Starting today, Sun's newly appointed EVP, Software, John Loiacono, told Sun's "iForce" partners at the iForce Summit in San Diego, qualified iForce reseller partners can license the Java Enterprise System software from Sun for just $50 per employee per year and the Java Desktop System software for just $25 per desktop per year.

That's exactly one-half the usual rate.

But for small businesses - defined as businesses employing fewer than 100 employees - the news is better still: so long as they if they meet the program's criteria and accept the associated terms and conditions, companies with fewer than 100 employees may qualify for one year runtime licenses for the Java Enterprise System software...for free.

"Many customers find that using Java Enterprise System software allows them the freedom to innovate without having to constantly worry about procuring software," Loiacono explained, "And with our special promotion, by offering a free one year software runtime license, companies with less than 100 employees can now get a jump start on building the value-added service offerings their businesses need."

Today's special price announcement fits the general pattern of the Java Enterprise System software pricing structure, which includes pricing per employee, educational pricing, and pricing for independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). If this doesn't in and of itself suffice to grow the footprint of Java significantly, then just wait till Sun moves on to "per citizen" pricing - that's to say, special pricing whereby entire national governments will receive a complete network service delivery software system for a single annual price based on the number of citizens in the country and its United Nations category of development.

With Jonathan Schwartz now Sun's president and COO, there will for sure be no let-up on Sun's fiercely aggressive pricing strategy.

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• Loiacono Becomes Sun's New Exec VP of Software