Live update on applications

Hello. We have a java application that is used for System file maintenace, and another application where users enter orders. Each of these applications are run from seperate batch files. We recently ran into a problem with getting the current data to the users.
Here's the skinny...
The system maintenance application allows a manager to add/update customer codes.
The order entry application lists all customers in the database, so the user can assign an order to a certain customer.
The manager goes into system maintenance and wants to update a customer's name. So now the new customer name is in the database.
The problem...
Everyone who already has the order entry application open on their workstations, has the OLD Customer name listed. If they wanted the new information, they would have to close the application, and open it back up again.
As you can see, this is a problem.
We would like to be able to update everybody's live session on their workstations, whenever information like this is changed by the manager.
But how in the heck is that done?

I'm open to any suggestions!
Thanks!

Sounds like a good job for RMI to me. You could have a single RMI service that is event driven. That event being an update to the database. The order application would locate the service, get a remote instance and register as a listener to that remote object. Whenever an event is fired, all clients could then refresh their data. The event can even encapsulate the row or whatever. I used a similar tactic in the Developer Certification as a server heartbeat. Events were fired on a regular basis so that clients knew that the server was still alive. The whole thing consisted of one interface and one class for each of the client and server and one class for the event itself.
Michael Morris
[ April 04, 2003: Message edited by: Michael Morris ]

Kinda sounds like Java WebStart.

Or WebStart if you want to wimp out.

Thanks for the input. Considering that I really have no clue as to what RMI is, and how it works, I think I'm gonna wimp out and try Java WebStart.

Is there like a tutorial or something on Java WebStart that I could use to get started? Or even any articles on it that would better help me understand all of the capabilities that WebStart has?
Thanks again!