My friend Joe Gregorio(www.bitworking.org) writes a column on XML.com on Restful web. Joe has written lot of articles on REST. If you want to know what is REST I will recommend you read his first article on the topic at http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2004/12/01/restful-web.html.

Adoption of Windows Communication Foundation(WCF) is growing and many of you maybe interested in building REST services through WCF. The WCF REST Starter Kit is here to help you. :)

WCF REST Starter Kit is  set of features, Visual Studio templates, samples and guidance that enable users to create REST style services using WCF. Previous release of the KIT focused on building server-side REST services, the new release adds features to make client-side REST development easier. Chief among the new functionality included in Preview 2 is a new class that provides a staged pipeline model for requesting resources over the web. Using this new HTTP client class allows the developer to plug into the various stages of communication to handle custom authentication, caching, and fault handling outside of the client’s application logic.

You can get more information at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/cc950529.aspx.

Really interesting case study of bank in Turkey. BizTalk is used in many banks across the world. :) DenizBank got amazing benefits due to automation. Really worth a read. :)

Turkey-based DenizBank realised the evolution of Web technologies presented both challenges and opportunities. The key challenge was to develop a robust infrastructure that could support all banking services reliably. The organisation required a fully integrated environment delivering customer relationship management, business process management, and a business intelligence layer to maximise efficiency and service quality. DenizBank worked with solution provider Intertech to build the inter-Next infrastructure, which uses Microsoft® technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 data management software and Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2006. Today, customer satisfaction rates are high and the system can process a year’s worth of transactions in eight hours. After logging on once, personnel can access all applications on the network.

Benefits:

• Automation saves 600 full-time equivalents
• Six-fold business growth
• Improved customer service
• Quicker adoption rates
• Recipe for future success

Quote:

“Apart from the increased efficiencies that the Microsoft technologies in inter-Next (DenizBank’s fully integrated Web system for banking services) provide, access to data is improved, helping personnel make better-informed decisions when planning our growth strategies. The BPM service has boosted our business agility.  We can structure, automate, perform, and optimise business processes in a customer-oriented manner … With Microsoft technologies at the heart of inter-Next, staff can handle complicated banking transactions easily.  It highlights how technology can support people day-to-day, helping them achieve work goals more easily while driving business growth.” – Hasan Ates, President of DenizBank Financial Services Group

Microsoft Case Studies: DenizBank

BizTalk supports HL7 as standard feature. Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital was able to use this feature to get great benefits. :)

Profile:

Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital is a major healthcare provider in southern Japan. To efficiently provide high-quality services while cooperating with other regional healthcare providers, the hospital uses IT to manage data and optimize operations. When it was time to upgrade to a fully integrated IT infrastructure, Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital chose to implement the Microsoft® Connected Health Framework, driven by Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2006 R2. With the new infrastructure, the hospital’s IT staff are able to better integrate clinical and administrative data from across the organization, while keeping acquisition and maintenance costs reasonable. As it moves into 2009, the hospital is using its new IT environment to strengthen business intelligence, encourage detailed information sharing, and adapt to industry standards.

Benefits:

• Data integration across multiple systems
• Reduced IT costs
• Fewer data errors
• Foundation for future growth

Quote:

“The system based on BizTalk Server has the highest cost effectiveness of any system we considered.  In fact, there are cases where the estimated implementation costs have been reduced by 20 percent … Adapting to HL7 standards is the right strategy for us, (and) with BizTalk Server, we can perform the data integration easily.” – Ryonosuke Matsushita, Manager of Healthcare Information Systems Office, Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital

Microsoft Case Studies: Social Welfare Organization Imperial Gift Foundation Inc., Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital

You can save tons of money by moving to BizTalk Server(remember Gieco Ad). :) Following is a deck that highlights how customers can save by using BizTalk Server.