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BizTalk Server vs Infor ION comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

BizTalk Server
Ranking in Business-to-Business Middleware
8th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (14th)
Infor ION
Ranking in Business-to-Business Middleware
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Business-to-Business Middleware category, the mindshare of BizTalk Server is 4.7%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Infor ION is 4.4%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business-to-Business Middleware
 

Featured Reviews

Srinidhi S - PeerSpot reviewer
For production environments, messages are easily stored within the MessageBox database and offers multiple deployment methods
Some room for improvement means... it's legacy. It's an on-premises system, requiring physical servers for deployment. This is different from Azure; you don't need any servers with Azure. If you have a subscription, you can do whatever you want. There are unit restrictions based on the environment (like non-production vs. production) in BizTalk. You need physical servers and databases. In Azure, those are not required – it's all in the cloud. Now, we have the option of integrating accounts and the On-Premises Data Gateway to connect on-premises BizTalk with Azure. But the trend is moving towards Azure. Not everyone wants a hybrid model. Companies are still going with hybrid scenarios, but they want both BizTalk and Azure. See, whatever you can do in BizTalk, you cannot do the same things the same way in Azure. One example is tracking. In BizTalk, especially for production environments, messages are easily stored within the MessageBox database. Support can assist in retrieving them directly. It's not as easy to track in Azure – everyone can potentially access it, and even reprocessing is different. Logic Apps have a preview mode. If a Logic App is stuck at a particular action, you can resubmit from there. Microsoft is still making improvements – I don't know when they'll have general availability for these features. However, tracking and message storage are more complex in Azure. We have to use Azure Blob storage for archiving, whereas in BizTalk, it's a built-in feature of the MessageBox DB. If you need to debug at any point, you can do so easily in BizTalk. This is one aspect influenced by the on-premises nature of BizTalk. Since everything is moving to the cloud, Microsoft will also end support for BizTalk Server 2030 – there won't be any further support. I don't think they'll release any new versions. 2020 was the last, and it's been four years. After the end of support, I think companies currently using BizTalk will move to Azure or another cloud-based integration technology.
S Solomon Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
It's bundled, so I don't need to purchase an additional product
I rate Infor ION nine out of 10. It's a good solution if you want to develop a process-oriented hierarchy, develop custom software, or integrate any application externally or internally within your server. We're pushing more of our customers to the cloud, and ION is excellent on the cloud. It's a little tedious to configure ION on the cloud.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Compared to the current solutions I use, like Azure Logic Apps and other cloud services, BizTalk was far better and more reliable."
"The most valuable feature is its reliability and stability. The first version of BizTalk was released in 2000, and many companies still use it. It was stable until 2013 when we had support."
"Essentially, you can do whatever you like with these systems, and you do not have to take care about the scaling because if one server is overloaded, it just forwards the message to the next server, even if it were designated to a specific server. It weeds out the messages according to the load. If you want to scale it, you just add new servers."
"The most valuable feature of BizTalk Server is that it will turn XML into flexible transactions."
"We can handle a large number of messages without any issues, ensuring that everything runs smoothly."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its integration with the banks. Its messaging and routing capabilities are good."
"I rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten."
"The AS2 communication protocol is one of the most advanced processes."
"We haven't had any issues with ION so far."
"I have found the most valuable feature to be the ability to monitor integration performance and the reasons for the failure of inbound and outbound transactions. We can see both inbound and outbound transactions, and it gives us a mirror image or the whole history of all inbound and outbound transactions between Infor M3 Business Engine and the third parties."
"ION is good for building custom middleware boxes."
"The tool's most valuable feature is middleware capabilities."
 

Cons

"BizTalk is in the past, Microsoft is not going to evolve it any further or add any new features."
"Updating things in BizTalk is a headache."
"BizTalk Server is an outdated legacy system that does not support messaging."
"It's an on-premises system, requiring physical servers for deployment. This is different from Azure; you don't need any servers with Azure. If you have a subscription, you can do whatever you want. There are unit restrictions based on the environment (like non-production vs. production) in BizTalk. You need physical servers and databases. In Azure, those are not required – it's all in the cloud."
"The product could be improved in monitoring, managing, and support functionalities."
"The deployment could be simplified."
"BizTalk lacks native cloud support. BizTalk doesn't offer in-built support for cloud. We need to use third-party adapters to connect it to cloud services."
"The product's deployment can be quicker"
"ION's integration with older applications could be better."
"The dashboard is not very simple and can be a bit tricky."
"Infor ION doesn't provide connectors for all integration touchpoints. Sometimes, we may have to build our own. It incurs additional costs for the customer."
"I would like to see ION add automated setup and integration with Salesforce. They need to work on these types of tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Based on the knowledge, it is relatively cheaper than Azure Identity Services and cloud services in general."
"It was not cheap, but it was affordable."
"The cost will depend on the client's requirements."
"BizTalk Server is cheap. I would rate its pricing a two out of five."
"The solution is expensive."
"BizTalk Server is not freeware. There's a significant licensing cost involved. Be sure you will actually utilize its features fully."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BizTalk Server?
The tool's most valuable feature is its integration with the banks. Its messaging and routing capabilities are good.
What needs improvement with BizTalk Server?
BizTalk is deployed on-premise. Deployment methodologies are vast in the cloud area. Whereas, if we want to update even a single thing on BizTalk, we need to take the DLL, put it in the system, and...
What advice do you have for others considering BizTalk Server?
When I started my career with BizTalk, people told me the vendor would sunset BizTalk Server, but it didn't happen. Higher versions are still being released. The product will not face the sunset. A...
What do you like most about Infor ION?
The tool's most valuable feature is middleware capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Infor ION?
ION comes in a bundle with other Infor solutions. You don't buy it separately.
What needs improvement with Infor ION?
Infor ION doesn't provide connectors for all integration touchpoints. Sometimes, we may have to build our own. It incurs additional costs for the customer.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Infor Intelligent Open Network
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Centrebet, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, QualCare, Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, DTEK, Allscripts, United BioSource, Hogg Robinson
FINIDR, Midsona, Eynsham Hall, Midwest Wheel, Watchfire Signs, Sanford Health, Royal Adelaide
Find out what your peers are saying about BizTalk Server vs. Infor ION and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.