SOA: With the freshly-minted BizTalk Server 2006 R2, the cornerstone of its SOA strategy, Microsoft is “just taking advantage of their captive market to convince them that SOA is all about the Microsoft platforms and not about architectural advantage,” espouses Dave Rosenberg in this Open Sources post. Related podcast: More data points about SOA productivity and value. Best of the blogs: Feeling uneasy about all those unholy partnerships cropping up in the tech sector these days? Then Brad Shimmin has some advice: get used to it. “As in nature, inside the Beltway, and on Survivor, a strange alliance is usually behind success,” he writes. “Of course, who knows what evil lurks in the heart of any corporation? But one thing is for sure: If there are no unselfish acts, then both parties in any acquisition or partnership are in it for themselves and their respective communities.” Columnist’s corner: “Outsourcing and offshoring are not just for IT services and business processes anymore,” Ephraim Schwartz begins R&D sets sail for offshore. It’s a small, intrepid group at this point, though the concept is hardly new, even if the software industry has been slow to adopt it. “But now, thanks in part to SOA outsourcers’ ability to deliver components to ISVs, software companies are beginning to catch on to this development strategy — one that engineering companies such as Ford, Boeing, and Nortel practice routinely.” Technology Industry