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IONA Technologies Introduces the First Complete Internet Ready Java-CORBA Development Environment With OrbixWeb 3.0

IONA Technologies (NASDAQ:IONAY) is today unveiling the latest release of its leading Java™-CORBA development environment, OrbixWeb 3.0 - a complete solution for the creation of Java-based Internet applications. With OrbixWeb 3.0, IONA has delivered the first CORBA-Java environment to provide full server-side functionality in Java, offering significant gains in performance and scalability over existing approaches. In addition, its complete support for Orbix Wonderwall™ - IONA's exclusive CORBA-IIOP firewall solution - makes OrbixWeb 3.0 the first Java development suite to enable the creation of full featured Internet ready CORBA applications.

OrbixWeb 3.0, includes many new integrated Java features such as the full CORBA Naming Service natively in Java and a range of new GUI tools, which make the administration, deployment and management of Java-CORBA applications easier than before. OrbixWeb 3.0 includes full support for the recently adopted OMG IDL-Java mapping which was the result of work by IONA and a number of OMG members. These new features make it much easier to take a Java application and enable it to access back-end data stored on MVS, UNIX and Windows servers over the Internet, and has put in place a Java development environment that breaks new ground, heralding the arrival of an infrastructure for mainstream, on-line commercial applications built in Java.

"We continue our dominance in the Java-CORBA space," commented Annrai O'Toole, chief technical officer at IONA Technologies. "This release is teeming with features, enhancements and aggressive new paradigms for building on-line Internet applications. With features like security and pure Java server-side deployment and a compelling pricing model, any Java developer who isn't using OrbixWeb 3.0 is clearly on the wrong planet."

"Real time trading systems demand a scaleable and secure IT infrastructure that can take advantage of the benefits that Java offers," commented Tayloe Draughon at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. "OrbixWeb's new functionality provides an ideal environment for adding substantial functionality in our Java trading applications."

Draughon continued, "OrbixWeb allows us to merge our C++ order routing systems with the worldwide distribution network provided by the Internet. The end result will be easier access to the contracts traded here."

"A growing number of organizations are looking to build sophisticated applications which take advantage of Java's portability," commented Tim Milovich at Perot Systems. "However these Java developers need an infrastructure which will enable them to extend their applications across the Internet and enterprise. OrbixWeb 3.0 with its pure Java back-end, new services, GUI utilities and Internet access is providing such an infrastructure. It is assisting developers to deliver on the potential that Java offers as a universal client development environment."

"Java development is becoming more sophisticated and there is a need for more enterprise-enabling tools to extend Java beyond typical client applications to the server side," commented Mike Kennedy, META. "IONA's latest release of OrbixWeb 3.0 seems to bring us closer to those tools with easy to use GUI utilities and access to CORBA servers over the Internet. It's certainly a step in the right direction."

"We have taken the lead in bringing CORBA and Java to the mainstream," commented John McGuire, OrbixWeb product manager at IONA Technologies. "We have introduced an innovative Java pricing model, and now with OrbixWeb 3.0 we are bringing the tools developers' need to build real world commercial Java applications on the Internet and Intranet. In developing, version 3, our focus was to provide Java ORB technology which is closest to the spirit of Java and which is completely at home on the Internet. As Java extends from the browser to the middle-tiers and back-end, a Java ORB capable of scaling from the thin client to the enterprise server is required. We have built OrbixWeb 3 to be that ORB while keeping in mind that CORBA is a development tool and ease of development, integration and deployment remain paramount."

OrbixWeb 3.0 delivers a wide range of new features:

-- Enterprise Strength Java OrbixWeb 3.0 is the first Java ORB to provide a pure Java deployment environment for both the client and server. The addition of the Naming Service, activation agents and configuration utilities - all in Java - enables the development of larger, more complex Java applications.

-- Internet-Ready solution To build a CORBA application, taking advantage of data residing on heterogeneous server environments, developers need to navigate traditional firewalls, which are typically not CORBA-IIOP enabled. By utilizing Orbix Wonderwall, OrbixWeb overcomes these problems enabling seamless transmission of IIOP and resulting in the first Internet-ready CORBA applications. The OrbixWeb runtime has also been upgraded to allow use of an SSL toolkit which IONA will make available in Q4 1997.

-- Ease of Use IONA has focused on making the development and management of CORBA applications easier and more intuitive. OrbixWeb 3.0 includes a wealth of GUI utilities which achieve this goal, including the capability to view and compile IDL files (IDL is the interface that CORBA objects use to identify and interoperate with other objects) within an Internet browser.

In addition, IONA has focused on putting more developer support in place to reduce the learning cycle in creating great CORBA applications, including developer bulletins, extensive on-line assistance, getting started tips and improved documentation.

-- OMG Java-IDL Mapping Support OrbixWeb 3.0 provides full support for the recently agreed Java-IDL mapping including full support for Java ORB portability interfaces. IONA has also provided a full set of migration tools for existing OrbixWeb users moving to the new mapping.

Pricing and Availability

OrbixWeb 3.0 Beta 2 will be available from September 17th with general availability expected at the end of October 1997 at a cost of $799 per developer with no additional run-time costs.

To download an evaluation copy of OrbixWeb 3.0 please visit: http://www.iona.com/OrbixWeb3

About IONA Technologies

IONA Technologies was founded in 1991 with the mission to enable businesses to integrate multiple, diverse software applications spanning the entire distributed enterprise. IONA's leading product, Orbix, allows organizations to build software components (or objects) with open, standard interfaces so that they can communicate with any other software conforming to the same standard. According to IDC's market research, Orbix, which is used by over 2,000 businesses worldwide, is the world's leading object middleware product. Orbix, conforms to the Object Management Group's CORBA specification. Earlier this year, IONA's Orbix won the prestigious Network Computing magazine Well-Connected Award as "Best Orb Middleware" and the company was chosen for an "Editors' Choice" award from Software magazine's Software 500 listing.