Java Time Is Now

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November 17, 1997

Java Time Is Now

erhaps no technology has had more of an impact on the computing industry this year than Sun Microsystems' Java. What began as a programming language that let Webmasters run spinning coffee cups and other dynamic graphics on their Web sites has now started finding its way into line-of-business enterprise applications.

It took nearly two years, but companies, armed with the confidence that security and other holes have been filled, have turned to Java for financial services, order status, and other applications. Lombard Brokerage used Java to build an application that provides graphical stock performance up-dates and trading capabilities to its traders' desktops. "Our financial services business is very dynamic," says John MacIlwaine, president of Bay One Technologies Group, Lombard's San Francisco IT arm.

J.P. Morgan used Java to build a program that delivers real-time updates about its derivative products to the Web browsers of its sales representatives and clients. The application took just two months to develop-a time frame that's unprecedented in a traditional corporate computing environment. "Ours is a very dynamic business," says Steven Boal, VP of emerging-market derivatives technology at Morgan, in New York. "And you can't fit a dynamic business into a static development model anymore."

While some users are still skeptical about the young programming language, improvements in database connectivity, network directory services, and transaction services are sure to keep Java's momentum going. Home Depot, in fact, is preparing to roll out several line-of-business applications, such as inventory replenishment, that are based on Java. Analysts say it is one of the first major Java deployments in the retail industry. But it certainly won't be the last. J.C. Penney, Kmart, Lowe's, and Sears Roebuck are all working with Home Depot to set retail-industry Java standards.

Story's authors: Clinton Wilder , Andy Patrizio , and Rich Levin

Read it on the Web at: techweb.cmp.com/iw/624/24iujav.htm

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