Java is ready for enterprise

Java can no longer be referred to as the new kid on the block. Its revolutionary approach to development - write once, run anywhere - made sense to a heterogeneous computing world. It looked like a good solution for businesses tired of recompiling, optimising and rewriting code for the seemingly endless variations of servers, operating systems and clients.

Its days of revolution have come to an end. Java is hitting its evolutionary stage. Not as fun as its historical tumultuous upheaval, the smaller increment of change between releases comes as a relief to organisations wanting to use the development platform for real business applications. Vast alterations between releases and lack of stability haunted the adoption of the language for mission-critical applications. Today, enterprises and government are paying serious attention to Java.

"I would say more than 50% of local companies are looking at Java in the enterprise," comments Darren Crowder, pre-sales manager, Safika-BEA Systems.

Nigel Bakker, director of GuruHut, a skills development company, points out that many companies are using Java on their enterprise servers without realising it, within other Java-reliant environments like IBM`s e-commerce platform Websphere and BEA`s Weblogic. "What they`re not telling you is that it all runs on J2EE [Java 2 Enterprise Edition]."

I would say more than 50% of local companies are looking at Java in the enterprise.

Darren Crowder, pre-sales manager, Safika-BEA Systems

J2EE`s latest facelift sports the second version of Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB 2.0), Java`s enterprise component technologies. Increased support for typical enterprise-style business methodologies, as well as better interconnectivity through middleware support and standards like XML, push Java well into the enterprise space.

"Java has been ready for the enterprise for years," says Bakker. "Because it`s a young language, it is designed to solve today`s IT problems of massive complexity."

Java is certainly ready for IBM`s enterprise-class systems, although IBM`s hand was partially forced due to its wide range of platforms, making it difficult for the company to offer a single development environment for its customers. Its involvement - and that of other enterprise players that have seen the possibilities for Java - has helped get the development environment ready for the strict requirements of enterprise through Java`s Community Development process.

Java`s biggest detractor at the moment is the skills shortage, brought about partly due to the popularity of the language.

There are currently 699 Java jobs advertised on CareerWeb, compared to 540 C++ positions. Jobnavigator reports that, while there are more C++ jobs currently posted on the site, the supply/demand index puts Java well ahead of C++ for demand.

"One of the big factors is the brain drain," says Crowder. "We can import skills or we can train our own people. There is a huge amount of talent in this country that is untapped. If you have the right kind of programmer at the ground level you can lock them in. To get this right, however, enterprise needs to come to the party. We need to educate the corporate companies of the importance of Java."

"A lot of people have been taught the syntax, but not the concepts behind Java. I don`t know what they were taught at university, but it wasn`t anything about computers," adds Bakker, who says that even Computer Science and Informatics university graduates have to be taught from the ground up to re-establish the basic concepts of object-oriented development.

Java has been ready for the enterprise for years. Because it`s a young language, it is designed to solve today`s IT problems of massive complexity.

Nigel Bakker, director, GuruHut

Cape Town is experiencing an oversupply of Java skills at the moment, while Johannesburg is desperately lacking. Also in dire need are mid-experience developers. "Developers with four to five years experience are asking the earth. However, there`s hardly anything in between one and four years experience," says Andy Hofmeyr, delivery manager for application development, Iocore, an IT services company.

Java supporters are quick to point out that, due to the cross-platform nature of Java, a Java developer is capable of developing on multiple platforms, and can thus reduce IT spend on staff.

"Return on investment and protection of investment is all that matters to a business," says Bakker. "There is a glut of Microsoft skills, and a shortage of Java skills. The perception out there is that businesses can find Microsoft skills cheaply."

Bakker believes that this is short-sighted, as Java developers produce an "overall improvement in productivity through their reuse of architecture and skills".

Getting this message to the market seems to be another hurdle for Java. Sun constantly pushes the technological advantages of Java, but seems unable to translate that into something a business can understand.

There is a glut of Microsoft skills, and a shortage of Java skills. The perception out there is that businesses can find Microsoft skills cheaply.

Nigel Bakker, director, GuruHut

Its disparate marketing message is partly due to the diversification of vendors supplying Java to the marketplace. The Java push comes from Sun, IBM, BEA, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Borland, and a confusion of other vendors` voices, each with their own messages. Sun still believes that it heads up Java, and to a large extent its word is still law in the language`s direction, but the market forces guiding the Java development process stem from 23 involved parties, and the users themselves, under the banner of the Java Community Process.

The confusion of messages from the marketplace regarding Java has led to a misunderstanding as to what Java is. More than just another development language, Java is a technology platform. Systems are emerging running purely Java in the chip, with no operating system behind it. As Java moves down into the mobile space, and up into network appliances, this methodology is gaining momentum.

We can import skills or we can train our own people. There is a huge amount of talent in this country that is untapped.

Darren Crowder, pre-sales manager, Safika-BEA Systems

Java will soon be competing head-to-head with Microsoft`s C# language, and its proven enterprise capabilities combined with its platform independence will be an important differentiator. While Java pundits don`t think that Microsoft is ready for the enterprise space, C# will inevitably reach this market quickly on the back of Microsoft`s .Net strategy.

Although Java is picking up momentum, it`s still a very young language compared to the likes of C++. Success is not guaranteed for Sun`s baby yet. Java`s potential is promising as it establishes itself in the enterprise. Once there, displacing it will be a hard task for its current and future competitors.