennison, Intermec, Sirit, and Xterprise. As a participant in the BizTalk 2006 R2 Technology Adoption Program, Xterprise had announced support for a pre-release version of BizTalk Server 2006 R2 earlier this year, and the company has already deployed a solution based on the software that is processing millions of RFID transactions per month.
"With the very credible set of RFID partners available from release, Microsoft has a serious entry," commented Simon Holloway of Bloor Research.
Read the announcement from Microsoft
