Branch offices are part of the focus in the latest version of BizTalk Server from Microsoft which began shipping Release 2 of the business process management product.

The new release, dubbed BizTalk Server 2006 Release 2 (R2), adds native support for electronic data interchange (EDI) and radio frequency identification (RFID). The idea with the release is to connect RFID-enabled devices to business processes.

But R2 is also seen as an emerging key to Microsoft's "software plus services" strategy -- otherwise known as its computing in the cloud strategy, as well as a messaging infrastructure for service oriented architecture.

Microsoft said R2 adds integration with Microsoft's Windows Communications Foundation (WCF), the messaging infrastructure technology provided in both Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows Server 2008.