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netscape.com
Overview
The foundation for the information superhighway has been laid. The
Internet - which interconnects thousands of public and private networks
worldwide - today provides millions of users with access to information
from around the globe. This complex web of networks forms the pathway
for a global information revolution that will eventually link businesses,
public and private agencies, and educational centers with one another
and with consumers. In addition, businesses are rapidly adopting
this technology for their own internal use, building private enterprise
networks, or intranets, that serve as a rapid and efficient means
of sharing information and providing services within companies,
and between companies and their partners and customers. Accessing,
navigating, publishing, and sharing information over the Internet
and intranets has created a new market opportunity - one that Netscape
Communications Corporation was founded to address.
The
Market
As a global network based on open standards and protocols, the Internet
makes it possible for various types of networks to intercommunicate.
The TCP/IP protocol facilitates communications between public and
private networks and within private networks running over any medium:
phone lines, traditional network lines, fiber, cable television
wires, and wireless systems. The computer-independent protocol runs
across PCs, Macintoshes, workstations, and mainframes, and estimates
suggest that there are nearly 150 million TCP/IP-enabled personal
computers in the marketplace - all primed to take advantage of the
Internet.
Today the Internet spans all developed continents and countries,
and Netscape's client-server software line enables corporate users
to link to the Internet as well as create internal intranets, which
help them to improve communications, distribute and share information,
lower operating costs, and reengineer operations. Recent industry
surveys show that more than 80 percent of large corporations have
built or plan to build intranets within the next 12 months, allowing
them to publish confidential information electronically within and
across departments and locations, exchange electronic mail, host
secure newsgroups for internal discussions, and collaborate across
departments. Studies show that the market for intranet software
alone is expected to reach nearly $10 billion by the year 2000.
Netscape's
Mission
Netscape's mission is to be the leading provider of open software
that links people and information over the Internet and intranets.
In addition, Netscape offers a full line of clients, servers, development
tools, and commercial applications to create a complete platform
for next-generation, live online applications.
Growth
Netscape was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, who founded
the Fortune 500 computer systems company Silicon Graphics, and Marc
Andreessen, who created the NCSA Mosaic software whose graphical
user interface simplified Internet navigation. The Mountain View,
California, company held its initial public offering in August 1995,
only 16 months after its founding. Described by one equity research
report as "the fastest growing software company in history,"
Netscape currently employs more than 2000 people in 17 countries
and reported revenues of $346 million in 1996, as compared to $85
million in 1995. Netscape currently has ten offices in Europe and
five offices in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, 92 of the
top 100 companies listed on the Fortune 500 are Netscape customers,
and Netscape's Navigator Internet client software has become the
world's most popular PC application.
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