BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Version 2.0 Launched At the Microsoft Silicon Valley High-Tech Solutions Launch

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 27, 2002 — Today at the Microsoft High-Tech Solutions launch, Microsoft Corp., one of the founding members of the RosettaNet consortium, announced the availability of the BizTalk® Accelerator for RosettaNet version 2.0. Built on top of Microsoft® BizTalk Server, the second version of the Accelerator for RosettaNet combines prebuilt support for all current RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes® (PIPs®
) with an improved suite of development, management and rapid deployment tools to significantly reduce the time and resources required to build, deploy and manage RosettaNet solutions.

High-tech companies can use the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet to quickly and easily implement RosettaNet, which allows them to integrate applications with supply chain partners and orchestrate sophisticated, collaborative business processes. Intel Corp., a founding member of the RosettaNet consortium, and Flextronics Corp. are presenting at the conference, discussing the benefits of automating their entire supply chains via XML Web services and the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet.

“Using an XML-based standard such as RosettaNet has helped ease integration difficulties, and the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet is making it easier for us and our suppliers to implement RosettaNet solutions,” said Chris S. Thomas, Intel’s chief e-strategist. “Automating our supply chain with RosettaNet and XML Web services has brought significant business benefits. Communication with our customers and partners happens in real time, and our ability to provide them with timely and accurate information has increased. RosettaNet has received a lot of support from industry leaders, such as Microsoft, and its importance in the high-tech industry continues to grow.”

Flextronics, a leading global provider of electronics manufacturing services, decided to use BizTalk Server and the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet as part of its integration solution, enhancing its ability to communicate with customers and trading partners using RosettaNet along with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

“Flextronics used a combination of EDI and manual processes to handle orders. Our customers were moving toward a variety of B2B communication methods, and we wanted to offer them the most flexible connection while further automating our existing processes,” said James Simpson, senior director of e-business at Flextronics. “By implementing a solution that supported XML, RosettaNet and EDI communication, we have really been able to optimize our customers’ and suppliers’ experiences with Flextronics. BizTalk Server, together with the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet, has enabled us to add this flexibility, enhancing our customers’ satisfaction while giving us a single platform on which we can reduce the number of manual processes, lower operational costs and speed order processing. We were able to implement the solution quickly and easily.”

BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet: Features and Pricing

According to Research Director Vinay Asgekar in the AMR Research Alert article for June 27, 2002, “In the high-tech industry, where relationships are based on a product lifecycle and hence are short-lived, platforms such as Microsoft’s provide the essential characteristics for rapid setup and dismantling of relationships: flexible, manageable, cost-effective, scalable, all on a rapidly deployable platform.”

The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet is a set of tools and technical resources that enhances the functionality of BizTalk Server to significantly reduce the amount of time and resources required to build, deploy and manage RosettaNet solutions.

Version 2.0 of the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet includes all the functionality of the first version plus new features:

  • Full support of the RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF) versions 1.1 and 2.0. The RosettaNet consortium recently introduced version 2.0 of its RNIF. The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet 2.0 supports both releases of the framework simultaneously, giving developers and IT professionals easy access to the most up-to-date framework.

  • Inclusion of all published Partner Interface Processes. The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet 2.0 includes all published PIPs along with tools to rapidly and securely import and deploy new and custom PIPs from trading partners. These PIPs allow developers and IT professionals to quickly integrate their applications and trading partners into a RosettaNet solution.

  • Partner Agreement Wizard for importing, deploying and testing new and customized PIPs rapidly. This wizard allows companies to import and deploy new and customized processes created by trading partners, dramatically reducing the time it takes to change, update, test or add a new process or trading partner and lowering the solution’s overall cost of ownership.

  • Support for additional industry standards including Chemical Industry Data eXchange (CIDX) and Petroleum Industry Data Exchange (PIDX). The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet 2.0 includes support for the chemical industry’s e-chemical standards from the CIDX consortium as well as standards defined by the PIDX consortium.

  • Support for all versions and editions of Microsoft BizTalk Server. This version of the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet is built on the latest versions of the Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server family, including all editions of BizTalk Server 2002.

The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet 2.0 is available in two editions: Enterprise Edition, which is $19,999 (U.S.) per CPU, and Standard Edition, which is $4,999 (U.S.) per CPU.

Microsoft’s Commitment to the High-Tech Industry

Microsoft is committed to the high-tech industry, as well as to other vertical industries such as manufacturing and healthcare, and is dedicated to bringing XML-based standards to these industries. Along with being a founding member of the RosettaNet consortium, Microsoft is a member of the RosettaNet Solution Provider board.

“On behalf of RosettaNet, I am pleased that Microsoft continues to show its commitment to business processes integration in the high-tech arena, especially around helping to develop and drive open, Internet-based standards,” said Jennifer Hamilton, CEO of RosettaNet. “From an industry perspective, we are encouraged by the volume of emerging products and services being developed to facilitate RosettaNet implementations on a global scale. With the new version of the BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet, Microsoft is taking a leadership role in promoting the value of B2B standards across the global trading network.”

This week, Microsoft also announced a plan to increase the specialization of its sales force, staffing teams so there is deep industry expertise. As a result of this announcement, Matt Pease is now general manager of the U.S. high-tech industry segment for Microsoft.

“Microsoft understands that customers need solutions that are tailored to their business and their industry,” Pease said. “With the development of the new Microsoft high-tech team, we’re now 100 percent committed to ensuring that customers in this exciting industry find the exact software solution that meets their specific business needs. The BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet is one such solution that has seen great success, enabling quick and easy integration with applications and supply chain partners using the RosettaNet standard.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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