Chimmels, Park Rd, Dartington Hall, Totnes TQ9 6EQ
Sector:
City St George’s University of London BizTalk Upgrade
Upgrading BizTalk to maintain a secure, supported integration platform
The Challenge
City, University of London is a leading academic and research institution, educating nearly 20,000 students across five schools. Its integration platform plays a critical role in supporting student lifecycle, HR, finance and operational processes.
Since 2017, City had been running a BizTalk Server 2016 estate following a migration from IBM IIB MQ. As Microsoft progressed to BizTalk Server 2020, the University needed to upgrade its platform to remain aligned with Microsoft’s lifecycle policies and maintain support, compliance, security and performance.
The upgrade was also an opportunity to ensure compatibility with modern hybrid integration approaches, while continuing to support long-standing, mission-critical workloads.
However, with a complex, highly utilised integration estate, the priority was clear: deliver the upgrade without disrupting essential University systems.
The Approach
Having supported City’s integration landscape since the original 2017 migration, we brought a deep understanding of the University’s systems, dependencies and operational cycles.
We were re-engaged as a trusted partner to deliver the BizTalk 2020 upgrade, with a focus on minimising risk and maintaining continuity.
This included:
Planning the upgrade around academic calendars and operational peaks.
Ensuring full compatibility across existing integrations and components.
Applying a structured, test-led approach to validate every stage of the upgrade.
Working closely with internal teams to maintain visibility and control throughout.
This approach ensured the upgrade could be delivered safely, with no impact on critical services.
Our solutions
We delivered a full upgrade of City’s integration platform from BizTalk Server 2016 to BizTalk Server 2020.
Key elements included:
Infrastructure design and build: Deployment of a new BizTalk 2020 environment on supported Windows and SQL Server versions.
Installation and configuration: Full setup and configuration of the BizTalk Server 2020 platform.
Application and artefact migration: Migration of all BizTalk 2016 applications, components, and configurations to the new runtime environment.
Testing and validation: Re-running automated tests via CI/CD pipelines to ensure all integrations performed as expected in the upgraded environment.
Hybrid compatibility checks: Ensuring the platform was ready to support future hybrid integration patterns.
Cutover and support: Hands-on support during user acceptance testing and production cutover to ensure a smooth transition.
This ensured that BizTalk remained a stable and reliable foundation for both legacy and long-running workloads.
Managing the upgrade
We began with a full assessment of City’s existing BizTalk environments, followed by the installation and configuration of the BizTalk 2020 platform.
All components, adapters and configurations were migrated and validated against the new server environment. Extensive testing was carried out to ensure performance, security, and reliability met operational expectations.
We coordinated the production cutover carefully to minimise impact during sensitive academic periods, providing hands-on support throughout.
Alongside delivery, we worked closely with the University’s team to ensure they were confident in managing and maintaining the upgraded BizTalk estate.
The Outcome
The upgrade ensured City’s integration platform remained secure, supported and fit for purpose.
Why it worked
Our long-standing partnership with City, combined with a structured and low-risk delivery approach, ensured the upgrade could be completed smoothly – maintaining continuity while preparing the platform for the future.