What's Next for Java Office Apps

Dave Andrews

Amid a sea of changing strategy and concerns over Java's direction, software vendors say they will continue to bring Java business applications to market. Software developers working in the Java space must juggle the evolving Java platform with the realities of bandwidth availability and end users' expectations. But vendors such as Applix, which already sells Java-based business applications, continue to forge ahead with new versions. Corel, after rethinking its strategy, says it will release a new Java suite next year, and Lotus plans to release Java productivity applets in the fourth quarter of this year.

Corel originally announced plans for a Java version of its full-function Office suite of applications, but the company has since scrapped that approach. "The problem was that we would demonstrate our applications, and the response from users, even at pro-Java sites, was 'This is great, but can you add just this one feature?'," says Chris Biber, Corel's director of strategic alliances. "Before you know it, users were asking us to add more and more features. Adding all those would have resulted in a chubby -- not a thin -- client." Corel will satisfy demands for a fully functional, Java-enabled office suite with its Remagen technology ( see the table ), while a new product line, currently code-named Alta, will combine elements of CorelCentral and the evolved Corel Office for Java.

While Corel and Lotus work on their projects, Applix says it will continue to improve its existing Anyware Office and Enterprise Anyware (which consists of sales, service, and help-desk modules). "We've already released our first suite, so we know that you can use this kind of technology to create complex applications for the power-user community," says Barry Burke, vice president of product marketing at Applix.

However, as vendors go forward, they will have to master the art of broken field running as the Java platform evolves. The latest donnybrook between Microsoft and Sun, over which foundation class to support -- Sun's JFC or Microsoft's AFC -- in addition to questions over who should control the Java standard may only serve to impede Java's growth.

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Java Office Apps Road Map

Applix:
 Will release this year an NT server version of Anyware Office
(which delivers a word processor, a graphics-capable spreadsheet, an
e-mail client, and HTML authoring to Java-enabled clients) to
complement current Unix servers. Also planned: a new presentation
module and a Java client for the TM1 OLAP program. (508-870-0300;

http://www.applix.com
)


Corel:
 Will release in mid-1998 "Remagen" (which lets Java-en
abled
clients access existing Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 or other office
suites running on a server) and "Alta" (a universal in-box,
calendar/scheduler, ad hoc work-flow, task-management, and data
access/analysis package), plus technology for dynamic UI and
application assembly to make programs run better over networks.
(613-728-0826; 
http://www.corel.com
)


Lotus:
 Will release this year the "Kona" family (which includes a NUI
and data-access, spreadsheet, word processor, charting,
project-scheduling, presentation-graphics, calendar, to-do, and
e-mail applets). (617-577-8500; 
http://www.kona.lotus.com
)