(Japanese Site)
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| IBM, Chinese Ministry Tie Up for E-Commerce
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June 9, 1998 (BOSTON) -- IBM Corp. announced strategic
agreements with the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry and
key industry partners to expand the development and use of e-
commerce in China.
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The initiatives aim to promote e-business solutions in China,
advance open standards for network computing in China and create
new Chinese versions of key e-business software tools.
Under the initiatives, these new solutions will be based on IBM's
Network Computing Framework and Java technology. IBM also will
work with local companies and developers on Chinese versions of
JavaOS for Business, Lotus Notes/Domino, VisualAge for Java,
eSuite and IBM San Francisco business application components.
E-business describes the way organizations are reinventing their
business models around networked transactions of all kinds --
with partners, suppliers and customers -- and requires advanced
computer and networking systems, software, storage devices and IT
services.
"Software applications, and, in particular Java, are focal points
of today's agreement between the MII and IBM," Zhang Qi, director
general of China's MII, said when announcing the partnership on
June 5. "In our efforts to further economic growth as well as the
growth of Information Technology, the MII encourages the
cooperation between domestic and international companies. The is
the latest in a series of joint agreements between IBM and MII."
"Thanks to this cooperation between IBM and the Chinese
government and local developers, we will be able to support rapid
deployment of new applications, provide businesses in China with
choice and independence, and extend the reach of existing
business solutions," said Mike Lawrie, general manager, IBM
Network Computing Software Division. "Java allows for faster
development of e-business applications, which means businesses
operating in China can realize a faster return on investment and
respond more quickly to changing requirements. This will also
augment local Java programming skills and support a growing local
software industry in China."
"Sun and IBM are jointly developing JavaOS for Business. We are
pleased that IBM, along with Sun, is helping customers in China
realize the true benefits of thin client computing, namely ease
of use, centralized management, rapid deployment of IT solutions
and reduced cost of ownership," said Paul Li, deputy managing
director, PRC/Hong Kong of Sun Microsystems Ltd.
IBM is leading a number of e-business initiatives in China. For
example, IBM announced in April that it had become the first
international provider of e-business services in China, extending
total e-business technology and applications to strategic sites
in the country, as well as announcing major initiatives with
China Telecom to jointly develop other technology-based
operational solutions for China's telecommunications industry.
Under today's agreements, IBM also has formed a strategic
relationship with China's Great Wall Computer Group to co-develop
a Chinese version of JavaOS for Business, the industry's most
efficient operating system optimized for running 100% Pure Java
applications in a centrally-managed computing environment.
IBM already provides support for Independent Solution Vendors
(ISVs), developers and educational institutions in China. IBM's
Java initiatives in China currently include a Solution
Partnership Center in Beijing that provides application porting
and tuning assistance to ISVs and developers. The IBM Java-in-
schools program assists university professors in creating Java
curriculum as well as train students and IT professionals in Java
application development.
IBM also has worked with Chinese software development companies,
such as Systems Incorporated, Great Wall Computer Group, and the
Chinese Academy of Science, to develop localized versions of
VisualAge for Java, Lotus eSuite/Domino, and IBM San Francisco
business application components. IBM's Research Lab in Beijing is
working on key Java development projects.
JavaOS for Business, the result of a collaboration between Sun
Microsystems and IBM, is an efficient way to run cross-platform
Java applications. It is designed to give OEMs, hardware device
suppliers, independent software vendors, channel integrators and
enterprise customers an industry standard operating system
designed from the ground up to run Java applications in a network
computing environment.
JavaOS for Business is designed for enterprise users -- such as
insurance adjusters, bank tellers and call center employees --
that use line of business applications. The applications are
stored and managed on the server, where IT professionals can
focus on maintaining the computing environment centrally. This
server-managed style of computing assists companies in rapidly
deploying applications and services to the end user.
Customers can benefit from a lower overall cost of computing
while employees are able to concentrate on using computers as
simpler, more efficient tools for doing their jobs.
To date, there are more than 1,000 Java applications
available on the market.
IBM San Francisco application business components for Java was
designed and built in cooperation with leading software vendors
worldwide. More than 400 companies have licensed San Francisco,
which provides up to approximately 40 percent of the code needed
to build an enterprise-ready line of business applications.
More information is at: http://www.software.
ibm.com/ad/vajava and www.ibm.com.
(Lori Valigra, Asia BizTech Correspondent)
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