IBM's Patricia Sueltz on Java (Continued)

Fawcette: What are your responsibilities as General Manager for Java Software at IBM?

Sueltz: I head the entire strategy for Java software, and the staff we've had on this for two years, ever since we were one of the first licensees. Our goal is to see how IBM can add value to Java and how Java can add value to IBM and our customers. Our team works on JVM ports, performance, thin client work, such as smart cards, and network computing (as opposed to network computers). We've had a lot to do with the industry and trying to influence it to make sure things don't splinter, and that we get to single interfaces, we think that's important. I head the relationships with Sun and with JavaSoft.

Fawcette: The Visual Age for Java development environment comes out of the tools group?

Sueltz: Correct. If I had everything relating to Java at IBM reporting to me, I'd run the whole company.

Fawcette: You worked directly with Chairman Lou Gerstner on IBM's Internet strategy.

Sueltz: Yes, my career took a turn when I got a call that he needed a technical assistant. For me it was a terrific life experience. He's a fantastic strategist. I told him I would stay if I could help him get the company's stock price up. When I started, it was in the 40s; when I left, it was over 100. My job was to translate the arcane properties of software, which appear to be cult-like some times, and answer his questions. He is such a quick study that he immediately said, we have to do object technology.

We went out on the Web and instantly started fighting over the mouse, since he's left handed. He asked, "How do we make money on this?"

Fawcette: The biggest question surrounding Java is whether it is ready for enterprise development. You've told me some of the earliest adopters have been financial institutions, including several banks in Germany, but the largest application in terms of customers is the Banco do Brasil application [read how they did it]. What does that application do?

Sueltz: What these banks are doing is not only tying to their loan and database applications, but really processing a loan at the client, which is an important statement about Java.

When you can move executable code to the client, and tie back to existing systems, that is critical. That's what banks want to do. They want to take applications such as car loan applications, student loans, mortgages that require some calculation, and do that on the client so the customer doesn't have to wait. Java is rich enough that it is really doing something, not just being a cool graphical interface, then shipping that back to the server.

In the Banco do Brasil application, we opened up a traditional Visual Basic, client/server application through the Web to something like 15 million customers, through 80,000 client banks.