Sun walls off Java
Newly created “Java Platform Group” to be separate from Java Software Division
May 23, 1998 — Soothing fears that its desire to drive revenue from Java will subvert its capability to act as guardian of the Java standard, Sun Microsystems has created a new division dedicated to policing the Java standards process as part of a forthcoming reorganization.
Sun’s newly created Java Platform Group will be “walled off from the rest of Sun’s Java Software Division” and will have responsibility for both the standards and the reference implementation of the Java Development Kit (JDK), the Enterprise JDK, PersonalJava, and EmbeddedJava, according to Jonathan Schwartz, director of product marketing at Sun’s Java Software Division.
The new group will therefore be free to pursue technology partnerships and agreements that enhance the Java specification, leaving the rest of Sun to compete on the implementations of these specifications.
Although nobody has yet been appointed to head up the division, Sun insiders say that the most likely candidate is Jon Kannegaard, vice president of software at Sun’s Java Software Division.
Meanwhile, a new group called the Java Product Group will be created and will include the Tools Group, the Enterprise Software Group, and the Developer Group.
The Tools Group will be responsible for Sun’s tools, including Java Workshop and Studio; tools it acquired with Lighthouse Design; and C++ and Fortran tools and compilers.
The Enterprise Software group will include server-side component software, Java WebTop, and the Java Web Server.
The Developer Group will be responsible for creating the Sun Developer Connection (SDC), which will be Sun’s answer to the Microsoft Developer Network.
The Solaris Division will be kept as a separate entity from the Java Software Group but will be supported by the SDC.
“Separating the organization that manages technology partnerships, drives the open process, and makes available the JDK for licensing is necessary,” said Anne Thomas, editor-in-chief of Distributed Computing Monitor at the Patricia Seybold Group, a Boston-based consultancy. “The problem with Sun has always been that their software business has always been too closely tied to their platforms.”
The Java Platform Group, in the meantime, will announce its intention to create a JDK for the enterprise.
“We are in the process of creating our server-side JDK, which will include testing products,” said Sharada Achanta, product line manager of Java for the Enterprise.
