Justifying Java to the top

May 1, 1998
By Jack M. Keen

Send Email »
More Articles »

Java decision factors

Listed below are some typical decision criteria for evaluating the business value of using Java for strategic, Web-enabled applications.

By Jack Keen

May 1998

This list is not intended to be comprehensive, nor exhaustive. Rather its purpose is to provide ideas for further exploration. Actual decision criteria are highly dependent upon the goals, management vision, and culture of the organization considering the use of Java.

Examples of direct cost reduction factors:

Reduce software development costs

Reduce application maintenance costs

Reduce software portability costs

Examples of benefits by interest area:

Senior management interests

Increase market share

Improve earnings per share

Reduce costs

Operations interests:

Reduce time to market

Increase number of innovative new products

Increase number of market segments served

Improve customer support via expanded
network-based customer services

Information systems interests:

Reduce development time

Shorten development cycle

Easier software customization for different platforms

Ease of software modification over time

Scope and ease of portability

Opportunity for software reuse

Availability of third party add-ons

Improve programmer morale

Examples of risk factors:

Limits on scalability

Immaturity of development tools

Degradation of application performance

Scarcity of people trained in Java

Fragmented evolution among
different vendors

Source: The Deciding Factor

For further information about evaluating the business value of Java, please contact Jack Keen, founder and president of the The Deciding Factor, a Basking Ridge, N.J.-based international consulting firm specializing in tools, best practices, and workshops for building better business cases faster.

Page 2 of 2