Sun Inks Largest Java Deal Ever With GM

General Motors Corp. has inked a deal with Sun Microsystems for the largest deployment ever of Sun's Java Enterprise System, the companies said today. GM will use the software to build a services-oriented architecture.

"The fact that [Java Enterprise] can be provided to us as a pretested and preintegrated system is very attractive as we seek to get more value out of our development investment," says Fred Killeen, director of systems development and the interim chief technology officer for GM. "Spending dollars on integration of components doesn't add any value."

GM's services-oriented architecture will span the company, including manufacturing, product development, sales and marketing, and purchasing, Killeen says.

GM already has been using Java Web Infrastructure Suite and Java Application Suite. GM plans to extend its current portal implementation by adding Java Identity Management Suite, Killeen says.

Sales of Java Enterprise were strong in the recently completed fiscal year, says Joe Keller, VP of marketing for developer platforms at Sun. Java Enterprise "had roughly 100% growth over the fiscal year, and we are starting this next fiscal year off with a bang with our largest deal ever that will represent another 50% growth over what we accomplished last year."