Thank you Mr. Tharp for your kind comments about Softshare Delta.
I can't resist a little plug for Softshare Delta. If anyone is interested
in a demonstration of the Delta software please visit our web site at
www.softshare.com/software/delta. Once you have reviewed the demo and you
think you are interested in a trial version of the software please call our
sales team at (800) 346-6703.
Colette Williams
Softshare
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Tharp [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 11:04 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: "Biztalk...I choose you"
EDI-L,
A while back I posted some information requesting a comparison of EDI
software packages and mentioned that I was going to be selecting a new
package to replace Harbinger Trustedlink for Windows.
First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your responses,
suggestions, and helpful recommendations.
I really appreciate it.
Well, I've finally made a decision.
I considered Mercator, IP Net, Softshare Delta, Microsoft Biztalk, NEON
(formerly Paperfree), Foresight, EcomXML, TIE Commerce, Extol, and Sterling
Commerce.
I was able to obtain demo/evaluation copies of Mercator, IP Net, Softshare
Delta, Microsoft Biztalk, and NEON and shortened the list to these vendors
early on.
(I'm not going to buy something without trying it out first and having
someone else do the driving during a demonstration, just doesn't cut it for
me.)
After taking quite a while to pick through the various packages, I narrowed
the selection down to Microsoft Biztalk and Softshare Delta.
Just the other day, I finally made the decision to go with Microsoft
Biztalk.
All of the packages I looked at could do the job...there wasn't a single
one that I evaluated which was significantly weak on functionality or
performance. They were all very good packages.
It was quite interesting to see how the different packages went about
solving the same issues/problems with different approaches. There was
quite a variety in "ease of use" and "intuitiveness" factors with these
products, especially in the area of mapping.
Interestingly enough, (in my opinion) the two most intuitive and impressive
products were Microsoft Biztalk and Softshare Delta....yet, both of these
were not very expensive when compared to the other packages.
(We can get by with Biztalk Standard, which only supports up to 5 trading
partners, which ran us $4,429 at Buy.com. 6+ trading partners is
"Enterprise" which runs for as little as $21,979 if you search for Biztalk
at www.shopper.com. Considering there's no 15-18% annual maintenance fees
(like most packages require), $21,979 isn't a bad price at all.
While I won't mention what Softshare's price was, it was very competitive,
especially considering how strong the product is.
Choosing between Biztalk and Softshare was quite a difficult decision to
make. Softshare has an OUTSTANDING package! It's very capable and yet one
of the easiest to use products I evaluated. I also very much liked how
their "Any-to-Any" mapping capabilities were actually "Any-to-Any"
--including ODBC.
Other products offered this, but they usually came as an extra
"purchasable" feature or said they had "Any-to-Any" but didn't include
ODBC.
Softshare's ODBC mapping capabilities came as part of the core product and
worked flawlessly.
Actually, the ODBC mapping capability was one of the features that hung me
up the most...it's a feature I really wanted that Biztalk didn't seem to
offer.
(There's some ways we can get this functionality, but it's not immediately
apparent/available in Biztalk without developing some customized
"functoids".)
But, we have a couple of applications in house that have strong support for
Biztalk and, along with being impressed with Biztalk's overall
capabilities, I decided to use Biztalk instead of Softshare.
Let me clarify something in this decision however...
I think that, for us, and our particular situation, Biztalk makes more
sense....for the LONG term.
SHORT term, Softshare might actually be the better solution.
But, as part of making this decision, I realized I'm also jumping off into
the future of how our enterprise takes advantage of new eCommerce
technologies and how we will take advantage of web based application
development in our IS department.
Biztalk is a much more complex beast than Softshare Delta, or any of the
other packages I looked at.
It is much more than just an "EDI" package. Biztalk can do "EDI", but it's
really an eCommerce server that has many development aspects to it as well,
giving someone who is programming "savy" the ability to expand the product
into so much more.
On one hand this is a strength....on the other hand it is a weakness.
If there's one thing I can say about Biztalk it's this....Biztalk is NOT an
"out of the box" EDI software solution.
By that I mean, if you're looking to install a new EDI package and get it
up and running within a couple of weeks without having to go through a
significant learning curve, using your previous EDI experience....Biztalk
isn't for you.
Biztalk is a very different beast, especially when you look at how it
handles the definition of business processes through Biztalk Orchestration
Designer. This product uses Visio Professional to define business process
flows and then generates XLANG schedules that can be executed via any COM
capable programming language or via documents in the Messaging queue.
(The way Microsoft approached this is one of the neatest things I've ever
seen.)
Biztalk is also a very "development" oriented application. By that I mean,
there are probably 4-5 ways to do anything you need to do. And if you
throw in a little programming, there are probably 9-10 ways to do the same
thing. It's very configurable and customizable...but it requires
development and not everyone has that available to them.
Softshare Delta, on the other hand, is more of the "out of the box" type of
applications...but one of the best I've seen.
So, my recommendation for anyone looking for a new EDI application:
If you're a developer or you have a developer on staff that's knowledgeable
about developing COM applications and you're willing to spend the time
learning a whole new way of approaching EDI solutions, Biztalk might be for
you.
On the other hand, if you're wanting to use a new package to address your
current EDI needs and want something you can get up and running quickly,
Softshare Delta is your best bet.
That's my two cents....(for what it's worth).
Dan Tharp, DBA / EDI Specialist
G&D Transportation
Morton, IL 61550
Phone: (309) 266-1177 ext 292
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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