Microsoft is about to offer the first public beta release of its BizTalk Server 2009. BizTalk Server 2009 is an enterprise connectivity software, that can take advantage of virtualization and enhanced failover clustering featured in Windows Server 2008.

Virtualization is enabled by Windows Server 2008's Hyper-V virtualization. According to Microsoft's director of product management anyone can run as many instances of BizTalk Server as they need.

Clustering capabilities of the system allow BizTalk to be deployed in a multi-site clustering environment without additional software or hardware. The product supports SQL Server 2008 database.

To better understand the BizTalk Server 2009 read the interview with Oliver Sharp, general manager of the BizTalk Server group at Microsoft

A survey conducted in October 2008 among 400 developers in U.S. and Canada shows that more than a 1/3 ofthem are involved with virtualization projects. 51% of the developers expect those projects to last at least 1 year. 56% of the developers involved with virtualization used VMware tools, said Evans Data, the research company that conducted the survey.

It found that VMware still dominates the market of virtualization products and services, but Microsoft is now the main rival of the company.

37% of the developers that use VMware technology now using Microsoft's Virtual Server. Xen products and the Red Hat's virtualization technology trail behind.

According to Evans Data, VMware tools are dominant on all levels of virtualization market, while Microsoft software is strongest among value-added resellers, system integrators, and outsource managers who aim to create custom applications for outside clients.

The main objective of the producers of virtualization technologies is to reduce energy and hardware costs and to consolidate more business applications in a single physical server.