Microsoft BizTalk was once Microsoft’s go-to platform for building and running integrations between applications and at some organizations BizTalk has been running on their servers for more than 20 years.
With the rise of modern integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions it’s a good idea to reevaluate your current BizTalk implementation. There are several benefits that iPaaS can bring into the game like scalability, cost reduction and independence.
What is Microsoft Biztalk?
Microsoft BizTalk Server is an enterprise integration platform that enables the automation and orchestration of business processes by facilitating the exchange of information between different systems. It features Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) patterns you would expect in an integration platform like message transformation and message routing. Adapters with different protocols can be used to exchange messages between BizTalk and other systems or trading partners.
Windows and SQL Server as a foundation
BizTalk Server is a traditional piece of software, requiring you to meet system requirements for the (virtual) servers you’ll want it to run on and a specific Windows Server version as an operating system.
Besides this foundation, BizTalk is heavily dependent on Microsoft SQL Server as its underlying database. BizTalk Server uses SQL Server to store configuration data, tracking data, and other metadata related to its operation. Information about messages, orchestrations, tracking data, and other operational details is stored in various databases that are running on SQL Server.
Version history & future
Microsoft BizTalk has been around for a while, with versions going back to the first release in the year 2000. While each version offered new functionality and updated compatibility with .NET Frameworks and Microsoft’s Visual Studio, BizTalk in its core hasn’t changed that much over time. It’s worth noticing that it took 4 years for the latest installment BizTalk 2020 to arrive since the predecessor in 2016. These are some characteristics of a software product that is mature and stable on the one hand but lacks the bigger innovations on the other.
Why migrate?
Why should you embark on a journey to migrate a solution that has been running solidly for years to other technology? Let’s dive into a couple of topics IT organizations with BizTalk can evaluate.
Innovating your integrations
Microsoft’s product lifecycle webpage states mainstream support will end in 2028 with the possibility for extended support until 2030. This is quite some time looking from a support perspective, although during extended support only security patches will be available. With the industry heavily focusing on cloud-native solutions, organizations with BizTalk implementations are left with the burning question if innovation will be top priority in the next coming years.
The integration ecosystem is shifting towards cloud-native solutions, serverless architectures, and microservices, where BizTalk might not seamlessly fit and poses challenges like:
- Hindering the adoption of emerging technologies
- Limiting the ability to capitalize on innovations like AI-driven integration, event-driven architecture, and more.
In the end, true innovation comes from the organization’s capacity to swiftly respond to changing business requirements by taking advantage of cutting-edge integration capabilities.
Specific knowledge
Mastering BizTalk in integration projects can be a challenge on its own. Besides learning how to use BizTalk itself and ensuring Windows Server runs smoothly, a DBA role within your organization is needed to maintain SQL Server. BizTalk also requires additional developer skills. This might be limited to XML related techniques, but for more complex data transformations that can’t be achieved using the BizTalk Mapper’s visual tools, you will need to use C# for custom XSLT transformations or data handling.
While .Net developers are certainly out there, finding people with all mentioned skills is going to be a challenge. With a long learning curve and other options for integration stacks, mastering yourself in BizTalk technology also isn’t something the average IT professional is aiming for.
Costs of the platform
What costs are applicable to keep BizTalk running? First off, software licenses for BizTalk Server, Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server. If requirements like load balancing/high availability are part of the game, a more expensive SQL Enterprise license is needed to create SQL clusters. The second cost driver is to run this software stack on an infrastructure. In most cases an on-premise datacenter or managed private hosting will provide the server/VM capacity.
However, beyond the initial setup, ongoing maintenance and administration costs also contribute to the TCO. System updates, security patches, and performance optimizations demand dedicated administrative efforts, potentially requiring a skilled IT team.
Cloud adoption barrier
Many organizations have invested heavily in their BizTalk solutions, which often involve intricate integrations, custom adapters, and specific configurations tailored to on-premises setups and mission-critical applications. Shifting these applications to the cloud or migrating to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications can pose significant challenges when BizTalk, historically woven into the on-premise variants of these applications, is introducing a significant barrier to cloud adoption.
In a greenfield situation, a pick and choose of SaaS applications and an integration platform that suits them best is a rather smooth cloud adaption process. Shifting core applications that are integrated with BizTalk to SaaS on the other hand introduces a significant paradigm change. Reevaluation on the following topics is inevitable:
- Residency of data that initially was stored on premise
- Security measures that apply to (public) clouds
- Differences in infrastructure and protocols between on premise and cloud
- Potential reconfiguration of integration patterns
Overcoming the cloud adoption barrier demands a careful balance between preserving the historical investment in BizTalk and capitalizing on the benefits offered by SaaS, such as scalability and agility, all while ensuring a seamless continuity of business processes.
How to move forward?
The paradox of BizTalk lies in its historical intent to facilitate the decoupling of applications while nowadays it’s presenting the challenge of potential lock-in due to its legacy.
Like with all migrations, there are several ways to proceed. As with any modernization effort, multiple paths forward exist. These can be divided into technology choices and migration scenarios.
Migration scenarios
Migrating from on-premises BizTalk Server to modern cloud providers or iPaaS involves careful planning and execution. There are common migration scenarios to consider, each with their own level of cloud adoption.
1. Rehosting / replatforming
Lift and shift your existing BizTalk environment to the cloud and make optional adjustments to leverage cloud services. For Windows Server and SQL Server, which are integral to running BizTalk, you’ll need to provision Virtual Machines (VMs) in the cloud’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This involves configuring VMs with the necessary resources and software specifications to meet BizTalk’s requirements.
This translates to provisioning Windows Server and SQL Server VMs on cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, or GCP. While all IaaS providers offer scalability and flexibility, some cloud platforms offer the option to bring your on-premises Windows and SQL Server licenses. This allows organizations to leverage existing investments and optimize costs when migrating to cloud IaaS.
2. Hybrid deployment
Maintain some BizTalk components on-premises while gradually migrating others to the cloud. This allows for a phased approach to migration, providing a smoother transition for organizations with complex integration landscapes.
In a hybrid deployment, certain elements of the BizTalk infrastructure, such as specific orchestrations or adapters, may be migrated to the cloud. This can be achieved by connecting on-premise and cloud resources, ensuring seamless communication between the two environments. This approach is suitable for organizations with specific compliance requirements, legacy systems, or dependencies that necessitate the gradual shift.
3. Rearchitecting for cloud-native solutions
The most future-proof scenario involves rearchitecting integrations using modern cloud-native integration capabilities. Existing BizTalk orchestrations are decomposed into smaller, reusable, loosely coupled integration flows. Organizations should redesign with API-led architecture or message/event brokers in mind to further decouple services.
Although this approach requires a paradigm shift and more effort upfront, it delivers the highest long-term value in terms of agility, maintainability, and innovation.
A modern iPaaS approach
When pursuing the rearchitecting path described in scenario 3, organizations face a key decision: should they assemble their integration landscape from individual cloud services, or adopt a comprehensive integration platform?
Rather than rebuilding an integration landscape from individual cloud services, many organizations choose an integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) as an alternative to BizTalk’s legacy architecture.
Functionality-wise, an iPaaS is equipped to offer integration core capabilities like pre-built connectors, message orchestration, transformation, monitoring and API management. This will cover integration scenarios currently handled by BizTalk and enables modern integration patterns.
Unlike traditional middleware like BizTalk, cloud-native iPaaS platforms operate on a consumption-based model and offer elastic scalability and multi-tenancy. This is something a demarcated BizTalk Server setup isn’t up to. Organizations pay for what they use, while infrastructure, patching, and platform maintenance are handled by the vendor. This significantly reduces operational complexity and administrative overhead.
Boomi enterprise platform
A platform like Boomi excels at delivering integration capabilities in a low-code development environment. Apart from traditional application integration capabilities, Boomi offers a comprehensive integration suite that extends far beyond what legacy platforms like BizTalk provide:
- Data integration & management: Beyond message-based application integration, Boomi excels at data synchronization, ETL processes, and data quality management across disparate systems.
- Data hub: Boomi provides centralized master data management capabilities, ensuring data consistency and governance across the enterprise. This is something BizTalk was never designed for.
- API management & design: Built-in API lifecycle management, from design and testing to deployment and monitoring, enables true API-led connectivity.
- EDI & B2B integration: Native support for EDI standards and B2B protocols simplifies partner onboarding and trading partner management.
- Event streams & real-time processing: Support for event-driven architecture enables modern integration patterns that go beyond BizTalk’s messaging capabilities.
These capabilities position Boomi not just as a BizTalk replacement, but as a versatile integration platform that addresses the full spectrum of modern integration needs. Where BizTalk focused primarily on application-to-application messaging, Boomi functions as a true Swiss Army knife for enterprise integration and data management.
Summary
Although BizTalk remains a stable and proven integration technology, the true advantages become evident upon embracing migration. Cloud-native integration platforms unlock boundless scalability for both current and future integrations. The potential for cost reduction is substantial, as you can cut expenses associated with BizTalk licenses and the intricate underlying software stack. Independence emerges as a key benefit. By breaking free from reliance on IT experts with specialized BizTalk knowledge, you can confidently rely on common development standards, explore open-source solutions, or leverage business-centric low-code iPaaS options. This shift not only optimizes efficiency but also positions your organization to adapt swiftly to evolving integration needs.
Selecting the most appropriate migration scenario depends on factors such as the complexity of your integration architecture, the desired level of cloud optimization, budget considerations, and the urgency of migration. Yenlo supports organizations in assessing their current BizTalk landscape and defining a pragmatic migration strategy. This assessment forms the foundation for selecting the iPaaS solution that best aligns with organizational objectives and future integration needs.
