Alliance to Combine Netscape Application Server and NetDynamics Software
To Solidify Position as Leading Provider of Application Server Solutions
PALO ALTO, Calif. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- In a
move that reaffirms its commitment to providing customers with best-of-breed
server software to help them stay competitive in the evolving Net Economy, the
Sun-Netscape Alliance today unveiled its strategy for delivering the
industry's leading application server solution and its vision for fulfilling
next-generation requirements for e-commerce. The strategy will enable Alliance
customers to continue to utilize applications written using Netscape
Application Server(R) and NetDynamics as they move existing and new
applications forward to the next generation Alliance application server.
Today, the Sun-Netscape Alliance application server products are deployed
at more than 1,000 customer sites across multiple industries including
telecommunications, financial services and retail.
"The application server is the software engine powering the Net Economy,"
said Stuart Wells, senior vice president and general manager of application
infrastructure products for the Sun-Netscape Alliance. "With the impact of
broadband access, information appliances and wireless connectivity happening
now, Alliance customers will need even more robust, more scalable application
server engines, and our strategy delivers both -- now and going forward."
"We believe that Netscape Application Server and NetDynamics currently
provide exceptional solutions to fit our system needs, and we expect to deploy
the next generation of the Alliance's application server software," said Greg
Sharenow, chief operating officer for National Discount Brokers.
The Alliance has a two step approach to delivering a single application
server solution.
* In step one, the Alliance will release both NetDynamics 5.01 and
Netscape Application Server 4.0 in early summer, as previously scheduled. Both
products will support a common programming model via Java(TM) 2 SDK,
Enterprise Edition technology, such as support for Enterprise JavaBeans(TM)
architecture, Java(TM) Server Page technology and Java(TM) Servlet API. In
addition, both application servers are expected to offer improved performance
and stability to maintain current commitments to customers.
* Following these releases, the Alliance plans to release in early 2000 an
application server solution comprised of NetDynarnics and Netscape Application
Server products with shared components in the areas of management and
enterprise integration. In addition, this solution is expected to deliver
matured APIs for Java 2 SDK, Enterprise Edition, XML support, Java(TM)
Messaging Services technology and new enhancements for improved database
performance.
* In step two, the Alliance plans to introduce an application server
solution that will bring together the rapid development environment, business
framework and enterprise integration components of NetDynamics with the
transaction processing and high availability architecture of Netscape
Application Server to provide an application server product family targeting
service providers, vertical portals and enterprises building business critical
applications.
The focus of this product family will be to serve the needs of large-site
and portal architectures and enterprises building applications that connect
with existing enterprise assets. It will continue the Alliance's commitments
to performance and scalability, non-stop application availability,
enterprise-class development and management tools, and it is expected to
provide backward compatibility to both NetDynamics and Netscape Application
Server applications. An additional focus will be on providing complete
application integration solutions including existing ERP extensions and
existing enterprise system connectivity and enabling business-to-business
integration for cross-company transactions. The Java 2 SDK, Enterprise Edition
programming model will continue to be the primary programming model for this
version of the Alliance application server.
According to industry sources, on-line commerce transactions are expected
to grow to $1.3 trillion by the year 2002(1). A primary goal of the Alliance's
application server strategy is to provide companies with the technology to
help them dot.com their businesses. As the Net Economy rapidly expands, and
companies need effective tools to grow beyond the single corporate boundary to
large-site architectures, the Sun-Netscape Alliance application server and
e-commerce infrastructure software is helping businesses integrate with
mega-portals to connect employees, customers, partners, suppliers and millions
of potential new-business prospects.
"As a core component of Net-based infrastructure, the application server
has become a strategic purchase for companies competing in the digital
marketplace," said Anne Thomas, senior consultant and editor-in-chief at
Patricia Seybold Group. "The Sun-Netscape Alliance is competitively
well-positioned to capture this market and deliver best-in-class
business-to-business and business-to-consumer products and services."
About the Sun-Netscape Alliance
America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SUNW) formed the Sun-Netscape Alliance to provide easy to deploy,
comprehensive enterprise and e-commerce solutions to business partners and
other companies competing in today's Net Economy. The Alliance product
portfolio provides customers with the industry's most scalable, integrated
infrastructure software and a family of production-ready e-commerce
applications. The products are offered on the industry's most widely available
product platforms, including DEC, HP, IBM, Linux, SGI, Microsoft Windows, and
Sun. The Alliance software product portfolio includes: messaging and
calendar, collaboration, Web, application, directory, and certificate servers.
The Alliance also offers a family of production-ready applications for
e-commerce, including commerce exchange, procurement, selling, and billing.
About America Online, Inc.
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the
world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and
e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet
services, America Online, with more than 17 million members, and CompuServe,
with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands
including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM
portals; and the Netscape Navigator(R) and Navigator(R) Communicator browsers.
Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and
offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for
companies operating in the Net Economy.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network is The
Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. to its position as a
leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for
establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the
Internet. With more than $11 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in
more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.
NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo and Enterprise JavaBeans, Java
Servlet, Java 2 SDK, Enterprise Edition are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
(1) Information based on report generated by Forrester Research.
SOURCE Sun-Netscape Alliance
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CONTACT:
Kristen Hyland of Sun-Netscape Alliance,
650-937-6053, or kristenh@netscape.com
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