Why we chose Java/RMI
John Jacobs
Saab Cars, USA

Saab Cars USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saab Automobile AB, a 50% joint venture between General Motors Euprope and the Swedish investment group Investor. Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, it is the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor of Saab automobiles.

The company oversees a retail network of 220 dealerships and 20 service points.  Just as Saab has always been a leader in technological innovation, Saab Cars USA has recently begun something of a revolution in retailer information systems. This involved integrating AS/400-based host systems with a browser-based interface for sales, customer management and aftersales support into a single system that is much more efficient and attractive to Saab retailers. To achieve a high level of integration, present an effective graphical interface and leverage their existing software investment Saab Cars has chosen an architecture based on Lotus Domino and Java, incorporating CST Inc's Jacada toolset into the customer interface.

John Jacobs, Saab's Manager of Retail and Field Information Systems, will discuss the project and the advantages of the chosen approach. He will also talk about some of the challenges inherent in a leading-edge project of this kind and how Saab is managing these. John will also review some of the issues that deserve attention going forward to maximize the success of this type of approach to system development.