Introduction to BizTalk Server

Abstract

In the previous chapter we have seen that enterprise systems can be integrated at different application layers, from files to database, application logic, and even at the user interface layer if there is no other option (Fig. 1.2 on page 8). The simplest, most rudimentary way to integrate two systems would be through files. If one system is able to export data in a known format, and another system is able to import data in some format, be it the same or different than the first, then this would suffice to integrate the two systems at the most basic level. In fact, in all current platforms for systems integration, no matter how sophisticated they are, the first step is to define the data formats.