Four Questions interview and other bits

I can’t imagine anyone that subscribes to my blog that doesn’t subscribe to Richard Seroter’s. Well, maybe one (hi mom!). But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I am now part of his interview series with BizTalk and CSD leaders around the world, so if you haven’t read it yet check it out.

Other recent tidbits that I would like to mention are:

• The release of Service Pack 1 for BizTalk Server 2006 R2.  This release includes several hotfixes that were released over time and some new functionality, so don’t delay in applying it to your systems (in a test environment first). See the post on the BizTalk Server team blog for more details on the service pack. There might be a BizTalk 2009 service pack in the works but no official word yet from Microsoft.
• The release of Service Pack 1 for Host Integration Systems 2006. This is for you out there integrating with host systems like AS/400, DB2 and others. It also includes a list of previous released hotfixes into one pack.
• Is your company thinking of upgrading to BizTalk 2009? Do you work for a services company providing BizTalk solutions? You should then check out the Application Platform Optimization BizTalk Upgrade QuickStart. What does that mean? It’s a zip file full of content (presentations, whitepapers, videos, etc) for companies considering a BizTalk upgrade.
• Is your company considering taking the SOA plunge? Do you want to help your customers address their SOA and integration needs? Then download the Application Platform Optimization Connected Systems (SOA) QuickStart. This again is zip file full of content on the SOA subject and how Microsoft products like BizTalk Server, the ESB Toolkit, WCF and Managed Services Engine can help you.

Regards,

Thiago Almeida