BizTalk Server 2013 R2 was released in late 2014 and is an incremental update to BizTalk Server 2013. There are a few key improvements and features that were delivered in this version of the platform (a subset of which will be discussed further), and it also provides platform alignment with the newest versions of SQL Server (SQL Server 2014) and Windows Server (Windows Server 2012 R2).
One of the key improvements in BizTalk Server 2013 R2 is that Microsoft now provides out of the box support for JSON messages, making the consumption and exposure of RESTful APIs that much easier with BizTalk Server 2013 R2. This could all be achieved in BizTalk Server 2013 as well with the use of custom components however the design time experience has now been streamlined and JSON messaging is now supported by Microsoft. JSON support is provided through the following components:
JSON Schema Wizard
JSON Decoder Pipeline Component