Selling BizTalk-Based
Engagements
David Chappell
Chappell & Associates
www.davidchappell.com
Agenda
Key Questions and Answers
Recognizing Integration Opportunities
Complements, Alternatives, and
Competitors to BizTalk Server
Appendix: BizTalk Server Basics
“These are quotes from sales principals
in Microsoft partners that provide a
substantial integration capability.”
1
Key Questions and Answers
What Do Integration Deals Look Like?
Using BizTalk Server
Professional services fee €18,000,000
Person months of effort
680
€10,800,000
Gross profit
Gross margin
Professional services fee
60%
Gross profit
45
€400,000
Gross margin
Professional services fee
Person months of effort
Gross profit
Gross margin
Professional services fee
Person months of effort
Gross margin
Multiple apps and integration
points with fault tolerance,
clustering, etc.
€1,000,000
Person months of effort
Gross profit
Multi-site consolidation with
heterogeneous systems
Custom app development
plus integration
40%
€250,000
15
€125,000
50%
€30,000
Small scoping
project plus initial
build
1
€13,500
45%
Source: Microsoft BizTalk partners interviewed by IDC, 2006
What’s Being Sold?
Clients want business value
Integration is a means to this end
“We talk to our customers about their business
problems first, and we bring candidate technologies to
the table to address those business problems.”
Selling engagements that include
integration typically means selling solutions
“Don’t lead with BizTalk. Instead, lead with
business process knowledge, integration
knowledge, and architectural knowledge.”
How Does the Sales Process Look?
“Once you’re past the initial conversation, the
discussion will invariably turn technical. Nothing
replaces having a BizTalk architect by your side.”
Qualify
Envision
Proof
$
?
Sales
Principal
Close
Sales
BizTalk
Principal Architect
BizTalk Developers
Architect
Sales
Principal
How Long is the Sales Process?
For customers with no installed integration
products:
Commonly 6 to 9 months
“You need to be able to
sustain a long sales process.
There’s no quick money.”
For current BizTalk Server customers:
Perhaps 3 months
What’s Needed to Get Started?
A solution-oriented mindset
Knowledge of both business and
technology issues
Perhaps divided among different people on the
sales team
Prospects with integration problems
Allowing you to expand current conversations
The ability to recognize integration
opportunities
2
Recognizing Integration
Opportunities
Recognizing When Integration is Required
Words to Listen For
“We need to
connect . . .”
“We’ve just acquired
another company”
“We’re merging
with . . .”
“We need to access
legacy systems”
Categorizing Customers
Information Technology
Decision Makers (ITDMs): Want
solutions to IT problems; involved
in solving business problems
Business Decision Makers
(BDMs): Want solutions to
business problems
…
IT
Business Groups
Categorizing BizTalk-Based Projects
Typical Business Problems
Business Process Automation
EAI
Keeping information in
B2BI
sync across multiple
Connecting suppliers
applications
with their customers
Displaying diverse
information from different
applications
Replacing manual processes
Providing real-time information about running business
processes
Managing sets of business rules
Tracking business processes for compliance
EAI: Keeping Information in Sync
An Example
BizTalk
Server
Siebel
CRM
.NET
Application
SAP
ERP
Business
Users
Business
Users
Customer
Data
Customer
Data
Customer
Data
EAI: Keeping Information in Sync
Business Goals
Make business processes more effective
and more consistent
By allowing changes to information in one
application to be automatically reflected in
other applications
Reduce costs
Such as by connecting different parts of a
business without requiring manual re-entry
EAI: Keeping Information in Sync
Words to Listen For
“Our systems don’t
talk to each other”
“Our users don’t have the
information they need”
“I need information in one system
that’s kept in another”
EAI: Displaying Diverse Information
An Example
Employees
Customers
User Interface
BizTalk
Server
Lending
Application
Retail
Banking
Application
Mutual
Funds
Application
Customer
Data
Customer
Data
Customer
Data
EAI: Displaying Diverse Information
Business Goals
Increase customer satisfaction
By allowing direct access to current information,
e.g., shipping status or financial information
Reduce costs
Such as by hiring fewer call center employees
Increase revenues
Such as by improving cross-selling based on
employee access to current and complete
customer information
EAI: Displaying Diverse Information
Words to Listen For
“People have to go to many
different applications to get
their work done”
“Employees have five
different applications running
on their desktop”
“We need a common view of
customers/patients/…”
B2BI
An Example
Customer
Supplier
BizTalk
Server
EDI
JD Edwards
Business
Users
B2BI
Business Goals
Lower costs and improve quality of
interaction with suppliers
Comply with customer mandates
Big firms commonly force their suppliers to
connect electronically
Comply with government and industry
mandates
For health care, banking, and more
B2BI
Words to Listen For
“EDI”
“AS2”
“Supply chain
management”
Health Care:
“HIPAA”, “HL7”
“X12”
“EDIFACT”
High Tech:
“RosettaNet”
Financial Services:
“SWIFT”
Business Process Automation
Business Goals
Reduce manual effort
And improve cycle times
Provide real-time process information
Via business activity monitoring (BAM)
Manage complex sets of business rules
With a business rules engine (BRE)
Track business processes for compliance
And improve visibility into those processes
Business Process Automation
An Example
Business Users
BAM
BizTalk
Server
BRE
Siebel
CRM
Business
Users
Tracking
.NET
Application
SAP
ERP
Business
Users
Business Process Automation
Words to Listen For
“Faster time
to market”
“Faster cycle
times”
“Business rules”
“Visibility”
“Audit trails”
“Compliance”
“Sarbanes-Oxley”,
“SOX”, “SarbOx”
Financial Services:
“Basel II”
Categorizing BizTalk-Based Projects
Typical IT Problems
Simplicity
Replacing complex custom integration
Replacing integration done with older technologies
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Exposing web services from existing applications
Providing an enterprise service bus (ESB)
Simplicity
Improving What’s Already There
Organizations often have:
Complex custom integration solutions
Or solutions based on older integration products
Mission-critical data in legacy systems
BizTalk Server-based projects can:
Provide more control
Save money
Safely wrap legacy applications
Without changing them
SOA
Supporting the Move to Services
SOA can provide a common way to access
new and existing applications
“Many companies are starting to
move to SOA, which is also driving
the need for BizTalk engagements.”
BizTalk Server-based projects can:
Expose the functions of one or more
applications as web services
Provide the services of an ESB
Such as message-based communication, data
transformation, and more
IT Problems
Words to Listen For
“Complex, fragile
integration”
“We’re scared to
touch anything”
“Service-oriented”
“ESB”
“SOA”
Microsoft Support
FY07 BizTalk Server Campaigns
Cross-industry campaigns:
Business Intelligence: BAM and more
SOA and Business Process
Vertical industry campaigns:
Manufacturing
B2BI: Connecting with trading partners
Supply chain visibility
Retail
B2BI: Connecting with trading partners
Supply chain visibility
RFID
Microsoft Support
Infrastructure Optimization (IO) Models
IO models categorize an organization into
one of four levels:
Basic, Standardized, Advanced, Dynamic
The Application Platform IO Model (APIOM)
includes SOA and Business Process
The process of categorizing a customer
can help discover opportunities
For more information, see
http://www.microsoftio.com
3
Complements, Alternatives,
and Competitors to BizTalk
Server
Summarizing the Landscape
Complements
Host Integration Server
Microsoft Operations Manager
BizTalk ISV Partners
Alternatives
Windows SharePoint Services
SQL Server Integration
Services
Windows Workflow
Foundation
Competitors
Doing nothing
Custom code
Other vendors
IBM
SAP
Oracle
BEA
Tibco
WebMethods
Sun’s SeeBeyond
Complements
Host Integration Server (HIS)
Connects to IBM systems
Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM)
Supports a management pack for BizTalk Server
BizTalk ISV partners
Human workflow:
SourceCode’s K2.net
Captaris
BPM:
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/solutions/bpm/partners
.mspx
Alternatives
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
SSIS focuses on Extract, Transform, and Load
(ETL) of data
Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0
Supports human workflows
Can be connected to BizTalk Server
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)
Allows creating workflow-driven applications
BizTalk Server provides many more services,
however
Competitors
Doing Nothing
Is spending money on integration
worthwhile for this prospect?
It might not be
Beating this competitor requires building a
convincing business case for your solution
Competitors
Custom Development (1)
Writing all of the integration code yourself
can be the right solution
Such as for simple point-to-point problems
For more complex scenarios, an integration
product is better
“If customers won’t invest in BizTalk when it’s
warranted, the end result takes longer to build, is
harder to scale and extend, and more expensive to
maintain. It’s better for the overall solution, and thus
better for the partner, to sell the right technology.”
Competitors
Custom Development (2)
BizTalk Server provides:
Adapters and accelerators
Data mapping
“Whatever solution you
build, you want to do the
Graphical tools
best thing for the customer.”
Security
Persistence
Reliability/failover
Scalability
Management tools
Competitors
The Vendor Landscape
Competitors
General Truths
All built their integration product suites at
least partially by acquisition
So they’re typically more complex to use and
less mature than BizTalk Server
All charge extra for individual features,
such as BAM and a BRE
BizTalk Server includes all of these things
So BizTalk Server is typically less expensive
None work as well with other Microsoft
software as BizTalk Server
Competitors
The Importance of Proof
If a competitive proof of concept (POC) is
done, BizTalk wins well over half of the
time
Primarily because of its ease of use
But POCs aren’t just about technology
What’s being proven is that your firm (and
Microsoft) are good partners for this project
Use the right people for the POC
Domain expertise in whatever is being
integrated, e.g., SAP, is commonly required
Competitors
Important Factors in a Competitive Situation
Help the Sale
Hurt the Sale
The partner:
The partner:
Can demonstrate rapid ROI
Can’t demonstrate rapid ROI
Has strong knowledge in this
Lacks strong knowledge in this
vertical market
vertical market
A POC demonstrates high
productivity using BizTalk
Server
The customer is already using
BizTalk Server
The POC or the entire decision is
driven by a non-Microsoft-friendly
person
.NET is a large part of the
development environment
.NET isn’t a large part of the
development environment
A competing product is already
entrenched
Conclusion
What to Do Next
Understand the problems your customers
face
Recognize when integration should be part
of the solution
Help the customer recognize this, too
Close the deal
Appendix:
BizTalk Server Basics
The History of BizTalk Server
2000
2002
2004
2006
2007
BizTalk Server
2000
BizTalk Server
2002
BizTalk Server
2004
.NET-based rewrite
BizTalk Server
2006
BizTalk Server
2006, R2
Illustrating BizTalk Server 2006
Visual Studio 2005
Orchestration
Designer
Business Activity
Monitoring (BAM)
Business Rules
Engine (BRE)
Accelerators
HL7
SWIFT
...
Others
Health and Activity
Tracking (HAT)
Orchestration
SAP
Data Mapping
IBM
Mainframes
Adapters
Web Services
File
WebSphere MQ
SAP
...
Others
Java
Applications
Other
Tracking
Message Box
BizTalk Server 2006
Standard Edition
Limited to two CPUs on one server
Allows a maximum of five applications
BizTalk Server
BizTalk Server
or
SQL Server
SQL Server
BizTalk Server 2006
Enterprise Edition
Allows multiple servers for reliability and scalability
Allows an unlimited number of applications
BizTalk Server
BizTalk Server
…
SQL Server
…
SQL Server
Adapters
Making Connections
Included with BizTalk Server:
SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards,
WebSphere MQ, many more
Complete list:
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/
adapter/default.mspx
Available from partners:
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/
adapter/partner/2004.mspx
Selling BizTalk Licenses
Selling a solution that includes BizTalk
Server requires convincing customers that
the license fee will ultimately save them
money
This is easier with customers who understand
the business value of integration
“We sell ROI, making the BizTalk license
just a line item to get this return.”
BizTalk Server 2006 Pricing
Developer Edition: $499/user
Limited to developing and testing solutions
Standard Edition: $8,499/CPU
Enterprise Edition: $29,999/CPU
SQL Server is also required:
Standard Edition: $5,999/CPU
Enterprise Edition: $24,999/CPU
BizTalk Server 2006 Pricing
Example Configurations
Configuration
Required Licenses
BizTalk Server Standard
Edition: 2 CPUs
Basic: One instance of BizTalk
Server with one message box on SQL Server Standard
a single 2-CPU server
Edition: 2 CPUs
“You have to be up
front about what it’s
going to cost.”
BizTalk SQL
Total
Server
License
Server
Licenses Licenses Cost
$16,998
$11,998
$28,996
Redundant: Two instances of
BizTalk Server, each running on
its own 2-CPU server, with one
clustered message box, each
running on its own 2-CPU server
BizTalk Server
Enterprise Edition:
4 CPUs
SQL Server Standard
Edition: 2 CPUs
$119,996
$11,998
$131,994
High-throughput: Four instances
of BizTalk Server, each running
on its own 2-CPU server, with
one clustered message box and
one clustered tracking database,
each running on its own 2-CPU
server
BizTalk Server
Enterprise Edition:
8 CPUs
SQL Server Enterprise
Edition: 4 CPUs
$239,992
$99,996
$339,988
Competitor Pricing
A Reality Check
According to Gartner, the average sale
price for a major vendor’s integration suite
in 2005 was $700,000
“If the customer is only willing to spend $100,000200,000 on an integration product, you can’t even
really get started with anything except BizTalk .”
BizTalk Server’s lower price leaves more
money for services in the customer’s
budget
For More Information
BizTalk Server Home Page
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/default.mspx
Microsoft Case Studies for BizTalk Server
2006
http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/
casestudies/2006.aspx?ddiDirectoryID=478
Partner Sales and Marketing Support
https://partner.microsoft.com/global/salesmarketing/create
demand/40028350
About the Speaker
David Chappell is Principal of Chappell & Associates
(www.davidchappell.com) in San Francisco, California. Through
his speaking, writing, and consulting, he helps information
technology professionals understand, use, and make better
decisions about enterprise software.
David has been the keynote speaker for many events and
conferences in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and his
seminars have been attended by tens of thousands of developers,
architects, and decision makers in forty countries. David’s books
on enterprise software have been published in ten languages and
used in courses at MIT, ETH Zurich, and dozens of other
universities. In his consulting practice, he has helped clients such
as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford University, and
Target Corporation adopt new technologies, market new
products, train their sales staffs, and create business plans.
David’s comments have appeared in the New York Times,
CNN.com, and many other publications. Earlier in his career,
David wrote software for supercomputers, chaired a U.S. national
standards working group, and played keyboards with the
Peabody-award-winning Children’s Radio Theater. He holds a B.S.
in Economics and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison.