Since entering the middleware market five years ago, Microsoft`s focus has been to address specific consumer demands, and it says research shows its approach is working.
According to a Gartner report on the worldwide application integration and middleware (AIM) market, Microsoft is ranked second highest in terms of growth from 2004 to 2005, with 13.4%.
Other vendors included in this report are IBM, BEA Systems, Oracle, and Tibco.
Microsoft`s growth in the AIM market is due to two factors - cost-effectiveness and simplicity, says Manoj Bhoola, server and tools manager for Microsoft SA.
Microsoft has now started investing to add features to its BizTalk Server solution, specifically in response to consumer demand, says Bhoola.
The BizTalk Server, a high-end middleware stack solution aimed at retail and manufacturing industries, will take its second release to the market in the first half of 2007, he says.
It will include support for electronic data interchange and the AS2 protocol. "Previously, we always needed a third party to assist," Bhoola says.
He also states that the updated server solution will include connectors for radio frequency identification.
"We know this technology has been around for a while, but we were waiting for consumer demand," he concludes.
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