Microsoft has issued a technical preview release of their BizTalk 2000 server.

Promising "now you can easily integrate business processes with your suppliers, customers, and partners, regardless of the systems or technologies used", the server provides the following features:

• EDI X12 and EDIFACT support
• XML, HTML, flat-file support
• Support for business process definition, automation, and integration
• Document interchange, business-rules based routing

These features are supported with a suite of graphical tools for administering and creating applications.