Netscape, Concentric show hospitality

Posted by Webhost - 25/06/97 at 02:06 am

Netscape Communications and (NSCP) and Concentric Network want a chunk of the
largely untapped market for connecting small businesses to the Internet.

The Internet software player and access service provider signed a deal today to
jointly offer a new Net hosting service that will cater to the internal–or
intranet–needs of smaller operations which still need collaborative software
tools.

The service aims to fill the gap between large enterprise requirements and
nontechnical, small-business needs by offering a service for organizations that
want to establish an online presence, but don’t want the expense of buying,
installing, and maintaining their own server hardware and software.

“We think it’s a great business for us and Concentric,” said Mike Homer,
executive vice president of marketing for Netscape. “This is a totally unserved
market.”

Through the service, called Netscape Virtual Office by Concentric, users can
establish email accounts, private and public Web sites, and discussion forums.

The service, which is planned to debut in August, will be advertised on the
front door of Netscape’s Web site, one of the busiest sites on the Internet.
Internal Netscape research indicates that more than half of the 60 million
users of the company’s software are working in small businesses, the effort’s
target market.

According to Henry Nothhaft, president and CEO of Concentric, the deal was
possible because Netscape and Concentric share a common vision of where
collaboration tools and hosting services are headed.

No specific pricing was announced, but officials from both companies said the
model would follow pricing for public hosting services, with add-on charges for
office members accessing the service. Public hosting services typically cost
anywhere from $30 to $100 per month. But the Netscape Virtual Office by
Concentric may cost more as it includes intranet capabilities and customization
features, according to company officials.

Netscape officials said the service would be accessible through other Web
browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, but the service features will be
optimized for Communicator, the Netscape’s latest desktop browser and
collaboration release.

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