Don't miss the landmark first meeting of the Brisbane Azure User Group on Wednesday, 15 February 2012!

Formed to represent the rapidly growing Azure community in Queensland, BAUG aimed at providing a place for people to meet, learn, discuss and discover the amazing Windows Azure platform.

The first meeting features David McGhee (Windows Azure Technical Specialist, Microsoft) up from Sydney to take you on a lap around the Windows Azure platform.

Be sure to register for this event. Also, you can sign up for the mailing list here.

BizTalk Server 2010 R2 will focus on three primary themes:

• Platform Support – Supporting new and current server and development platforms
• Improved B2B – Aligning with industry standards and continuing to invest in performance improvements
• Ready for the Cloud – Enabling customers to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing

Release date yet to be announced, but will follow on the heels of Windows Server 8.

Mexia Consulting is pleased to present the first BizTalk 2010 Developer Training course offered in Brisbane, led by none other than "BizTalk Bill" himself, Bill Chesnut (Microsoft MVP).

This five-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to integrate internal and external systems and trading partners and to develop business process integration applications using BizTalk Server 2010.

The course begins on Monday, 20 June 2011. The early bird registration price of $3,245 expires on 4 June, so be sure to register now and reserve your place!

Microsoft Brisbane has relocated to its new premises at L28, 400 George Street. Our regular scheduled meetings continue at the new venue.

The RTM version of BizTalk Server 2010 has been released, and will be available for purchase as of 1 October 2010. More details on Zane Adam's blog here.

You can download the free developer edition from here.

You can also download the 120-day trial edition from here.

Back by popular demand! Strategically timed with the imminent release of BizTalk Server 2010,the BizTalk User Community in Australia & New Zealand have come together to present this special event aimed at preparing developers for this exciting product upgrade. Held on a Saturday in many cities around Australia and New Zealand, the day will consist of a series of short talks about each new feature followed by a hands-on lab. This unique combination of first hand experience using the product coupled with expert on-site guidance from the top BizTalk specialists in the country will leave you fully prepared to take advantage of BTS 2010's powerful new capabilities!

The Brisbane event will be held on Saturday 13 November 2010 from 9:00am until 5:00pm at Saxons, Level 11, 300 Adelaide Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000. Cost will be $200 pp, including GST and lunch as well as your own pre-built workstation for completing the labs. Please register here as soon as possible, as spaces are limited!

For further information regarding the agenda, please visit the BizTalk Saturday website.

Those who attended last year's Hands On Days (BizTalk Server 2009) will attest to the great value this event has to offer! Plus, it's the least expensive BizTalk training opportunity available!

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the Microsoft BizTalk Server Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007 (SCOM). Many customers were waiting on this to move forward with their BizTalk Server 2009 deployments. With this availability, we are in a stronger position to drive BizTalk Server 2009 opportunities.

Download the SCOM Management pack from the Microsoft Download Center.

What better way to get acquainted with the powerful new features of BizTalk Server 2009 than to spend a day with experts like Bill Chesnut, Mick Badran, Miguel Herrera, and Brisbane's own Dean Robertson leading you through a supervised hands-on lab experience!  

The Australian BizTalk User Groups will host a series of one day Hands On Labs that will tour Australia in May and June. These labs are designed for anyone who has used a previous version of BizTalk Server and wishes to explore firsthand the new features in BizTalk Server 2009.  You will have an a dedicated BizTalk 2009 development environment to use during the event and the option to work on the hands on labs modules or experiment with the new features. The BizTalk Server 2009 development environment will include BizTalk Server 2009, RFID, ESB 2.0, Windows 2008, SQL Server 2008, Team Foundation Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite.  

The Brisbane event will be held on Saturday 13 June at Cliftons, 288 Edward Street, and will cost $200 (incl GST & lunch). Register early at http://brisbanehod13june.eventbrite.com/ to ensure your seat!  
For more info, including the day's agenda, please go to http://www.melbiz.org/Home/tabid/79/EntryId/82/BizTalk-2009-Hands-on-Days.aspx