Microsoft unveils vision.

Microsoft has revealed its vision and road map to simplify the effort required to design, build, deploy and manage composite applications within and across organisations. Microsoft Corp. announced "Oslo," the code name for the set of technical investments that help customers realise this vision.

This multiyear, multi-product effort utilises the company's engineering experience to build on the model-driven and service-enabled principles of Microsoft Dynamic IT and extend the benefits of service-oriented architecture (SOA) beyond the firewall. The "Oslo" technology innovations further Microsoft software-plus-services efforts by providing extensions to the application platform to help developers bridge on-premise and off-premise projects. As part of a technical road map, Microsoft made available new tools and guidance to help organisations take advantage of "real-world SOA" today, including new SOA resources from Microsoft and a host of industry partners. Microsoft have also anounced an upcoming community technology preview of Microsoft BizTalk Services, featuring additional support for interoperability, Web 2.0 services, identity standards and workflow in the cloud.

www.microsoft.com