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.
