(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Sun's Top Java Strategist Joins Obscure Malaysian Company
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December 23, 1998 (KUALA LUMPUR) -- Sun Microsystems
Inc.'s technical strategist and chief Java evangelist
Miko Matsumura joined a little-known Malaysian
Multimedia Super Corridor company called Datek Sdn., Bhd.
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Matsumura said he was leaving the Palo Alto, Calif.-based
computer giant for the small, pure-Java software
developer because it is the most exciting and successful
company among the hundreds he has seen.
"It is truly both a serious enterprise computing player
and an Internet company, a rare combination. I have
found the killer app I was looking for," he said.
Matsumura will assume the position of president of U.S.
operations and vice president of strategy for BizTone.com Inc., the tentative new global name for
Datek.
Datek is pioneering delivery of enterprise resource
planning (ERP) applications over the Internet. That
eliminates the need for onsite installation or the
purchase of expensive software.
The BizTone suite of applications, until recently known
as Madura, will be given away free, but will adopt a
transaction-based business model. Third-party service
providers will sell BizTone services to corporate
customers, then pay Datek on a pay-per-use basis.
Matsumura will likely arrange partnerships with
telecommunications companies and Internet service
providers to host the BizTone services.
His recognition in industry circles is expected to
considerably raise the profile and credibility of
Datek's strategy of getting the BizTone suite, which
provides end-to-end financial, materials, planning,
human resources and sales management functionality into
the network computers of corporations and government
agencies worldwide.
Datek estimates the creation of this new market, which
casts telcos and ISPs as primary distributors of
enterprise resource management (ERM) services 'live'
over telephone lines, is worth US$100 billion a year.
Formed in 1995 in Australia by CEO Darryl Carlton, Datek
moved operations to Malaysia in September 1996 and was
an early investor in the MSC. The company is slated for
listing on the U.S. NASDAQ exchange in December 1999.
"I believe in the innovativeness of the Asian people. I
think software is the ideal technology to lead Asia out
of the economic situation it is in now as it is an
industry with low capital requirements and high
margins," he said.
For the past three and a half years, Matsumura traveled
extensively to popularize Java and claims to have
"evangelized" 100,000 people to adopt the programming
language.
Matsumura said he felt confident leaving his duties as a
Java evangelist since the technology is gaining wider
acceptance and becoming ubiquitous.
He cited the recent announcements by Sun of an open
community source strategy, the launch of the Java 2
platform, the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s
commitment to use Java in its consumer products, the
planned America Online Inc. and Netscape Communications
Corp. merger and the preliminary injunction against
Microsoft Corp. as all pointing to a strong future for
Java.
"It is the perfect time to start building on the new
platform. I can retire knowing that tens of millions of
compatible clients are assured, and can rest with the
knowledge that I contributed in some way to the Java
revolution," he said.
Matsumura also defended Sun's motives in "protecting and
shepherding Java through its infancy." Developers
previously balked at Sun for not allowing them free
access to modify Java source code for commercial
software development.
"I don't think a consensus-driven group could have
prevented Microsoft from breaking its legal obligation
to ship compatible Java in accordance with its license.
Java needed the protection of Sun to ensure
compatibility," he said.
(Julian Matthews, Asia BizTech Correspondent)
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