It"s looking more like Longhorn will get key orchestration features derived from BizTalk Server. Microsoft is working on workflow and orchestration technology, called WinOE, or the Windows Orchestration Engine, for the Longhorn/Orcas timeframe, several sources said. Such technology manages how processes or software services interact in distributed systems.
Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Windows Server Systems at Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., confirmed that work is under way but would not comment on how or when it would be packaged. "Stay tuned," he said. Others at Microsoft said the issue remains under discussion. Ideally, the plan is to meld WinOE, a subset of the workflow capabilities of BizTalk Server, into the server operating system, now promised for 2007.
"I don"t believe this is really being positioned as a stand-alone workflow solution a la Staffware or FileNet. Rather, it"s a common set of services that all Microsoft products, SharePoint, Content Management Server, Project Server, etc., can leverage," said a source familiar with the plans. VARs and ISVs could also use that base capability in the operating system to build external stand-alone workflow solutions, he noted. Many features in the upcoming Office 12 will rely heavily on basic workflow/orchestration capabilities. Moving core functions from stand-alone offerings into the operating system or infrastructure is hardly new to Microsoft, but it is guaranteed to cause angst among software companies that already offer such functions in their own products.