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Technology Stocks : Check Point Software (CHKP) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Y. Hsing who wrote (2302)	5/3/1998 7:44:00 PM
From: blankmind	Respond to of 7150

AOL Takes Another Stab At Corporate Market (03/30/98; 2:37 p.m. ET) By Malcolm Maclachlan, TechWeb Logging onto America Online during the day could become more difficult, now that the service provider has unleashed AOL Enterprise, designed to lure employees of major corporations onto the network between 9 and 5. America Online [profile] said Monday it is offering network access and other services to business customers, who will have access to AOL's proprietary network. That network is largely unused during business hours when its prime-time consumer subscribers are at work. As part of the deal, the online service announced an agreement with Lotus [profile], which will provide Internet access to business users on the network using its Notes software. AOL also said it is partnering with several computer security vendors, including CheckPoint Software and Security Dynamics, to provide business-level security to those accounts. AOL is also offering large customers the ability to create customized spaces within AOL. Such areas may be used as a kind of corporate extranet, where remote workers can dial in, view information, and use Instant Messenger and other tools. AOL has already signed up one very important client: Oracle, whose mobile workforce will use the online service for Internet access. A number of ISPs and content providers have targeted the business market for Internet access, particularly since AOL took the bottom out of profits in the consumer market one year ago with unlimited access for $19.95 a month. Internet content providers such as PointCast and Yahoo now offer special sites and channels for business users, while telecom carriers such as AT&T WorldNet and WorldCom now offer business hookup services. WorldCom, incidentally, has been AOL's carrier since the online service sold its network last year. AOL made an attempt to penetrate the business market two years ago, but gave up a year later due to overall performance problems affecting both consumer and business access. Although AOL has fixed most of its network problems, analyst Jim Balderston of Zona Research said AOL appeals more to small businesses rather than the Fortune 500, which the service appears to be targeting. That's because most Fortune 500 corporations already have intranets and extranets that provide most of the services AOL Enterprise offers. "Most companies would not want to be in a situation where their business is impacted by 11 million consumers users," Balderston said. Also, many employees of large corporations already have personal AOL or CompuServe accounts. By offering the enterprise service, AOL risks cannibalizing its consumer business, Balderston said, without necessarily adding to its overall subscriber base.