REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Oracle Corp., the world's largest enterprise software company, today announced the immediate availability of Oracle9i Application Server Java Edition, broadening Oracle's infrastructure platform offerings to further appeal to new and existing customers, partners and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). Oracle's new enterprise-class application server offering includes all of the technology needed for companies to quickly begin developing and deploying Java applications and Web services -- at a price that is up to seven times less than comparable solutions from IBM and software tools vendors, and up to five times less than BEA Systems and software tools vendors. In addition, embedded licenses of Oracle9i Application Server Java Edition are available free of charge to ISVs, allowing partners to embed Oracle's advanced Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server technology in their specialized solutions. Companies can now purchase an integrated enterprise Java software package that includes both an application server and an integrated development environment (IDE) and offers complete development and deployment capabilities for transactional business applications, Web services, dynamic Web sites and e-commerce storefronts. "Oracle9i Application Server Java Edition will help Oracle and its strong reseller community seed the lucrative small-and medium-sized business markets, while also addressing the needs of large enterprise companies," said Charles Rozwat, executive vice president, Oracle9i Server Technologies. "Unlike low-priced entry-level versions of application servers from BEA Systems and IBM that offer limited J2EE functionality, Oracle9i Application Server Java Edition is a full-fledged, enterprise-class software package. No other vendor offers this level of functionality at this price." Enterprise-Class Java Oracle9i Application Server Java Edition includes Oracle9iAS Containers for J2EE, a full-featured, production-level application server with advanced clustering; Oracle9i JDeveloper, a complete Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE); Oracle(R) HTTP Server for XML and Web services support; Oracle9iAS TopLink object-to-relational persistence software; and Oracle Enterprise Manager for end-to-end system management. Combined, these technologies offer customers the following benefits: -- Enhanced Developer Productivity -- Featuring Oracle9i Application Server and Oracle9i JDeveloper in one package, developers can boost productivity with a fast "edit-test-deploy" development cycle. Oracle9i JDeveloper provides a full-featured IDE for Java, XML and Web Services, while Oracle9i Application Server is J2EE 1.3 certified and optimized for extremely fast Java code execution, XML data type handling and transaction management. Oracle TopLink object-to-relational persistence software automates the creation of high performance persistence layers and can reduce development time by up to 70 percent. -- End-to-end System Management -- Oracle Enterprise Manager provides complete Web-based single-console management software that enables system administrators to manage all aspects of the application server in one place, saving time and money. -- Increased Enterprise Scalability -- The advanced clustering featured in Oracle9i Application Server helps ensure reliability on low-cost hardware running Linux, Windows, or Unix.