IBM First to Broadly Support New Java Technology

Company to Deliver Java 1.3 on Nine Computing Platforms

SOMERS, N.Y - 10 May 2000: -- IBM today announced it will be the first company to deliver technology that allows applications written in the latest version of Java(TM) to run on a variety of computer systems.

Offerings for Windows, Linux, AIX, and OS/390 will be available in June, followed by OS/400 this summer and OS/2 shortly after, with three additional JVMs for Intel's Itanium processor available later this year. With this technology, businesses will be able to ease deployment of Java-based applications across a variety of operating systems.

IBM has released preview JVMs for AIX, OS/390 and Linux, which can be downloaded this week from alphaWorks, IBM's early technology access Web site (http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com).

As part of this announcement, IBM also revealed it will provide the industry's first Java 2 JVMs for Intel's Itanium processor running Windows 2000, Linux and AIX/Monterey, a code name for the future delivery of AIX on the Intel IA-64 processor-based systems. Availability of the Windows 2000 and AIX/Monterey Java 2 JVMs will be simultaneous with the launch of Itanium later this year. IBM, working with Intel, has made alpha versions available in an early support program for developers.

"Through its speedy delivery of fully compatible Java technology on nine computing platforms, IBM reinforces its leadership in making the technology real for business both on the server and client," said Thomas Dwyer, Research Director for Enterprise Java, Aberdeen Group, Inc. "IBM's work with major industry partners like Intel and the key Linux distributors shows the company is quickly becoming a preferred provider of Java technology."

IBM is also working on enhancements to its JVM technologies to address the specific high performance requirements of short lived, fast, transactional applications. This will allow Java to be used effectively in the place of traditional languages in high transactional environments. The company plans to add these new technologies first to OS/390 and then expand the new capability to the Windows, AIX/Monterey and Linux platforms.

"Being the first to offer a broad line of production level 1.3 JVMs to the market underscores IBM's commitment to delivering industry leading, fully compliant Java technology," said Rod Smith, Vice President, Java Software, IBM. "The need for cross-platform computing is becoming more evident as e-businesses begin to interact with e-marketplaces."

IBM's Java technology is long recognized by the industry as robust, fast, scaleable and stable. As proof of this leadership, all four high volume distributors of Linux recently chose to ship IBM's Developers Kit for Linux, Java Technology Edition, with their products. IBM's JVM implementations are rated the highest performing and most scaleable by industry benchmarks like VolanoMark and SpecJVM98. For more information on IBM's support of Java 1.3, go to: http://www.developer.ibm.com/java/j2/.

IBM Corporation
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