Preface

	Repeat after me: SOA is something you do, not something you buy.
	--David Linthicum

This may seem an odd quote to use when beginning a book about employing a particular product to facilitate the implementation of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). However, I think it sets the tone.

I prefer to define SOA as an architectural discipline based on loosely-coupled, autonomous chunks of business functionality, which can be used to construct composite applications.

This is how the first edition of this book started, and like so many words in that book, they are timeless. As I updated chapters, I was continuously struck by how little had changed. We also added new chapters, Chapter 4, REST and JSON Support in BizTalk Server 2013, Chapter 5, Azure BizTalk Services, and Chapter 6, Azure Service Bus to cover some of the newer technologies that give us more ways to implement SOA. For sure, there are newer technologies and we are embracing the brave new world of the cloud, but the underlying patterns that we use in integration do not change. For example, the words in Chapter 7, Planning Service-oriented BizTalk Solutions just as true today as they were seven years ago. SOA might not be a trendy word anymore, but call it what you will, the pattern does not go away.

– Mark Brimble, June 2015

From writing desktop and web-based Line of Business (LOB) applications in the early 2000, I find integration is the adhesive that connects all these disparate systems together. Without integration, I wonder how many businesses would survive in today's world where information exchange is essential. This book describes how BizTalk Server and Microsoft Azure create the adhesive that bonds these systems together.

When writing the chapters on REST and hybrid systems, I pondered how the Internet has grown to become the conduit of connecting systems and devices together. The trend now seems to be all about providing RESTful services and hosting them in the cloud. With this in mind, new integration patterns have emerged, which are discussed in this book.

– Mahindra Morar, June 2015

In the information technology industry, if you aren't constantly learning, then you are falling behind due to the technology and methodology constantly changing. Some examples of this changing landscape include the move toward cloud-based services and REST web services, both of these are covered in this updated book.

I'm lucky enough to be part of a team of BizTalk developers with whom I can share and receive ideas and concepts, and we can learn from each other. Another source of these ideas and concepts come from books like this where others have shared their expertise. So, I hope this book helps you to keep learning and growing.

– Colin Dijkgraaf, June 2015

BizTalk Server is equivalent to a Swiss army knife in that there are so many options available to solve integration problems. Like a weapon, it is possible to attack your problems with brute force or finesse. Typically, the end result seems similar, but the amount of effort expended is vastly different, not to mention the amount of cleanup required after the exercise.

When I was still in the early stages of my journey toward becoming a seasoned BizTalk developer, I came across the first edition of this book, and it opened my eyes to the fact that there is a right way to do integration, and an expensive way to do integration, even if the costs are not instantly evident. The differentiating factors between these two end results typically come down to applying the right integration patterns and making early architectural decisions that will guide you down a path toward building efficient solutions.

Now, I'm not just talking about the 40,000 feet in the air high level types of architectural decisions, which are obviously very important, but the low level detail as well. Having an understanding of the inner workings of the toolsets you are working with as well as an appreciation for how and when to apply various integration principles and patterns can make or break a solution. These patterns and principles are timeless, and will serve you well regardless what technology you are using to solve your integration problems, but having a keen understanding of their relevance to a given product empowers you even more.

The first edition of this book would have already given you great insight into the inner workings of BizTalk Server and how to apply SOA principles to the platform. This updated edition will take things further, firstly by extending the existing material from a BizTalk Server perspective with all the new insights that have been gleaned in the last few years. Moreover, we have also explored some previously untrodden territory by exploring how SOA and BizTalk Server can be used to build effective solutions leveraging RESTful architectures as well as by extending the reach of the integration platform through the use of Azure Service Bus. Finally, we end the book by giving you a taste of the newest technologies to be released by Microsoft, which will hopefully inspire you to get your hands dirty playing with these new platforms.

Thank you for reading our book, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much we enjoyed writing it.

– Johann Cooper, June 2015