The Qvera Interface Engine (QIE) is a strong fit for healthcare teams running HL7 and X12 interfaces on BizTalk who want an engine built for healthcare and run by their own team: HL7 v2 over MLLP with acknowledgments, X12, FHIR and DICOM in one engine, running as a Windows service on the Microsoft SQL Server you already have, or in containers or your own cloud, with high availability included on every licensing model. BizTalk maps can be reused in QIE, the AI Companion converts BizTalk’s C# code to JavaScript, and Qvera engineers are available to assist with the move. If most of your BizTalk work is general business integration rather than healthcare, Microsoft’s successor, Azure Logic Apps, may suit you better. QIE is in production today at more than 600 sites, running more than 25,000 interfaces and processing more than 50 million messages a day.
On 17 December 2025 Microsoft announced that “BizTalk Server 2020 will be the final version of BizTalk Server”, and named Azure Logic Apps as its successor. On 31 August 2026 it said it “expects sales of BizTalk Server 2020 and Host Integration Server 2020 to end March 31, 2027.”
Support runs out in stages, on the dates Microsoft’s lifecycle pages give:
For 2028 to 2030 Microsoft also plans an optional paid support offering, expected to cost the full license price each year. It expects that offering to leave out the industry accelerators, the HL7 accelerator among them, which “will not receive servicing, schema updates, or support under extended support.”
Nothing stops working on those dates. In Microsoft’s words: “Workloads will continue running but without Microsoft servicing.” What changes is how long a healthcare team can count on fixes for the software that carries its HL7 interfaces.
A healthcare team on BizTalk has three choices:
Six things healthcare teams on BizTalk ask about when they evaluate an alternative:
Yes, one interface at a time. BizTalk applications map onto QIE’s channel model, and Qvera engineers are available to assist your team with moving them, so messages keep flowing while each one is checked.
BizTalk Server cells come from Microsoft’s own documentation, lifecycle pages, product terms and announcements, reviewed on 16 October 2026. “Not documented” means nothing was found in Microsoft’s documentation, not that the feature is proven absent.
| The product | QIE | BizTalk Server 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor’s plans | In active development; see the release notes | Final version, announced 17 December 2025; sales expected to end 31 March 2027; mainstream support ends April 2028, end of support April 2030; Microsoft names Azure Logic Apps as its successor |
| Building interfaces | QIE | BizTalk Server 2020 |
| How an interface is built | Channel editor in a web browser: receiver, mapping, condition and destination nodes | Visual Studio projects (orchestrations, maps, schemas and pipelines), managed in the BizTalk Server Administration Console |
| Custom code | JavaScript, which can call Java libraries; the AI Companion writes, explains and converts code | C# and the .NET Framework; orchestrations use XLANG/s, “a messaging language with some of the expression capabilities of C#” |
| Maps | Mapping nodes and the Standard Mapping Wizard; XSL stylesheets, including those BizTalk maps compile to | BizTalk Mapper, compiled to XSLT 1.0 stylesheets |
| Testing with sample messages | ✓ step a sample message through a channel one node at a time | not compared here |
| Healthcare standards | QIE | BizTalk Server 2020 |
| HL7 v2 | ✓ in the engine | ✓ through the BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 (versions 2.1 to 2.6), included with BizTalk Server, Enterprise and Standard editions |
| HL7 over MLLP | ✓ receiver and sender, with a TLS-secured variant | ✓ MLLP adapter in the HL7 accelerator |
| HL7 acknowledgments | ✓ returned before or after processing; destinations can wait for each acknowledgment | ✓ original mode and enhanced mode |
| HL7 v3 and CDA | ✓ | not documented |
| FHIR | ✓ as a client and producer, JSON and XML | not documented |
| X12 | ✓ reads and builds X12; batch files whole or one message at a time | ✓ built in, with HIPAA 4010 and 5010 transaction sets |
| DICOM networking (store, query, retrieve, verification, worklist) | ✓ in the engine | not documented |
| Running it | QIE | BizTalk Server 2020 |
| Operating system | Windows, as a service, or Linux; Docker and Kubernetes | Windows Server 2016, 2019 or 2022 (2022 needs cumulative update 6) |
| Database | Microsoft SQL Server 2016 to 2025, including Azure SQL Database, or MySQL or MariaDB | Microsoft SQL Server, required for the MessageBox and the other BizTalk databases |
| Where it runs | On-premise, in containers, or in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account | Your own Windows servers, or Azure virtual machines |
| High availability | ✓ two or more QIE nodes share one database, with automatic failover; included on every licensing model | At least two BizTalk servers plus clustered SQL Server; Microsoft’s terms bar the Standard and Branch editions from clustered servers |
| Message tracking and errors | Message history per channel, searchable by field; error queue with replay; email alerts | Tracking database and Business Activity Monitoring (BAM); Microsoft’s paid 2028 to 2030 offering is expected to exclude BAM |
| Support and licensing | QIE | BizTalk Server 2020 |
| Vendor support | 24/7 for system-down emergencies; phone support (8am to 5pm Mountain), email, customer portal and knowledge base | Mainstream support to April 2028; then security updates and paid support to April 2030; an optional paid offering for 2028 to 2030, expected at 100% of the license cost each year |
| Licensing and price | Channel-based, Enterprise or OEM; production, test and developer licenses included; Channel-based licensing starts at $9,980 per year for 2 channels; see pricing below | Licensed per processor core, at least four per processor; Enterprise, Standard, Branch and Developer editions; Windows Server and SQL Server bought separately; no price published by Microsoft |
Yes, in one engine. Anything QIE does for HL7 v2 it also does for HL7 v3, FHIR, DICOM including native DIMSE and DICOMweb, X12, ASTM, CDA and IHE profiles, over MLLP, REST, SFTP, file, database, message queue and network share. The Qvera DICOM Router is that same engine configured for imaging. Microsoft documents no FHIR or DICOM support in BizTalk Server.
It runs on Windows or Linux, in Docker or Kubernetes from images Qvera maintains, or on AWS ECS: on-premise, in containers, or in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account, against Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL or MariaDB. Running engines at more than one site, or inside networks you do not control, is what the Remote Management Hub (RMH) is for.
The Qvera Interface Engine · The Qvera DICOM Router · Remote Management Hub
Whichever engines are on your shortlist, ask every vendor, Qvera included, to show the move using one of your own BizTalk applications. Ask what carries over, what is rebuilt, how the result is tested, and what the complete cost is once support, high availability, test and development environments, and the database the engine needs are included.
See how QIE compares with both, what its license includes, and how interfaces move.
See how QIE compares with Iguana 6 and IguanaX, and how Iguana teams move their Lua interfaces.
Qvera offers Channel-based, Enterprise, and OEM licensing models. Channel-based licensing starts at $9,980 per year for 2 channels and does not limit message volume. View Qvera Licensing and Pricing.
QIE is in production at more than 600 sites, running more than 25,000 interfaces and processing more than 50 million messages a day. Qvera has built healthcare interface engine software since 2008 and is SOC 2 Type 2 attested. The following BizTalk users have already switched to using QIE:
How this comparison is sourced: Qvera publishes this page and sells QIE. What this page says about QIE comes from Qvera’s own product documentation and production deployments; about BizTalk Server and Azure Logic Apps, from Microsoft’s own documentation, lifecycle pages, product terms and announcements. All Microsoft information was last reviewed on 16 October 2026. Vendors change their products, so check their current documentation before relying on any single claim. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
