Microsoft Spells Out BizTalk Prices, Packages

Microsoft on Wednesday announced pricing and versions for its upcoming BizTalk Server 2004, software designed to help enterprises integrate multiple business applications and connect to partners.

BizTalk Server 2004, which is expected to release early next year, will carry prices unchanged from earlier editions, Microsoft said.

Like the 2002 version, the new software will be sold in four flavors. Enterprise Edition will cost $25,000, Standard Edition $7,000, Partner Edition $1,000, and Developer Edition $750. All prices are on a per processor basis.

Version 2004, however, will allow businesses to connect to more partners and internal applications. The Standard Edition, for instance, now lets customers connect to 20 trading partners and 10 applications, double the number in BizTalk Standard Edition 2002. The Partner Edition can link to three partners and three applications, compared to the two-and-two offered by the earlier version of that edition.

Additionally, BizTalk Server 2004 will include licenses to both Visual Studio .NET 2003 and InfoPath 2003, the XML-based forms maker and manager that Microsoft released in October along with its other Office System products.Current BizTalk Server customers who have bought into Microsoft's Software Assurance program -- a plan that gives users update privileges for a yearly fee -- will receive a license for the new edition when it ships.