SANTA CLARA, USA: Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced that SAP has signed a multi-year agreement with Sun to provide Java Platform Standard Edition for Business (Java SE for Business) to its customers using the SAP NetWeaver technology platform.

This will allow SAP customers to continue using Java SE 1.4.2 on both Windows and Linux platforms with the confidence of having Sun, the creator of the Java platform, providing support and indemnification.

Java SE for Business is a service offering designed for customers who want more predictable support and services for their business-critical Java SE applications. When Java SE releases reach end-of-life status, Java SE for Business customers can continue to receive scheduled security and maintenance releases, critical fixes and ongoing Sun support for up to 15 years.

The agreement between Sun and SAP will allow SAP customers to continue using SAP NetWeaver 2004 and SAP NetWeaver 7.0 software on Windows and Linux without a separate Java SE for Business contract with Sun. For other platforms, SAP customers have ongoing Java SE 1.4.2 support as defined in the support contract with their corresponding operating system vendor.

“Java SE for Business allows customers and ISVs to have long term support for any release of Java SE, starting with Java SE 1.4.2, along with faster access to technology enhancements and mission critical updates,” said Jeet Kaul, senior vice president of Java technology at Sun. “We are pleased to be working with SAP, so that SAP NetWeaver customers can continue to run their existing applications on Windows and Linux platforms.”

"This agreement for extended support of Java technology is an important part of our strategy to deliver to customers a stable core and protection of investments through SAP Enterprise Support," said Uwe Hommel, executive vice president, SAP AG.

"Java SE for Business is a service offering designed for customers looking for longer return on investment and support for a given version of Java SE. This announcement underscores the commitment of SAP's customer-focused ecosystem, through which SAP teams with partners to deliver to customers innovative solutions and greater combined value," he added.

As an additional benefit, Java SE for Business customers can receive early Java SE support for Windows 2008. Java SE for Business will allow SAP to obtain an earlier certification of its SAP NetWeaver 2004 and SAP NetWeaver 7.0 based products on the Windows 2008 release. This certification is now scheduled for early 2009.