BizTalk: E-Commerce the Microsoft Way II (Comments) - exploring XML

BizTalk: E-Commerce the Microsoft Way II

Comments

Craig Erickson of Flo Technologies, LLC, a company offering BizTalk training and consulting services, has some first hand experience to share, published with permission:

Regarding Michael Claßen's article, "BizTalk: E-Commerce the Microsoft Way":

"While the title of your article is appropriate for Microsoft's strategy for BizTalk, there is still too much misrepresentation of Microsoft's support for open standards regarding BizTalk. Our company, Flo Technologies, LLC supports XML standards, while offering BizTalk training and consulting services. We educate our clients about why BizTalk doesn't support W3C XML standards like XML Schemas, or initiatives like ebXML and Open Applications Group BODs. Then we show them how to convert standards-compliant schemas to work with BizTalk using non-Microsoft tools and hand-coded techniques.

"FYI, the BizTalk.org site has been mostly abandoned by Microsoft. You cannot contribute schemas or update/delete existing schemas, and Microsoft has not responded to emails about this problem.

"Our company has done a private survey of BizTalk.org schema contributors and found that probably less than 5% of all schemas are actually used. Microsoft declined to help sponsor the schema library at xml.org, when it was created by OASIS (of which Microsoft is a member). The result has been a siphoning off of well-intentioned schema developers into an embarrassing promotion of the BizTalk Framework.

"I encourage you to check out the ebXML Registry specs at https://www.oasis-open.org/committees/regrep/. This is the way schemas should be managed, and the xml.org registry is hoping to implement it this year. Personally, I like BizTalk Server, and think it has alot to offer. I just wish Microsoft would support international industry standards and shut down BizTalk.org."

Craig Erickson
Flo Technologies, LLC
www.flotechnologies.com

Produced by Michael Claßen

URL: https://www.webreference.com/xml/column48/2.html
Created: Jan 21, 2002
Revised: Jan 21, 2002