EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT: E-BUSINESS TAKES YOU THERE

IBM software is about business—your business. You need software that can harness all of your existing systems and leverage them to transform your core business processes.

Used as a business tool, the Web expands the range and functionality of your existing systems. Did you know that 90 percent of the Global 2000 companies already have three or more back-end servers? Imagine the competitive power of guaranteeing timely delivery by giving suppliers access to your inventory system over a secure extranet, or tying inventory to your order entry system so service representatives can respond instantly to customer questions.

In today’s service-driven economy, such capabilities can quickly differentiate you as a leader in the marketplace. You can reduce inventory costs, expedite deliveries, and increase customer loyalty—all while still utilizing your valuable IT investments and without rewriting a single application. That’s what we at IBM call e-business.

We recently announced some very exciting news: the introduction of Warp Server for e-business—a fast, easy-to-manage application server optimized for Java™. Warp Server for e-business extends the IBM server family, giving you an excellent choice of platforms on which to run your e-business.

All of IBM’s software is built on the application framework for e-business—technology that is standards-based, server-centric, scalable, secure, and easy to deploy and manage. A key ingredient is Java—the glue that holds e-business applications together.

For example, General Dynamics’ Electric Boat division, a nuclear submarine and ship builder, recently used IBM’s optimized Java and services to streamline its enterprise resource planning application. The company’s welders, pipe fitters, and mechanics have fast, easy access to reports, work assignments, and 3D drawings and schematics. Shipbuilders tap into the new system from their desktop or thin client right on the manufacturing floor. Best of all from an IT perspective, the Electric Boat division has unified its disparate servers around a common architecture based on Enterprise JavaBeans™ and the common development tools of IBM VisualAge® for Java.

Using Java, you can access applications on the most popular platforms, including IBM servers—OS/390™, OS/400®, AIX®, and OS/2®—as well as Windows® and UNIX® platforms from other vendors. Here, e-business means end-to-end business, from the largest servers to smart cards and next-generation pervasive computing devices. Starting where you are, e-business takes you where you want to go—opening up new market opportunities, speeding your products to market, and helping you deliver better customer service.

Regardless of the operating platform you’ve chosen to run your e-business, look at what IBM can offer. For integrated, multiplatform solutions—solutions that put the power of Java and the Web to work for you—the clear choice is IBM, the leader in global enterprise computing.

Patricia Sueltz
IBM General Manager, Java and OS/2