Netscape and @Home Network Expand Relationship to Provide
Hosted ECommerce Solutions for Business Customers
PR Newswire - December 16, 1997 11:25
NSCP ATHM %CPR %MLM %PDT V%PRN P%PRN
@Work Division Chooses Netscape(R) CommerceXpert Software to Build High-Speed,
Full-Service Virtual Private Network for ECommerce
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Netscape Communications
Corporation (Nasdaq: NSCP) and @Home Network (Nasdaq: ATHM), through its @Work
Division, today announced that the companies are expanding their two-year
relationship to provide hosted electronic commerce solutions for enterprise
and business customers. Specifically, @Work has selected the Netscape(R)
CommerceXpert Internet commerce application software suite to deliver hosted
business-to-business commerce services to enterprise customers, mid-sized
companies and small businesses. @Work plans to build a scalable,
transaction-based applications platform on top of its existing broadband,
distributed network infrastructure so that the company can offer hosted
services for virtual private networks (VPNs) -- open, encrypted Internet-based
networks -- which provide high-volume transactional ecommerce capabilities for
business customers.
Since its inception, @Home Network has been using the combination of
Netscape(R) SuiteSpot server software and Sun Microsystems' SPARC(TM)
Solaris(TM)-based servers to deliver its broadband Internet services, with
Netscape(R) Communicator as the default browser and email client software for
subscribers. Through this expanded agreement, @Work plans to offer robust
transaction processing capabilities to enable full-scale business-to-business
transactions over the Internet. Enterprise and business customers that want
to take advantage of ecommerce but do not currently have the resources to
deploy a commerce-enabled Extranet independently will soon be able to turn to
@Work to manage their mission-critical applications, such as electronic data
interchange (EDI), as well as Web site and email services.
"Successful execution of Internet-based transaction strategies will
separate business winners and losers going forward," said Don Hutchison,
senior vice president and general manager of @Work. "Businesses need to
establish a cost-efficient means to conduct ecommerce in a safe, fully-managed
environment without assuming intolerable start-up costs. Netscape
CommerceXpert Internet commerce solutions and @Work's security-enhanced
distributed network enable a rich, efficient start in ecommerce that can scale
and bridge with legacy systems."
"Netscape's overarching strategy for Internet-based ecommerce is to
deliver powerful, standards-based software solutions and professional services
that link people and businesses together, while affording companies
productivity gains at reduced operational costs," said Steve Savignano, vice
president and general manager of the applications product division at
Netscape. "Having already distinguished itself as a leader in delivering
broadband Internet service using Netscape Communicator and Netscape SuiteSpot,
@Work is moving rapidly to use the Netscape CommerceXpert family of solutions
to offer business customers the industry's first end-to-end ecommerce
solution."
The hosted services model allows the potential market for ecommerce
services to expand by providing an opportunity for enterprise customers and
small businesses alike to leverage existing investments in EDI and other
business-critical application investments to deploy Extranets that pull key
trading partners, suppliers and customers into their electronic supply chain.
Hosted ecommerce solutions also provide small-to-mid-size business customers
with a cost-effective mechanism to establish an online selling presence and
maintain strategic relationships with larger industry trading partners
worldwide. Having established success in building the global applications
backbone for Internet, Intranet and Extranet applications, Netscape is already
gaining significant momentum in establishing this new hosting market by
offering Netscape CommerceXpert and Netscape(R) SuiteSpot Hosting Edition
server software to leading telecommunications companies worldwide.
"With this announcement, Netscape and @Home Network are taking a
significant step forward in making the Internet a more safe and secure
platform for companies both large and small to do business electronically,"
said Mark Tolliver, vice president of market development at Sun Microsystems,
Inc. "Here's what scalability means: it's the ability to quickly and
reliably deploy a whole new class of high-bandwidth ecommerce applications and
services to business customers without abandoning core network architecture.
@Home Network's use of scalable Sun servers as part of its existing broadband
infrastructure lets these companies do exactly that."
Netscape CommerceXpert is a complete line of Internet-based
business-to-business commerce applications built on Netscape SuiteSpot
servers. The family consists of five products focused on buying, selling and
merchandising over the Internet that leverage existing EDI and enterprise
applications investments. Netscape(R) CommerceXpert software suite includes
Netscape(R) ECXpert, Netscape(R) SellerXpert, Netscape(R) BuyerXpert,
Netscape(R) MerchantXpert and Netscape(R) PublishingXpert. Netscape ECXpert
is a structured messaging interchange that enables data interchange either via
EDI over the Internet or over non-EDI networks. Netscape ECXpert enables
companies to build an Internet-based electronic commerce program. Key
advantages include encrypted communications, standards-based, interoperable
technology, wide accessibility, reduced implementation and operational costs,
and investment protection of legacy systems, both enterprise business
applications and EDI.
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software
for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet.
The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and
commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation,
live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP", Netscape
Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.
@Work (www.home.net/work) leverages the @Home Network backbone and
distributed information architecture to provide high-speed Internet access,
internetworking services and value-added applications to businesses and
organizations. @Work offers connectivity via a variety of transport options
that include hybrid fiber coaxial and telco circuits. Through a combination
of @Home's unique distributed architecture and strong industry partnerships,
@Work delivers a network application platform for businesses looking for open
standard client-server and distributed object computing environments.
NOTE: Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is
available on the Internet at home.netscape.com, by sending email to
moreinfo@netscape.com or by calling 415-937-2555 (corporate customers) or
415-937-3777 (individuals).
Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape
Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Netscape's logos and Netscape product and service names are also trademarks of
Netscape Communications Corporation, which may be registered in other
countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective
owners. @Home Network, @Home, @Work and the @Logo are trademarks of @Home
Network and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
SOURCE Netscape Communications Corporation
/CONTACT: David Bottoms of Netscape Communications Corporation,
650-937-4390, or dbottoms@netscape.com/
/Web site: home.netscape.com and home.net
(NSCP ATHM) |
