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THE BROWSER IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Jim Barksdale, President and CEO
Netscape Communications Corporation
"What you're
about to
see is an
entirely new
dimension in
communication
and
collaboration."
November 20, 1996 - We've all certainly read and heard a lot in recent months about the
so-called browser war. I think a lot of people missed the point we at Netscape were trying to
make about how Netscape Navigator fits into our business strategy. So I thought I would explain.
Our business strategy consists of two goals: (1) get known, and (2) get in. It's as simple as that.
Well, Netscape Navigator is now used by more than 47 million people - more users than any
computer application in history - so I guess you could say we've accomplished our first goal.
Our second goal is to get into the enterprise. A long time ago Peter Drucker said, "The purpose of
any business is to create and keep customers." That idea has always been very important to me,
and I think Netscape products allow us to do just that.
To give you an example, International Data Corporation (IDC) recently released the preliminary
findings of a study analyzing the return on investment (ROI) that Fortune 1000 companies have
realized from their Netscape-based corporate intranets. Even we were surprised by the figures.
Returns measured at more than 1000 percent are typical.
I think we just found the secret of making money on the Internet. I think this is something we can
build a business around. In fact, it is something we are building our business around. And we're
going to do it just as we have done in the past: by making intranets pay off for our customers. If
you've followed this industry for a few years, you know that ever since people began wiring
computers together in networks, companies have chased the promise of effective - and
cost-effective - groupware.
With Netscape's new products, we're going to deliver on that promise. We listened carefully and
learned that customers want to take the next step in communication. We also learned that
administrators need tools that are easy to install, manage, and support.
The browser is just the beginning. Netscape Communicator makes the leap from simply creating
and displaying information to enabling rich communication and collaboration. It will contain the next
generation of the Netscape Navigator browser, as well as Web-based email, group discussion
software, HTML authoring software, and real-time conferencing software. Netscape
Communicator gives people tools to work smarter and faster in the everyday tasks they perform.
Its tightly integrated components will be easy to use. And it will let people communicate with
everyone, everywhere.
This is a cost-effective approach: It will work on existing networks and reach existing desktops.
For the first time, a company will be able to affordably provide employees with email and
groupware that use the functionality of the Web to get work done more efficiently and effectively.
This isn't simply a matter of adding fonts and colors. It's adding flexibility, functionality, and new
automated efficiency. Users will be able to view, edit, publish, and mail information ranging from
Web pages to interactive forms to Microsoft Office documents with a single application.
Netscape Communicator will provide the software products everyone needs to get work done
over intranets and the Internet - creating and sharing information, communicating, working in teams
inside and outside the enterprise, and easily using legacy applications and databases.
Together with Netscape Communicator, Netscape SuiteSpot 3.0 will give enterprise customers an
integrated client-server software solution for building and maintaining corporate intranets. This suite
of nine servers will feature advanced content publishing and management capabilities with intelligent
agents, open email and groupware functionality, and the Netscape ONE platform for creating
network-centric applications.
In addition, Netscape SuiteSpot and Netscape Communicator product families are designed to
work transparently in Microsoft operating system environments, products, and technologies. This
will enable our customers to unify the existing environments within an intranet into a seamless user,
developer, and administrator experience.
I'm comfortable that we're in a good position to bring these new products to market, since we're
starting with such a very large share of the "browser market." But the real excitement in our
strategy for 1997 is what's beyond the browser. There's an old story about two fishermen sitting in
a boat in the middle of the ocean. One of them surveys the scene and announces, "Wow, look at
all that water out there." The other one thinks about that a bit and replies, "Yeah ... and that's just
the top." What you've seen so far with browsers is only the top. What you're about to see is an
entirely new dimension in communication and collaboration.
Jim Barksdale is president and chief executive officer at Netscape Communications
Corporation. Prior to joining Netscape, Barksdale was chief executive officer of AT&T
Wireless Services, following the merger of AT&T and McCaw Cellular Communications,
and chief operating officer for Federal Express, which became the first service company to
receive the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. |
