Should we build web services using WCF if we know our customers like BizTalk?

Background... We've built a web-based b2b system. We know that we'll need to exchange data with our customers' existing systems. Our plan is to create web services to allow two-way access to data. We'd like these web services to be consumable via REST and SOAP in a platform-agnostic manner. HOWEVER, we know that the types of companies that use our system often use Biztalk as well.

I hardly know anything about Biztalk. My impression is that if we build a web service layer using WCF that will satisfy our requirements for an open API, and clients that use Biztalk will be able to consume the WCF services. Is that correct, and if so, will that result in a second-class integration experience for our customers? If I'm wrong, should we instead develop a separate Biztalk-specific service? Naturally I'd prefer to develop our web service API once and have it work nicely for everyone rather than support multiple services.

I'd really appreciate some pointers on how Biztalk and WCF should work together, if at all. Thanks!

Thanks, Wim. From the customer's point of view, do you think there is a better/richer option that they might wish we had used, or is using the WCF wizard just as easy as using a Biztalk service we might set up? I'm trying to work out whether we lose anything by not explicitly supporting Biztalk.

centralscru 2010-01-29 11:12:55

Not really, BizTalk is an integration platform. With buckets of adapters to a variety of sources, of which WCF (or generally SOAP web services) is only one. That's supposed to be one of its strengths.Don't sell it as "We don't support it 'explicitly'...", even though I don't think that means anything.

Wim Hollebrandse 2010-01-29 11:39:37

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Should we build web services using WCF if we know our customers like BizTalk?

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