Press Release

Netscape Delivers 'Custom Netcenter' to More Than Twenty Leading Companies and Millions of Consumers

New Custom Portal Service Extends the Power of Internet Portals to Enterprises Including Coca-Cola, Lucent, Mazda, SaskTel, Texas Instruments and U.S. Dept. of Defense

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., (December 14, 1998) - Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP) today announced that more than twenty companies and institutions are previewing 'Custom Netcenter,' Netscape's new custom portal service that extends the power of Internet portals to the enterprise. Custom Netcenter is the first hosted enterprise software solution that combines Internet portal content and services with company-specific software applications - empowering businesses to create their own portals that can attract and retain customers and that can deliver personalized business information and services to millions. By delivering Internet portal and enterprise software expertise to major enterprises and their customers and partners, Netscape reinforces its position as the leading provider of tools and services that simplify and enhance the consumer Internet experience.

Rather than directing people to static web sites, Custom Netcenter enables businesses to create their own portals with up-to-the-minute news, free email and stock quotes combined with company-specific content and services such as personal billing or human resources information. Built on the powerful Netscape Personalization Engine, Custom Netcenter can be customized for any given vertical market or specific employee, customer, or business partner. Prior to Custom Netcenter, a company wanting to build its own custom portal would have had to acquire a wide range of content and services, build a personalization engine and host the service. Custom Netcenter leverages the investment that Netscape has made in its Netcenter Internet portal and enables companies to deliver Internet content and services to their customers.

"Custom Netcenter represents the next wave of portal technology, because it provides a new platform that empowers businesses to deliver the products and services that their consumers care about and need," said Mike Homer, executive vice president and general manager of Netscape's Netcenter division. "We have received enthusiastic support from our customers looking to take advantage of the powerful synergy between Netscape's enterprise and portal offerings. Custom portals make sense for businesses, and Netscape is well positioned to be a leader in this space."

"Custom Netcenter is the first true enterprise-centric dashboard we have seen with a broad integration perspective," said David Alschuler, vice president of e-Business and Enterprise Applications at Aberdeen Group, Inc. "Custom Netcenter can be implemented as a powerful integration point for enterprise applications, information, and the content resources of the Internet, allowing more productive use of these core assets."

The list of Custom Netcenter preview customers includes these leading companies: The Coca-Cola Company with iXL Internet Excellence, Lucent Technologies, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Texas Instruments, SaskTel, Mazda, Visteon, Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Industry Canada, and Network Computer, Inc. Examples of how these organizations are employing Custom Netcenter include the following:

  • Lucent Technologies plans to create a vertical portal specially aimed at developers of wireless Internet applications. The communications networking company, a leading supplier of wireless networks, will use the portal as an interactive gateway for prototyping web-authored wireless information services.

  • SaskTel is using Custom Netcenter as a front end for its QuantumLynx Office virtual office service. Custom Netcenter adds personalization and Internet content and services.

  • Groups in the U.S. Department of Defense plan to preview the Custom Netcenter service to provide a virtual workspace and knowledge-management environment for DoD users. The U.S. DoD has an enterprise license for a range of Netscape technologies and will connect its intranet, Internet and extranet applications to an Intranet portal using Custom Netcenter.

    Custom Netcenter is designed to support vertical portals which are used by companies to target specific communities of customers, and intranet portals which allow companies to better communicate with employees and provide the Internet information employees need. Netscape also announced today the Custom Netcenter Software Developer Kit (SDK), which enables businesses to create a seamless link between applications and their customized portal. Custom Netcenter will be sold for an annual subscription fee ranging from $3 to $10 per user per year, depending on quantity. The Custom Netcenter SDK will support all Netscape business server and enterprise software applications including the new Netscape BillerXpert and Netscape TradingXpert software.

    Netscape Netcenter is Netscape's leading portal site that provides users with a home base on the Internet. From Netcenter, users can navigate the Internet, access a broad range of consumer and business content and services and communicate with others online. The site includes eighteen content channels, a set of leading-edge services including the new Netscape-branded Search, Netscape Contact, Netscape SmartUpdate, Software download, member Directory, My Netscape personalization service, and WebMail.

    Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of software and services for
    businesses that want to transform the way they create and keep customers in the emerging Net Economy. The company offers a full line of enterprise software solutions, professional services, and a leading Internet portal to help companies build, buy, or outsource Internet applications that drive revenue growth, build customer loyalty, and create new levels of business efficiency. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol NSCP, Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.

    Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com, or by calling 650/937-2555 for corporations or 650/937-3777 for individuals.

    Netscape, Netscape Navigator, Netscape Certificate Server, Netscape ONE, SuiteSpot, and the Netscape N and Ship's Wheel logos are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other Netscape logos, product names, 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.