Adding to a list of established industry players, now JCP Computer Services Ltd is to license its Trustbase software platform, which enables secure application development over the internet, to Sun Microsystems Inc. Sun joins Netscape Communications Corp, Oracle Corp, Electronic Data Systems Corp, Cap Gemini Group and Virgin.Net, the internet division of the Virgin Group, who have all entered into agreements with JCP. Out of the 6,000 products that Sun has on its books in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, only 40 of them are OEM products from other vendors. Sun is clearly impressed with the Trustbase technology, which has been built in Java. Sun is treating the product as highly significant and will use it to make electronic commerce applications more secure. The Trustbase architecture has been developed by JCP (CI No 3,193), a small London-based company that employs 50 staff. JCP claims Trustbase enables the public internet to be used with the same level of confidence and security as a private network. Trustbase, according to JCP, plugs holes that are present in the browser model, which was initially intended to be used mainly for viewing data. However, as electronic commerce becomes more common, companies are looking for a secure component-based platform that cuts down on application development time. At the heart of Trustbase’s technology is a software bus that enables application components to access the system and communicate with other components. If more functionality is required Trustbase can acquire it from the network in a way which is transparent to the user. Trustbase is built in Java and will support personal computers, the Macintosh and network computers. This latest reseller agreement has been arranged with Sun in the UK, but it will apply on a global basis. JCP claims Trustbase addresses the problems currently associated with internet application performance, off-line applications and reliability as well as the central security issue. The main beneficiaries of Trustbase, if all goes according to plan will be ISPs, software developers and financial institutions.
