For those interested in Sun's StarOffice progress, This is a MUST read!
JAN 19, 2000, M2 Communications - PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Sun
Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced StarOffice[tm] NOW, a
program designed for partners and other third parties (see quote
addendum) interested in providing the highly regarded productivity
suite, StarOffice[tm] software, to their subscribers, customers or
other end users.
"The StarOffice NOW program allows us to work with our business
partners, giving them the opportunity to add significant value for
their customers at little or no cost," said Marco Boerries, vice
president and general manager, Webtop and Application Software, Sun
Microsystems. "Service providers, integrators, educational institutions
and businesses can now offer StarOffice software to customers as a free
download or packaged for their office productivity needs."
Sun's StarOffice NOW program provides Service Providers and
integrators new ways to add value to customers who are demanding
quality in their office productivity tools, as well as having the
option to preinstall StarOffice software on PCs forming the bridge to
Sun's StarPortal initiative. StarOffice software is web-ready, ideal
for mobile and disconnected users. StarOffice software has already been
downloaded by over 1.5 million users. Many companies including global
ISVs, ASPs, Universities, and the government sector have also signed up
to be part of the StarPortal Early Access Program furthering the reach
to end users demanding the StarOffice software.
A future release of the productivity suite will be portal-ready,
available to synchronize files with centrally stored StarPortal[tm]
software office files for access anywhere, anytime, anyplace.
StarPortal software is a major initiative to provide word processing,
presentation graphics, spreadsheet and other office software tools to
any web browser and eventually portable devices.
Enrollment in the StarOffice NOW program is as simple as choosing the
Gold or Platinum level and the options of the program that best fit
your business model. Gold level participants must complete a simple
web-based form, which is approved by Sun, as well as execute Sun's
standard legal agreement for each distribution mode. Platinum level
participation is similar but in addition, platinum level requirements
state that participants must meet the technical and customer
satisfaction requirements.
Businesses may also become a Sun Microsystems business partner and
receive permission to include Sun and StarOffice logos on company
websites, literature, etc., as well as the opportunity to capitalize on
the enormous worldwide press around StarOffice software.
In addition, StarOffice NOW offers educational institutions a
complete office suite that is free and available to faculty, students
and staff, for unlimited use on campus and at home. Services from Sun
SunSpectrum[sm] service is Sun Microsystems' system support program
for maximizing StarOffice software performance. This powerful, flexible
set of services allows customers to choose the service programs best
suited to their organizations' unique needs. A part of SunSpectrum
service, Sun's Software Support Program provides a high level of
assurance for StarOffice users. It allows direct access to Sun's
multiplatform expertise, with the flexibility of general access to
software support from Sun Solutions Centers worldwide via telephone,
fax, or email.
Sun helps companies go to market faster by offering a comprehensive
training curriculum and specialized education consulting services that
unleash the power of the StarOffice application suite. The new
curriculum includes cost-effective, web-based and CD-ROM training
courses as part of a multi-track offering for end-users, service
providers/enterprises, and developers.
Education Consulting Services provides a comprehensive, customizable
program to help project teams plan, design, implement and manage the
transition to StarOffice software. These services leverage Sun's
expertise to ease the transition to StarOffice software. For
information about the StarOffice software curriculum and education
consulting services, please visit the Sun Educational Services web
site.
About StarOffice Software
StarOffice software is a cross-platform personal productivity suite
designed for compatibility and stability. StarOffice software runs on
the Solaris[tm] Operating Environment, Windows, Linux and OS/2
platforms and is available in eight languages. StarOffice software has
a fully integrated set of powerful applications that provides
compatible word processing, spreadsheet, graphic design, presentations,
HTML editor, mail/news reader, scheduler, and database functions and
contains filters for importing other file formats. Users of other
popular office productivity suites should find StarOffice software easy
to use. With the release of the new 5.1 version for worldwide
distribution, StarOffice software provides performance and feature
upgrades that improve user experience and productivity.
StarOffice 5.1 release includes:
StarOffice Writer for document editing StarOffice Calc for creating
spreadsheets StarOffice Impress for creating presentations StarOffice
Draw and StarImage for creating vector and bit-mapped graphics
StarOffice Schedule for managing calendars and to-do lists StarOffice
Mail for handling e-mail StarOffice Base for creating interfaces to
databases StarOffice Discussion for reading Internet news StarOffice
Math for creating complex formulas StarOffice Workplace for creating a
desktop environment
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision "The Network Is The
Computer" has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), to its
position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware,
software and services that power the Internet and allow companies
worldwide to ".com" their businesses. With $12.4 billion in annual
revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World
Wide Web at sun.com.
Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, "The Network Is The Computer",
Solaris, StarOffice, StarPortal and SunSpectrum are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States
and in other countries.
Addendum
StarOffice NOW Industry Support
Alliance Commerce, Inc.
"As an application service provider often referred to as "the needle
in the haystack" by many small and medium sized enterprises, Sun's
StarOffice suite will allow us to provide even greater productivity to
our customers. Offering the high-quality StarOffice suite gives our
customers a superior alternative to paying the exorbitant license fees
associated with other suite software. Sun's '.com' business model gives
our customers the competitive advantage provided by leveraging the
power of the Internet. This is the next generation in computing and
once again, Sun leads the way." -- Pat T. D'Angelo, President & CEO,
Alliance Commerce, Inc. PR Contact: Pat T. D'Angelo, President & CEO,
Email: Ceo@Alliancecommerce.Net, Telephone: 877-Net-Apps
Application Workz
"We're quite excited, being a member of the StarOffice NOW program.
Our customers will definitely have a solid, alternative choice with
StarOffice versus other existing software suites. Also, being in Sun's
Early Access program, we're going to be integrating our ERP package
into StarOffice, and later Sun's StarPortal, so that our customers will
benefit greatly by our services and be ready for the Post PC wireless
era." -- John Clary, President of Application Workz PR Contact: John
Clary, President, Email: jclary@appworkz.com, Telephone: 408-621-9582
Ariel Enterprise Systems
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to developing new products and technologies with Sun
and StarOffice software to be distributed to our customers." -- Jeff
Lewis, Ariel Enterprise Systems PR Contact: Jeff Lewis, Sales Manager,
Ariel Enterprise, Email: Jeffl@Ariel.Co.Za
Bigsafe, Inc.
"The StarOffice NOW program establishes Sun Microsystems as the
leader in Web based business infrastructure applications. The program
will set the standard for the burgeoning ASP market by allowing single
providers to enhance service offerings and add significant value to the
end user. Sun's commitment to start-ups like Bigsafe places them ahead
of the curve and in prime position to embrace the paradigm shift toward
Internet based computing. We consider Sun a valuable partner in the
growth of our company and in the continued development of cutting-edge
technologies to be integrated into our system." -- Marshall Abbott,
President, Bigsafe, Inc. PR Contact: Brian Zaumeyer, Bigsafe, Inc.,
Email: bz@bigsafe.com, Telephone:212-691-2240
Bodeind ehf
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to a value added relationship with Sun and providing
StarOffice software to additional users in Iceland." -- Bjarni
Sigurdsson, Bodeind ehf-Iceland PR Contact: Bjarni Sigurdsson, Bodeind
ehf -Iceland, Europe, E-mail: Bjarni@Bodeind.Is
Business.com
"We are very pleased to be included in the select group of StarOffice
Now partners. Business.com will be the leader in delivering the highest
quality business information and solutions on the Internet, and the Sun
StarOffice product is a good example of that commitment." -- Jake
Winebaum, acting CEO, Business.com. PR Contact: Kelly Fitzimmons,
Telephone: 781-863-5779
Cabinet Group (THK-NET)
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to developing new products and technologies with Sun
and StarOffice software to be distributed to our one million
customers." -- Samu Martikainen, CTO, Cabinet Group PR Contact: Jyri
Mustakallio, Email: jyri.mustakallio@cabinet.net, Telephone: +358 9
61265821
Caldera Systems
"StarOffice is a big reason why end users looking for lower cost
computing solutions are choosing OpenLinux. It's a web-ready, free
business applications suite. The StarOffice NOW program will allow us
to continue developing new products and technologies with Sun and
StarOffice software." -- Benoy Tamang, Vice President of Marketing,
Caldera Systems, Inc. PR Contact: Rick Pike, Manager Corporate
Communications, Email: rpike@calderasystems.com, Telephone:(801)
765-4999
E-Academy, Inc.
"With PC ownership reaching 95% of kids enrolled in higher education,
the challenge has now shifted to providing software tools. As part of
the StarOffice NOW program, e-academy will be able to offer students a
powerful office suite at no cost thereby enhancing their learning
experience and lowering the cost of education. Through a combination of
downloads from our web site and our student CD distribution, we expect
to get Sun and StarOffice software into the hands of one million plus
users this year." -- Ram Raju, President and CEO, E-academy, Inc. PR
Contact: Patty de Llosa, E-academy, Inc., Email: pllosa@e-academy.com,
Telephone: 212-737-6469 or Angela Foot, E-academy, Inc., Email:
afoot@e-academy.com, Telephone: 613-526-3005
Globex Research
"GLOBEX Research is excited to announce its partnership with Sun
Microsystems in their bold new venture, the StarOffice NOW Program. In
our quest to develop online tools for academics, we recognize that
Sun's StarOffice NOW program offers our customers the most forward
looking approach to making the best of their academic endeavors. Our
plan is to integrate StarOffice and StarOffice Portal into our suite of
online tools so as to offer the academic the latest in zero pound
computer convenience. The academic will be able to access all GLOBEX
related tools, including StarOffice, from any Internet accessible
computer.We at GLOBEX look forward to working with SUN on what we
consider to be a great new product." -- John Lacey, President, GLOBEX
Research PR Contact: John Lacey, President, GLOBEX Research, Email:
Johnmlacey@Yahoo.Com, Telephone: 202-256-5311
Hyundai Information Technology Co., Ltd.
"We're looking forward to upgrading our IT service level for our
customers by being a part of the StarOffice NOW program. We're going to
supply to our customers more advanced and competitive products and
technologies with Sun and StarOffice software." -- Mr. Tae-Woon,
Director of Strategic Planning, Ahn of Hyundai Information
Technology(HIT) PR Contact: Sang-Ki Choi, Telephone: +82-2-746-4186
InfoCast Corporation
"Our association with the StarOffice NOW program allows InfoCast to
further enhance our web delivered services. Delivering office
productivity software to our customers at a much lower cost is another
step in bringing the ASP model to the marketplace. We will continue to
work with Sun, to further develop visionary products and technologies."
-- Darcy Galvon, InfoCast Corporation PR Contact: Christopher Rouse,
Vice President of Marketing, InfoCast Corporation, Email:
crouse@infocast-corp.com, Telephone: 877-338-8889
InsynQ, Inc.
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to offering StarOffice software as a cornerstone to our
small business service." -- Carey Holladay, Sr. VP of Business
Development, InsynQ, Inc. PR Contact: Carey Holladay, Sr. VP of
Business Development, InsynQ, Inc., Email: Careyh@Insynq.Com,
Telephone: 916-797-7334
LCI Technology Group N.V.
"We are pleased to be among the first group of service providers in
Europe to be involved in Sun's StarOffice NOW program. Being able to
offer the StarOffice productivity suite to customers who want to be
able to use a variety of business applications from a web browser over
the Internet enhances our ability to support mobile and virtual office
users in our planned Application Service Provider offering." -- Sam
Asseer, Chairman-Chief Executive Officer, LCI Technology Group PR
Contact: Mr. S. Asseer, Chairman-Chief Executive Officer, LCI
Technology Group N.V., Email: info@nl.lcigroup.com, Telephone: + 31 73
645 52 90
The LearningStation.com
"We are delighted to participate in StarOffice NOW. We have had great
feedback from schools concerning the product and are pleased that we
can enable our learning ASP with this product. We look forward to wide
dissemination throughout our customer base. The Learningstation.com
model provides great software distributed off the Internet to schools
and Sun has allowed us to enhance our offering." -- Jim Kirchner,
President, The LearningStation.com PR Contact: Linda Schilling,
Director of Marketing, The LearningStation.com, Email:
lschilling@learningstation.com, Telephone: 704-509-6600
LightPC.com
"We are extremely excited to be a part of the StarOffice NOW program
and to be hosting StarOffice on our application portal. By allowing
broad band ISPs a choice of top-notch office productivity software
applications, we are adding even more value to our service. We look
forward to working with Sun Microsystems, and to bringing additional
services and technologies to our partners worldwide." -- Doron Gordon,
President and CEO, LightPC.com PR Contact: Ido Ophir, Co-Founder and
Vice President of Business Development, LightPC.com, Email:
Ido@LightPc.com, Telephone: 212-931-8510
LinuxMall.com
LinuxMall.com is thrilled to be a part of the StarOffice NOW
program.Sun has taken a bold step towards providing a top-notch office
suite that gives users an alternative to Microsoft. As the number one
Linux e-commerce site, we're looking forward to distributing StarOffice
software to our Community." -- Mark Bolzern, CEO, LinuxMall.com PR
Contact: Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, VP Marketing, LinuxMall.com, Email:
zonker@linuxmall.com, Telephone: 303-693-3321
Norigen Communications, Inc.
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to developing new products and technologies with Sun
and StarOffice software to be distributed to our customers." -- Charles
P. Farrugia, Sr. Vice President Marketing, Norigen Communications, Inc.
PR Contact: Eva Innes, Director Corporate Communications, Norigen
Communications, Inc., Email: einnes@norigen.com, Telephone:
416-628-0127
On the Go Software, Inc.
"As a leading producer of B2B Web applications, being a part of the
StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our service offerings,
adding significant value to our end users. We're looking forward to
developing new products and technologies with Sun and StarOffice
software." -- Ken Grunzweig, CEO, On The Go Software PR Contact:
Alexandra Wharton, Email: awharton@uswebcks.com, Telephone:
415-357-8218
PenTeleData
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to developing new products and distributing StarOffice
software to our one million customers." -- Paula Birth, Assistant
General Manager, PenTeleData PR Contact: Paula Birth, Assistant General
Manager, PenTeleData, Email: pbirth@corp.ptd.net, Telephone:
610-826-9235
Quantumlynx.com
"The StarOffice NOW program will be an integral part of our
QUANTUMLYNX Office solution. QUANTUMLYNX Office is a robust web based
solution that allows small and medium business an affordable secure
environment to communicate, collaborate and conduct commerce.
StarPortal is a natural complement to the QUANTUMLYNX Office product as
it provides our customers access to a suite of business critical
applications. We are excited to move forward on this initative and
StarOffice Portal as we see both redefining the way businesses having
access to applications and services." -- Shelly Smith, General Manager,
QUANTUMLYNX.com PR Contact: Trent Templeton, Director of Marketing and
Business Development, Email: Trent.Templeton@Sasktel.Sk.Ca OR Shelly
Smith, General Manager, Email: Ssmith_Ais@Qlo.Com
Romsys
"Romsys intends to incorporate a SpellingChecker for Romanian into
the StarOffice package which would provide additional value add to the
product and significantly extend its usage on the Romanian market."
said Laura Lazaroiu, Marketing Director, Romsys PR Contact: Carmen
Cazacu, Romsys, Email: carmen@romsys.ro, Telephone: 40 1 230 08 10
Singapore ONE
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to the Singapore ONE
broadband users. We also see this as a step towards bringing
integrative IT "services on tap" to the end-users via the Singapore ONE
broadband infrastructure. Singapore ONE users can now enjoy one of the
fastest StarOffice download sites in the world from the Singapore ONE
Webtop at s-one.net.sg." -- Mr. Ng Kin Yee, Deputy Director,
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore PR Contact: Miss Tan Gim
Lay, Email: TAN_Gim_Lay@IDA.gov.sg, Telephone: 65 7720209
SMC Computers
"We support the Sun philosophy regarding thin clients, i.e. SUN RAY 1
along with StarOffice. We appreciate and still support this idea in
order to provide our customers with Sun Systems that are very efficient
in terms of capability and cost ratio." -- Mr. Gabriele Ubaldini,
General Manager, SMC Computers, from "Association of the Italian
Industrials" speech PR Contact: Mila Riccardi, Email:
Mriccardi@Smccom.It
Softblox, Inc.
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
product and service offerings, adding significant value to our end
users. We're looking forward to developing support for Softblox's
products and technologies with Sun and StarOffice software to
distribute to our customers." -- Sam Walker, VP/Channel Development,
Softblox, Inc. PR Contact: Sam Walker, Softblox, Inc., Email:
Samw@Softblox.Com, Telephone: 404-892-2323 ext. 32
SoftZoo.com, Inc.
"SoftZoo.com is happy to be a platinum partner of the StarOffice
program. This partnership enhances our ability to offer diverse,
quality solutions for our end-users to search, try and buy quality
software products like StarOffice." -- David Schropfer, Ceo,
SoftZoo.com PR Contact: David Schropfer, Ceo, Email:
David.Schropfer@Softzoo.Com, Telephone: 703-748-0303 or Colleen
Challenger, Marketing 101, Email: colleen@marketing101.com, Telephone:
703-709-8095 x-12
Spacedisk
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program validates Spacedisk's
service offering and helps pave the path for the next generation of
web-enabled applications. We look forward to developing new products
and technologies with Sun to be distributed to our rapidly expanding
global network of over 5 million users." -- S Mohan, CEO, Spacedisk PR
Contact: S Mohan, CEO, Spacedisk, Email: mohans@spacedisk.com,
Telephone: 65-346-9073
Stormix Linux
"StarOffice is a key piece of third party software for Storm Linux.
StarOffice is available on both Windows 98/NT and Linux, and includes
sophisticated translation filters for MS Office. These features make
StarOffice ideal for businesses that are migrating to Linux." -- David
Talmor, founder and CEO of Stormix Technologies, Inc. PR Contact: Bruce
Byfield, Product Manager, Stormix Technologies, E-mail:
bruce@stormix.com, Telephone: 604-688-9137 Ext. 123
Teknonet Corporation
"Being a part of the StarOffice NOW program allows us to enhance our
service offerings, adding significant value to our end users. We're
looking forward to developing new products, service offerings,
solutions and technologies with Sun and StarOffice software to be
distributed to our one million customers." -- Jorge L. Vargas,
Consultant & Director, TEKNONET Corporation PR Contact: Jorge L.
Vargas, Consultant & Director, TEKNONET Corporation, Email:
vargasjl@teknonetpr.com, Telephone: 787-640-9075
Tisnet Technology, Inc.
"StarOffice NOW program offers the best office productivity suite to
our subscribers and customers. We are looking forward to cooperating
with Sun to expand our current ASP business." -- Alex Lee, General
Manager, TISNET Technology Inc. PR Contact:Peter Wu, TISNET Technology
Inc., Email: wu_cl@ms1.tisnet.net.tw, Telephone:886-2-25992280
TurboLinux
"TurboLinux is delighted to participate in this important new program
from Sun.Our workstation customers need office productivity
applications to get their jobs done. StarOffice has a powerful set of
features that meet our customers' needs." -- Steve Quan, Senior
Director of Product Marketing, TurboLinux PR Contact: Bret Clement,
Alexander Ogilvy, Email: bclement@alexanderogilvy.com, Telephone:
415-923-1660 x.144
Universo Online
"Universo Online, the largest non-english speaking portal worldwide,
is pleased and enthusiastic about this partnership program with
StarOffice. It will be, not only an additional service to the latin
Internet users, but most of all, a service with the strongest
differentiation: quality." -- Mr. Caio Tulio Costa, CEO, Universo
Online PR Contact: Eduardo Iguelka, Universo Online, Email:
eduiguelka@uol.com.br, Telephone: 55-11-32247858
VA Linux Systems, Inc.
"The Debian GNU/Linux retail package--bundled with StarOffice for an
introductory price of $19.95--has proven to be a winning combination.
Customer feedback has been very positive, and we look forward to the
continued success of the StarOffice NOW program." -- Brian Biles, Vice
President of Marketing for VA Linux Systems, Inc. PR Contact: Eureka
Endo, VA Linux Systems, Email: eureka@valinux.com, Telephone:
408-542-5754
VersaTel
"It is VersaTel's ambition to become the leading internet, e-commerce
and application provider for the SME's in Benelux and Germany. To
accomplish this goal, VersaTel will provide a range of top quality
Business Internet Services. The StarOffice Now program will add value
to our service offerings and benefit end users significantly. We are
looking forward to developing high end application services with
StarOffice, enhancing Sun technologies with VersaTel expertise." -- Mr.
Attila Gultuna, Managing Director Products & Markets, VersaTel PR
Contact: Anoeska van Leeuwen, Manager Public Relations, Email:
Anoeska.Vanleeuwen@Versatel.Nl, Telephone: 31020 750 13 22
WorkSpot, Inc.
"The integration of Sun's StarOffice software suite into WorkSpot
allows us to provide a best-of-breed office software solution, to our
users. Now StarOffice is available to users, pre-installed, as an
integral component of our free, web-based desktop service. With
WorkSpot, ( workspot.com), a user can log in from any
browser to create, open, edit, and delete documents using StarOffice,
just as they would on a local desktop computer. The beauty of this
partnership between Sun and WorkSpot, is that users can leave their
desktop computing environment out there in cyberspace, yet work on it
from anywhere they can open a browser." -- Kathy Giori, CEO, WorkSpot,
Inc. PR Contact: Gal Cohen, Email: Gal_Cohen@Workspot.Com,
Telephone:650-566-8109
Additional StarOffice NOW Participants
- BT - Cable & Wireless HKT - CCH Group Ltd. - Centro Atlantico, LDA.
- Daum Communications Corp. - East Coast Access - El Sitio - Etisalat -
Gumbit Technologies Ltd. - Infoacces - Infocrossing, Inc. - Kingsley
Technologies - MJVN Internet Ltd. - Obsidian Systems - Procomp -
Satellite Data Networks - Telekom Malaysia - Univerisdad De Las
Americas-Puebla - VOL Mexico - Zanet Internet Services Ltd.
-0- |
