Echelon and Industry Leaders Unveil The Internet's Future Connected Devices To Drive Internet's Growth
Tuesday November 30, 1:03 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 1999--Echelon Corporation (Nasdaq:ELON - news) demonstrated today that the future of the Internet lies not with PCs alone but with the billions of everyday devices that work behind the scenes to run our world. During Echelon's announcement today, Ken Oshman, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Echelon, Judy Estrin, chief technology officer and senior vice president, Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO - news), and Bill Joy, chief scientist and co-founder, Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) delivered keynote speeches to leading members of the Internet, press, and financial community describing how this fundamental transformation of the nature of the Internet will drive the next wave of Internet innovation and wealth creation. In a world where everything is connected - down to the smallest everyday devices such as home appliances, pumps, valves, light switches, and motion sensors - the power and potential to create new applications and new businesses is almost beyond imagination.
``Connectivity drives the power of networks,' commented Bob Metcalfe, Ethernet inventor, 3Com founder, and InfoWorld columnist. ``It's come to be called Metcalfe's Law, and it says that networks grow in value with the square of the number of connected nodes. Think of the value explosion when tens of billions of everyday devices join the Internet.'
``Echelon is well established in the building, home, industrial, and transportation markets as the leading standard for networking everyday devices,' said Peter Rogers, Director of Research at Volpe Brown Whelan & Company. ``Connecting these everyday devices into the Internet is the logical next step. It represents a huge near-term opportunity for businesses to increase revenues, lower costs, and improve quality and efficiency as well as a long-term opportunity for businesses to deliver products and services previously unimaginable.'
``The infrastructure needed to connect everyday devices to the Internet is all here today,' said Ken Oshman, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Echelon. ``Largely invisible, highly reliable, everyday devices powered by our LonWorks© networks now pervade virtually every corner of our lives - from the Millennium count-down clock atop the Eiffel Tower, to manufacturing equipment in most of the world's semiconductor manufacturing plants, to 7-Eleven stores throughout Japan. In buildings, homes, factories, and transportation systems around the world, connected devices have been installed to more efficiently run the systems that run our world. Devices that were put in place to control our lives can now be leveraged to bring the Internet to life.'
Millions of LonWorks devices - everyday devices such as light switches in homes, occupancy sensors in office buildings, valves in factories, and automatic doors in subway cars - are already installed across the globe. Connecting these devices to the Internet allows a myriad of new applications. For example, many gas stations around the world have LonWorks networks embedded in underground storage tanks for monitoring fuel levels and fuel leaks. Connecting these devices to the Internet makes possible new applications that were never envisioned when the tanks were installed, such as real-time monitoring of fuel levels to optimize refueling delivery routes - lowering operating costs and eliminating lost profits due to inadequate inventory.
``The Internet will soon be dominated by connected devices,' said Bill Joy. ``For every computer that we interact with in our daily lives we interact, directly or indirectly, with thousands if not tens of thousands of everyday devices. Light switches. Motion sensors. Valves. Relays. Washing machines. Refrigerators. The list goes on and on. By connecting these everyday devices to the Internet, Echelon is helping to drive the Internet's future.'
``We have worked closely with Echelon as a Cisco NetWorks(tm) partner to develop the technologies and products needed to connect everyday devices to the Internet,' commented Judy Estrin. ``The i.LON(tm) 1000 Internet Server brings the power of the Internet to ordinary devices, helping to create the next wave of growth for our industry, and impacting the way we live, learn, work, and play.'
Ken Oshman closed the presentation stating, ``No one foresaw that a project started to share scarce computing resources among researchers would lead to e-mail, e-commerce, and the World Wide Web. But, as Metcalfe's law predicted, increased connectivity created an environment in which previously inconceivable and impossible applications suddenly became both obvious and possible.
``By enabling billions of everyday devices to connect to the Internet, Echelon has created an environment that will enable incredible, unpredicted applications far more powerful than the valuable applications that we already see. We have started a process that will transform the Internet. As this happens, the way we do business, the way we live, and the Internet itself will all be changed for the better.'
A web-cast of today's event along with selected presentations will be available from Echelon's web site at www.echelon.com/InternetFuture after December 1, 1999.
About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation is the developer of LonWorks networks, recognized internationally as a standard for open, interoperable control networks. With thousands of application developers and millions of devices installed worldwide, LonWorks is the leading cross-industry standard for networking everyday devices in building and home automation, industrial, transportation, and public utility applications. Echelon offers a full range of off-the-shelf hardware and software products to support the development, installation and management of intelligent, open and interoperable control networks.
Products that have been verified to conform to Echelon's LonMark© interoperability guidelines are eligible to carry the LonMark logo, an indicator that a product has been designed to interoperate over a LonWorks network.
Echelon is based in Palo Alto, California, with international offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Further information can be found at echelon.com. Further information about the LonMark Interoperability Association can be found at lonmark.org.
About Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO - news) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at cisco.com.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - The Network Is The Computer(tm) - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW - news), 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.
Echelon, LonWorks, LonMark, and the Echelon logo are trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. i.LON and Bringing the Internet to Life are trademarks of Echelon Corporation. Other marks belong to their respective holders.
This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to the timing and level of customer orders, demand for products and services, development of markets for Echelon's products and services, and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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