MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (March 27, 1995) -- Netscape Communications Corporation today announced Netscape Internet Applications, a new family of turnkey software applications that enables companies to conduct full-scale electronic commerce on the Internet. Netscape Merchant System, Netscape Publishing System, and Netscape Community System are the first applications to integrate high-volume transaction processing, real-time data management, easy-to-use interfaces, and secure communications for creating sophisticated online services and large-scale businesses on the net.
Designed for publishers, Internet service providers, and merchants, Netscape Internet Applications work in concert with Netscape's client/server software line to provide turnkey solutions for electronic commerce. In addition to Netscape Community, Publishing and Merchant Systems, Netscape separately announced today Netscape IStore, a Netscape Internet Application aimed at individual retailers, and several new offerings in its Netscape server family. With these new announcements, Netscape now offers a broad open software solutions for conducting commerce and exchanging information on global networks.
"Netscape Internet Applications let companies and publishers immediately tap into mass markets and large business opportunities via the Internet," said Marc Andreessen, vice president of technology at Netscape Communications. "By integrating the key capabilities needed to run nationwide or global businesses -- such as real-time credit card authorizations, high-volume transaction processing, and data management -- these applications allow organizations to create innovative, large-scale commercial enterprises on the net today."
Netscape Internet Applications complement and expand the power of the Netscape server line. All of the applications are built on Netscape Commerce Server, a powerful commercial server which integrates the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) open security protocol to enable secure commerce to be conducted over global networks. SSL is application protocol-independent and provides encryption, which creates a secured channel to prevent others from tapping into the network; authentication, which uses certificates and digital signatures to verify the identity of parties in information exchanges and transactions; and message integrity, which ensures that messages cannot be altered en route. Netscape Commerce Server is designed for online transactions and electronic data exchange, enabling users to send sensitive documents securely over networks.
Each Netscape Internet Application also tightly integrates a relational database management system and provides high-volume transaction capabilities for real-time payment processing, credit card authorization, and transaction settlement. The applications are based on industry-standard protocols and interfaces.
Netscape Merchant System enables large retailers or merchants to create and manage virtual shopping malls. The system provides shoppers with a user-friendly interface that lets them browse or make multi-level queries to view specific types of products available in the marketplace. The software incorporates an electronic shopping cart, allowing customers to hold items so that they can purchase them at one time, even if the products are from multiple merchants in the mall. It allows the merchant to select multiple billing options such as cyclical billing, and provides order processing with options for payment, shipping and delivery. MCI Communications Corporation is the first to implement Netscape Merchant System and unveiled today marketplaceMCI, the company's secure electronic shopping area within MCI's new Web site (www.internetMCI.com).
Netscape Publishing System is designed for publishers who want to create subscription-based online publications. The system provides sophisticated billing and management tools, tracking critical data such as content, files, pricing information, access authorization, user demographics and advertising response rates. It can display context-sensitive advertising to subscribers based upon specified criteria, such as demographic information, entry path or time. The system can also archive past issues, link related stories and create HTML pages dynamically in response to user queries by subject or keyword.
Netscape Community System gives organizations the ability to create virtual communities based on shared interests. It supports popular communications activities such as electronic mail, online chat services and private discussion groups. The system also enables electronic publishers or merchants to communicate directly with their customers, explaining product features online, offering customer support and providing customers with an easy means for feedback. The system includes advanced search capabilities, multiple billing options, and usage metering.
Netscape Merchant System and Netscape Publishing System are scheduled to be available for the Sun Solaris operating system in the first half of 1995. Netscape Community System will be available later this year. Pricing starts at $50,000 and includes Netscape Commerce Server and a relational database management system -- initially an Oracle database, with other relational databases available later -- in addition to advanced application functionality.