1.6. Conclusion

The challenge to IT and computing professionals today is to efficiently develop and deploy distributed applications and Web services for use on both corporate intranets and over the Internet. Companies that can do this effectively are sure to gain strategic advantage in the information economy.

The Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition is a standard set of Java technologies that streamline the development, deployment, and management of Web services and enterprise applications. The J2EE platform provides a functionally complete environment, one in which it is possible to develop a large class of Web services and enterprise applications using J2EE technologies. Furthermore, developers can be assured that applications written for the J2EE platform will run on any J2EE-compatible server. Overall, the J2EE platform provides numerous benefits for organizations developing these Web service applications, including a simplified development model; industrial-strength scalability; support for existing information systems; choices in servers, tools, and components; and a simple, flexible security model.

By providing the ability to deploy component-oriented Web service endpoint and client applications in a platform-neutral manner, the J2EE platform gives fast-moving enterprises a significant and measurable competitive edge.