Although we've only been using Java for several years, a solid grounding in C and C++ has allowed us to get quickly up to speed with this new software development platform.

We have delivered several business applications in Java and are pleased with the robustness and time-to-deliver for these projects. One of these applications interacts with Microsoft Office to create and manage documents and spreadsheets and proves that Java can be usefully applied to business systems.

We have also invested in technology that allows us to deliver Java applications as standard Windows executables so that our clients don't have to know anything about Java - they just drop in the CD and run the install. This sort of pre-packaged delivery is important to reduce the cost of IT support for our clients and it's something we looked into carefully before accepting Java as a useful tool for delivery of business systems.