Java EE (Java Enterprise Edition) General Discussion

I hope this is the correct forum to post this in.

I'm currently researching the best way to implement an intranet/extranet for my company. I was looking into both Tomcat-Struts and J2EE.

So far, from what I can tell, it seems that Tomcat-Struts would be the best solution for me. It just seems like J2EE is adding more complexity that needed. What's the payoff/advantage for J2EE? I would only be using it for Web services right now.

When doing the tutorials and learning how to use EJB's, it sounds like it would make my applications much slower and more complex. Can someone help a new guy out?

Just looking for some direction. Right now, the applications I want to put on my intranet/extranet would be an enterprise-level helpdesk and work-order system, along with some reporting and heavy database, real-time lookups. An authentication system is a must (probably using LDAP against my Active Directory network).

Can someone help me clarify this dilemma I'm having? I know J2EE is a great fit, but it looks like a Tomcat-Struts solution would be faster and easier.

Aaron