BizTalk Server 2006 R3 is on the way

As of April 22, 2008, some details about BizTalk Server's new release are announced at Steve Martin's blog. Especially integration with the 2008 family of Windows Server, Visual Studio and SQL Server and also with .NET Framework 3.5 will be available for the next release.

New features, which are officially announced are;

• New web service registry capabilities with support for UDDI (Universal Description Discovery and Integration) version 3.0
• Enhanced service enablement of applications (through new and enhanced adapters for LOB applications, databases, and legacy/host systems)
• Enhanced service enablement of "edge" devices through BizTalk RFID Mobile
  Enhanced interoperability and connectivity support for B2B protocols (like SWIFT, EDI, etc)
• SOA patterns and best practices guidance to assist our customer's implementations

While we are waiting for announcement of the BizTalk Server's new version, it is announced that BizTalk Server 2006 R3 will be an incremental release. CTP of BizTalk Server 2006 R3 is planned for later this year and RTM is planned at the first half of 2009.