The language of e-Business: Microsoft partnership blends XML and EDI
By Alex Anderson, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 9/1/2003 6:00:00 AM
Microsoft's BizTalk Server is an efficient platform for conducting e-commerce via XML, but it has trouble connecting to traditional EDI networks. That could have been a big problem for Microsoft, since manufacturers often are reluctant to replace their rather expensive EDI infrastructures.
Covast, an Atlanta-based supplier of integration tools, recognized this situation and turned it into an opportunity, forming a partnership under which a Covast product called EDI Accelerator will be sold alongside BizTalk Server. The agreement also calls for EDI Accelerator to be embedded in future versions of BizTalk Server.
EDI Accelerator, which was developed jointly with Microsoft and released in February 2002, enables businesses with significant EDI investments to connect to BizTalk Server, simplifying the migration from EDI to XML.
Frank Kenney, a Gartner analyst, says the Microsoft-Covast relationship will be mutually beneficial. Covast gets added marketing muscle for its product, while Microsoft fills a functionality gap in BizTalk Server. "The use of EDI for B2B commerce is still very pervasive," Kenney says, "and BizTalk didn't really offer what the market saw as a robust enough [EDI application]."
SMI Steel Products offers an example of how manufacturers view deployment of XML and EDI-based e-commerce networks. This Dallas-based company recently installed BizTalk Server and the Covast EDI Accelerator at two of its four mills. Previously, SMI had two servers running a traditional EDI application from Sterling Commerce, Dublin, Ohio. BizTalk requires only one server and uses EDI Accelerator to provide connectivity to about a dozen customers through a value added network (VAN). EDI Accelerator handles the VAN communication, while BizTalk handles data mapping between the EDI feed and SMI's ERP system.
"We believe BizTalk will better serve us moving forward," says Randy Hill, CIO of SMI, although he's not yet ready to completely abandon traditional EDI.
Apps vendors take sides
02/28/2002
Featured Company
Most Recent Resources
- FICO™ Xpress Optimization Suite Schedules Big Profits For Clients
- Strategic Pricing: Three Steps to Higher Profit Margins
- Driving Innovation Through Lean Product Development Practices
- Demand Planning Maturity Model Strategies for Demand-Driven...
- Simulation-Driven Product Development:Will Form Finally Follow...
