GE And Netscape Form Joint
Venture-New Company to Develop Internet Software for
Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce
Rockville, MD and Mountain View, Calif. (April 10, 1996)
-- GE Information Services (GEIS) and Netscape
Communications Corporation today announced they have
established a joint venture that will develop and market
software for Internet-based business-to-business electronic
commerce. Benefiting from GE Information Services' market
expertise as the world's leading provider of
business-to-business electronic commerce services, and
Netscape's leading position in developing and marketing
software for the Internet, the joint venture is expected to
play a pivotal role in making it possible for companies to
easily use the Internet and intranets for core business
transactions, thereby increasing their productivity. The
company will also take an active role in promoting the
development of open standards for business-to-business
electronic commerce. The joint venture, named Actra Business
Systems LLC (Actra), will be located in Mountain View,
CA.
"Businesses stand to benefit enormously from the products
of this joint venture," said Hellene Runtagh, President and
CEO of GE Information Services. "Through Internet
technologies, the great productivity gains of
business-to-business electronic commerce that are currently
enjoyed by some corporations will be made available to both
large and small corporations."
"Netscape is committed to helping the corporate market
reap the benefits of the Internet and intranets," said Jim
Barksdale, President and CEO of Netscape. "By working with
GE on this joint venture we hope to extend the Internet's
benefits to business-to-business commerce. Actra opens
tremendous new business opportunities and is ideally
positioned to take the lead in spearheading the development
and distribution of new applications that meet the very
specific needs of business-to-business commerce transacted
over the Internet."
Approximately 100,000 companies use EDI (electronic
document interchange), a key component of
business-to-business electronic commerce. According to
Forrester Research, that number represents only five per
cent of businesses that could benefit from the technology.
By providing tools and applications that facilitate the use
of the Internet and intranets by corporations, both large
and small, Netscape and GE Information Services hope to
expand the rapid adoption of EDI and other applications for
business-to-business commerce.
Actra's mission is to develop these software
applications, designed specifically to run over the Internet
and intranets. These applications can help companies to
reduce costs, decrease cycle times, and improve quality in
core business functions. Initial product development will
focus on two key areas:
- A business document gateway to facilitate the
exchange of EDI and messages between a business and its
trading partners
- A suite of server software products focusing on
purchasing and supplier management, EDI, electronic
product catalogs and Internet client software technology
to streamline sourcing, ordering, purchasing, and the
payment process from the buyer, agent, and seller sides.
Plans call for the first new applications to be available
in early 1997. The joint venture will distribute its
products through electronic commerce service providers,
consulting firms, GE Information Services, and Netscape. The
company's initial staff will be drawn from both GE
Information Services and Netscape. Jim Sha, senior vice
president, new ventures at Netscape, will serve as Actra's
acting CEO. GE Information Services and Netscape each hold a
fifty percent interest in the company.
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 on-line applications. Traded on NASDAQ
under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation
is based in Mountain View, California.
GE Information Services is a leading supplier of Business
Productivity Solutions, combining electronic commerce
services, inter-business process consulting, and trading
community management. GE Information Services supports the
world's largest trading community of over 40,000 companies,
helping them improve their productivity in
purchasing/supplier management, logistics, and marketing and
distribution channel management. GE Information Services is
one of the 12 key businesses of the General Electric
Company, U.S.A..
