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