Joe Mullich
Freelance Technology Writer
818-907-9109
Microsoft
BUILDING A BETTER B2B
All together now
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Communicating seamlessly
Microsoft's new BizTalk Server 2000 uses XML data formats to allow two entities speaking different languages to communicate with each other. BizTalk Server is a business process orchestration server that coordinates distributed processes that may take from seconds to months to unfold, comprising applications on a variety of platforms, including Windows, UNIX and mainframes. BizTalk can take data from an XML-enabled system and move it to any electronic data interchange (EDI) system or a mainframe application that speaks only in flat files. Companies can build sophisticated applications on top of that foundation.
Such capabilities help make the integration challenge of establishing and managing sophisticated B2B relationships over the Internet quicker, easier and cheaper, proponents say.
In addition, BizTalk Server 2000 can help speed up the integration process, allowing companies to build a first-class e-commerce application in as little as six weeks. That’s a far cry from the past, when it could take many months to integrate an e-commerce application into an organization’s billing and warehousing systems.
BizTalk Server 2000 operates with Windows 2000 messaging services and directories without requiring a great deal of custom coding. That's a key reason the technology was selected by CapitalStream.com, an online market in Seattle, that links banks and commercial lenders with firms that lease computers, real estate and heavy equipment. BizTalk replaces a telephone-and-fax based credit scoring and approval system Jeff Dirks, vice president and e-commerce operating officer for the company, notes that BizTalk meets the tough balancing act of getting to market quickly while providing a scalable, interoperable, secure marketplace.
Other challenges
Security and privacy remain of paramount concern in any integration project. All components of the Microsoft DNA platform are encryptable. Beyond secure socket layer (SSL), companies can use any nonrepudiation mechanism on the market.
BizTalk Server 2000 and Exchange 2000 “are compatible with any public key infrastructure method and certificate mechanisms that ship with Windows 2000," says Sequencia's Saucier. "We [could then] become a certificate authority and have a nonrepudiated method for companies to do business securely."
The cost of a B2B integration system depends on the number of partners and the system's level of sophistication. A "plain vanilla" B2B integration system with basic transactions and 10 trading partners costs about $300,000, according to Ken Vollmer, an analyst at Giga Information Group. "More sophisticated solutions with more partners can cost $1 million to $2 million," he notes.
The entire area of business-to-business integration is in tremendous flux. Some experts advocate using traditional ROI as the metrics of success. "The companies I'm working with are implementing integrated solutions that tie together supply chains and manufacturing processes closer than in the past," Vollmer says. "There are no magic measures. The benefits are the same as in the past: The tighter you can link the supply chain with partners, the less safety stock you need. You can achieve 20% to 30% reductions in lead times and faster production processes. Those things can have a significant impact."
Hollis Bischoff, an analyst with the META Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn., argues that preparing an ROI study takes disproportionate time away from strategic and tactical planning for implementation. She says companies should determine the set of business drivers that require the impetus for a Web presence and use those results to gain funding and approvals.The next wave
The next wave of B2B integration--process improvement--promises to change entire industries. hsupply.com, a B2B exchange in Atlanta, is reinventing procurement for the hospitality supplies industry, which spends $50 billion a year on everything from king-size beds to tiny bottles of shampoo. The exchange manages the entire procurement process, handling product selection, ordering, payment, reporting fulfillment and tracking through one easy-to-use proprietary tool that connects hotel buyers, franchisers and suppliers. (next)