A customer once said to me, "Give me ten reasons why my team should use WOW (Web Object Wizard) to develop our iSeries web applications." Caught a little off guard, I had to think for a second, but before I could answer, she added, "…with no sales hype."

It occurred to me later that night that our customers don't want to wade through stacks of marketing brochures and documents to find out if our product is right for them. They want the meat, the essence of what makes PlanetJ and WOW award-winning. They want a concise, relevant Top 10 list…or better yet, Top 15. So, without further ado, I give you my top 15 reasons why we, PlanetJ and WOW, are the best choice for iSeries web applications developement on the planet!

Paul Holm
Senior Web Architect
PlanetJ Corporation

• 1) Industry Award Winning

  

  We could tell you why we rock, but then you might think we're biased and you'd be right. So, we'll let you hear what others are saying. Search400 recently named WOW the Gold Product of the Year for Application Development…for the second year in a row. WOW beat out Profound Logic's RPGsp, BCD's Websmart, and other leading web application development tools. The judges declared, "WOW wins again in this category (Application Development Tools) on function, portability and value…It does deliver on cutting the cost of Web development below many other tools." Don't believe us? [Read it for yourselves...]

• 2) Utilize Existing Staff

  

  WOW allows any business to utilize current staff and skills to create powerful web applications. Anyone from a senior programmer to your 15 year old nephew can create Web Applications using the Web Object Wizard's built in features, wizards and templates. Use your current RPG and CL programmers to create web applications that easily integrate with existing legacy code and business logic. Also, since WOW is built on a 100% Java framework, Java developers can quickly and easily extend WOW to do just about anything. That's right…no 4GLs, no proprietary languages. Don't have any programmers? No problem, 80% of today's WOW applications are built without RPG or Java coding.

• 3) Innovative Framework

  

  WOW is built on l00% industry standard Java which means it can run on ANY platform and against ANY database. For you, this translates into pure, blissful freedom…freedom to run your business on whatever platform you want. And just when you think it can't get much better, it does. Unlike the majority of our competitors, WOW doesn't generate indecipherable Java or proprietary code. Yeah. WOW is a fully extendable, flexible framework that generates the standard HTML and CSS you already know. Also, database persistence, session management, and a host of other conveniences are automatically handled. Basically, since WOW is written in Java, it is platform independent, easily extendable, and free from the shackles of a proprietary language. In one word, strategic.

• 4) Cutting-Edge Security

  

  Need to implement strict security protocols or adhere to complex industry guidelines? Want to control individual user/database interaction from the library down to the field level? What about regulating insert, update, delete, and view authority on a user-by-user basis? No problem. Actually, it's ridiculously easy. WOW allows developers to completely secure applications using a variety of methods, from database driven to operating system based authentication. We are very aware of your security concerns and realize that absolute security is non-negotiable in your organization. [ For more information on security, click here ]

• 5) Great Performance

  

  Besides built-in connection pooling, WOW offers multilevel caching which translates into ultra fast performance that is flexible and customizable. Set on the WOW operation within an application, these features allow the targeting of data bottlenecks with specific, relevant, and flexible solutions. Updates are tracked automatically and cache is automatically reset. A full array of JDBC optimization parameters is available to optimize your data access as well. The WOW framework also handles DB persistence and session management.

• 6) Immediate ROI

  

  Customers using WOW can feel confident in knowing that iSeries shops around the world have experienced an immediate ROI with significant productivity gains across the board. Many companies, like Reebok and Wells Fargo, have taken the middle man (and his green screen) out of the equation by letting users at every level and across all platforms have access to needed data in intuitive formats such as pie charts and dashboards. How does an organization best evaluate use and success? To start, simply look at the productivity gains, the robust features, and the flexibility of true platform independence. They speak for themselves. [ For more information on the potential ROI, click here ]

• 7) Abundant Features

  What really sets WOW apart from the competition?
  
  The features. Hundreds of them. Built in. Creating applications with functionality like auto MS Excel/XML downloads, drill downs, fully dynamic queries, runtime prompting, and user authentication has never been this easy and powerful. Need to query an Oracle, iSeries, SQL Server, and MySQL database all in the same application? No problem. WOW provides support for connections against any number of JDBC/ODBC-compliant databases. Did we mention powerful report generation, intelligent graphing, and sophisticated security management? Needless to say, there are far too many features to list here. Check out a live webinar to see more of WOW's cutting-edge features in action. 8) Flex

• 8) Flexible Pricing

  

  If you're like me, you like to install your apps everywhere - at home, at work, on your laptop, etc. Not only that, you want your whole development team to have the freedom to install, work, and test their tools wherever they need them. There's nothing more annoying than being forced to use one machine and one machine only. That's why we at PlanetJ have designed our licensing strategy around the developer. A single WOW license can be used on an unlimited number of development machines by an unlimited number of developers. Licensing is per production server – unlimited developers and no upgrade charges. Can our competitors say that?
  No time or staff to dedicate to building an application? PlanetJ Corporation can build them for you on fixed bid or per hour contract…faster than anyone else.
  Contact the PlanetJ Business Team to get details on pricing options, project estimates and services contracts.

• 9) Seamless Transitions

  

  One of main reasons that WOW was awarded the Search400 Tool of the Year was the flexibility it offers users. With replacement library support, switching your applications from development to production and backing up your DB systems has never been easier. Even futher, you can create a WOW application that accesses a development iSeries machine, then simply change a single IP address and seamlessly transition to your production iSeries whenever you're ready. Also, though WOW is run most commonly on Tomcat™ or WebSphere ™, it can be run on any application server that supports Java servlets and JSPs.

• 10) Customer Satisfaction

  

  Feel confident that WOW has been certified as an IBM Server Proven Product and is a key member of the iSeries Tools Roadmap for Developers. PlanetJ staff have helped countless iSeries shops to create new web applications as well as leverage existing legacy applications.
  Most new WOW users are relatively unfamiliar with application development on the web and have spent most of their programming days writing RPG and/or Cobol applications. Some are familiar with programming in SQL. Many of them are starting to look at the lengthy learning curve associated with Java.
  What really matters to all shops is can (and will) my developers use it? Is it going to be productive and cost effective? Our customers say "Yes, absolutely, and without a doubt."

• 11) Speed of Development

  

  The large majority of our customers experience development times around 100 - 400 times faster than coding fully functional, GUI web applications from scratch. Even more, with WOW, the normal learning curve associated with web development is virtually non-existent. That's right. Within the WOW framework, the majority of your work is already done. Using industry standard SQL, you can be highly productive right out of the box. Not that familiar with SQL? No problem. WOW also comes packaged with an SQL inquiry builder – just point and click to build your inquiries.

• 12) Legacy RPG/CL Integration

  

  AS400 developers, don't panic! WOW can fully integrate the RPG/CL or COBOL applications to which you've already dedicated countless hours. Yep. Using stored procedures, your legacy applications can easily be brought to the web using WOW.

• 13) Completely Customizable

  

  WOW comes packaged with many different layouts that are easily customizable to your own look and feel. You can edit anything and everything about your application by changing simple HTML and CSS. Provide left hand, right hand or top screen navigation. Even easily show associated files in a notebook format using the WOW built-in tabbed layout.

• 14) WOW Education

  

  PlanetJ Corporation provides many ways for your team to become WOW developers. Online or onsite, classes are delivered with only 16 hours of training. Combine that with a couple of days of mentoring or consulting service and you are well on your way to providing end users web solutions using your iSeries data!

• 15) Global Solution

  

  Many times, the ROI is not equally evident to managers, developers and end users alike. However, the WOW product offers a comprehensive solution that users at all levels will no doubt appreciate. Also, through pricing flexibility and the option to pay in installments, PlanetJ strives to make the product available to your organization, regardless of size, without the need to wait out capital budget requests.
  Want to get started but don't have the time? PlanetJ can create your applications for you. Contract us for services. We'll utilize the WOW product and provide immediate solutions.

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