Press Release

Sun-Netscape Alliance Expands Application Server Strategy for Transactional E-Commerce Services and Portals

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, 1999) - 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 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 2 SDK, Enterprise Edition technology, such as support for Enterprise JavaBeans architecture, Java Server Page technology and Java 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 NetDynamics 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 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. and Sun Microsystems, Inc. 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 NavigatorÆ and NavigatorÆ 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," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. [NASDAQ:SUNW] 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.

    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.