Electronic forms and workflow specialist JetForm Corp is unable to disclose the terms of its freshly announced strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems Inc, but the Canadian firm says the deal will enable it to broaden its enterprise workflow offerings with the introduction of an advanced suite of thin-client, server- based workflow software. From Sun’s point of view, JetForm reckons the deal brings a great deal of synergy, because Sun is looking for killer applications for Java, the Network Computer and the web. JetForm specializes in administrative workflow, automating processes which affect the entire organization, such as expense claims, purchase order requests, holiday requests. The Java-enabled version of its JetForm filler software will enable forms to be stored and accessed by anyone in the enterprise, from a server. It believes large organizations would gain enormous benefit from not having to install client software on every potential user’s personal computer. According to International Data Corp, there are very few applications or processes which span the entire organization in the way that JetForm does, and therefore Sun will also gain a useful weapon in the server wars hotting up with Microsoft Corp. Java in turn, enables JetForm to build interactive forms with file sizes smaller than the average web page, which means performance on the network and the client will not be impaired. JetForm also admits the deal will open doors to Sun’s sales and marketing team worldwide, and says we should expect some new products by the autumn.
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