Dublin-based software firm Iona Technologies has won a strategically important deal with Boeing.

Boeing Commercial Airlines has bought $5 million (€5.6 million) worth of enterprise licences for Iona's recently released Orbix €2A product, a new Web services integration platform. The deal will generate revenue in excess of this figure in the future, according to Mr Barry Morris, chief executive of Iona. "It's the biggest deal we've done in Web services and it is the biggest worldwide deal done so far to my knowledge," he said.

The Orbix product, which was formally released in the US last month, enables companies to integrate older computer systems with a new generation of Web services.

The Boeing deal, which will be announced later today, is expected to persuade other Boeing group companies and suppliers to use the Iona software platform. Boeing has urged development groups at Commercial Airplanes to recommend Iona for internal projects.

One example of how Iona's software can cut costs is that it enables airlines to link their systems to Boeing's so that mechanics can order spare parts, according to Mr Morris. "This deal is the first time a Fortune 50 company has stepped up and said Web services are the way forward," he said.

Today's Orbix deal is the second announced by Iona since the product's introduction last month but Mr Morris said a string of new customer deals would be announced shortly.

As the Dublin Stock Exchange closed last night, Iona's stock was steady at a price of $23.47 on the Nasdaq.