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- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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- BELL CANADA, NETSCAPE AND ACTRA ANNOUNCE EXPANDED RELATIONSHIP TO PROVIDE CANADIAN CORPORATION WITH ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SOLUTIONS
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- Netscape and Actra Technology Chosen To Create Bell Emergis Leading-Edge Business Solutions
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- TORONTO, Canada and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (September 10, 1997) --
Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company,
Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP) and Actra, a Netscape
joint venture, today announced that Actra’s suite of electronic commerce
solutions has been selected by Bell Emergis, a division of Bell Canada,
to create a virtual private network (VPN) to supply value-added Internet
commerce services to Bell Canada customers. These solutions will help
Canadian corporations use the Internet to extend their reach to business
partners and realize significant productivity gains.
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- The Netscape CommerceXpert family developed by Actra - particularly
ECXpert, SellerXpert and BuyerXpert - will enable Bell Emergis to build
a virtual private network to host mission-critical Internet commerce
application services. The Bell Business Network will host Internet
commerce applications such as Netscape SellerXpert which will allow Bell
Canada business customers to build and maintain an online selling
presence on the Internet in an open, encrypted and interoperable
environment. Bell Canada is already using Netscape products such as
Netscape Communicator Professional Edition client software and Netscape
Messaging Server software to provide an integrated, state-of-the-art
internal electronic mail system for 38,000 Bell Canada and Bell Sygma
employees.
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- "This is a big step for us and the telecommunications industry.
Providing customers with online support, advising them on how to best
leverage the unique selling points of the Internet and establishing a
new method to manage their efforts is the future for telecommunications
companies," said Jim Tobin, senior vice president and COO at Bell
Emergis. "Open standards-based technology and interoperability are key
to offering our customers a solution that will manage their Internet
commerce needs and enable us to build the first business to business
Internet trading community that is not based on proprietary VAN
technology."
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- As an integrator, Bell Emergis will lead a strategic alliance that will
provide turnkey solutions to its customers. Bell Emergis will be
responsible for connectivity, implementing the electronic commerce
solution, integrating the solution with existing applications and fully
deploying the solution throughout each client’s trading partner
community.
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- "This agreement signals a turning point for the telecommunications
industry and solidifies Actra’s position as a leading provider of
mission-critical Internet commerce applications," said Jim Sha, Chief
Executive Officer at Actra. "For several years now, the
telecommunications industry has scrutinized leading technology products
to determine their approach to providing a hosted Internet commerce
applications solution to customers who choose not to host their own.
This service model is extremely significant for the take-up of Internet
commerce as it offers customers a cost-effective alternative to the
traditional proprietary VAN solution."
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- "Based on affordable, standards-based technology with encryption
capabilities, the Netscape/Actra/Bell Canada solution will serve as a
model for leading telecommunications companies around the world as they
examine where their own Internet electronic commerce offerings should be
headed," said Todd Finch, president at Netscape Communications Canada
Inc. "By working with a leading solutions integrator like Bell Emergis,
Netscape and Actra will be able to provide corporations in Canada with
technology that will allow them to be even more competitive."
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- Netscape Worldwide Professional Services will work with Bell Emergis in
the development of a new Internet electronic data interchange (EDI)
hosting framework and service for its customers.
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- Bell Emergis will use Netscape’s suite of electronic commerce solutions
developed by Actra for its network. Netscape ECXpert, the foundation of
the Netscape CommerceXpert solutions family, is a structured messaging
interchange that enables data interchange either via EDI over the
Internet or over non-EDI networks. Netscape ECXpert enables companies to
build an Internet-based electronic commerce program. Key advantages
include encrypted communications, standards-based, interoperable
technology, wide accessibility, reduced implementation and operational
costs, and investment protection of legacy systems, both enterprise
business applications and EDI.
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- Netscape CommerceXpert by Actra is an integrated family of Internet
commerce application solutions for conducting business-to-business and
business-to-consumer commerce on the Internet. The family consists of
five products focused on buying, selling and merchandising over the
Internet that leverage existing EDI and enterprise applications
investments. Netscape CommerceXpert includes ECXpert, SellerXpert,
BuyerXpert, MerchantXpert and PublishingXpert.
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- Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company,
markets a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more
than 7 million business and residence customers in Ontario and Quebec.
Bell Emergis, a division of Bell Canada, was created to develop
software-based networking and interactive multimedia applications for
telecommunications and electronic service provider companies in domestic
and international markets.
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- Founded in April 1996, Actra is a joint venture between GEIS and
Netscape which provides next-generation Internet commerce solutions for
both business-to-consumer and business-to-business commerce markets.
Additionally, Actra is taking an active role in promoting open standards
for Internet commerce as a leading member of the Internet Purchasing
Roundtable that established the Open Buying on the Internet (OBI)
standard. The OBI standard establishes a generic set of requirements, an
architecture and an exact technical specification for
business-to-business Internet purchasing and selling solutions. Working
with American Express and SupplyWorks since October 1996, Actra is one
of four companies currently compliant with the OBI standard.
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- Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open
software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and
the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers,
development tools and commercial applications to create a complete
platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ
under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in
Mountain View, California.
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- For more information on Bell Canada: http://www.bell.ca
- For more information on Bell Emergis: http://www.emergis.com
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- For more information about Actra: http://www.actracorp.com
- For more information about OBI:
- http://www.supplyworks.com/obi/white-paper.htmlterrlizze@on.bell.caterrlizze@on.bell.caterrlizze@on.bell.ca
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- Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is
available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, or by sending
email to moreinfo@netscape.com. Corporate customers can call
415/937-2555 while consumers can call 415/937-3777 for more information.
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- Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape
Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Netscape's logos and Netscape product and service names are also
trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation, which may be
registered in other countries.
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- Actra contact:
- Suzanne Burnip
- (408) 542-3181
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