MULTIPLE CHOICES LEAD TO A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

Jim Barksdale, President and CEO
Netscape Communications Corporation

August 22, 1996 - In my previous column I talked about how helping other companies succeed is the most important part of Netscape's mission. This week I'd like to spend some time on the main thing that makes the success of these companies possible: open standards software.

I tend to look at open standards software from the perspective of the folks who have to buy and use this stuff: As the former CIO of a Fortune 500 company and then as the COO of a number of rather large companies, I have bought and implemented more system solutions than probably any software CEO on the planet. So when we're building products, I can ask questions: If I were buying this software, what would I want? What can it do for my business?

Openness means businesses finally have flexibility - we can make decisions with more futurity because we don't have to be vendor-dependent. No matter how good a vendor is and no matter how much I may like their products, I don't want to be beholden to them. I can remember when I was a CIO - I'd go to bed at night and think, "Well, we brought up another 5000 lines of code that will only run on an Aardvark 1." I can tell you, that was not the most comforting thought, even though I may have been the world's greatest fan of the Aardvark Company.

I like to have more buying power. I like to have multiple choices when I go out to buy things, whether it's a car or a house or a boat. Why wouldn't I want to have the same choice when I go out to buy software for my computers? I'd like to know that I can make any changes next week or next year without having to rebuild the entire system.

For some reason, MIS people seem to be beholden to certain database manufacturers, certain operating system manufacturers, and certain hardware manufacturers. It's very difficult to change. We've allowed ourselves as buyers of computer systems to somehow or another believe that a single choice is good just because it's easier.

Well now we can have open systems that are equally easy - and, in most cases, even easier. So, everything else being equal, I would always choose open systems versus closed and proprietary ones. Open software gives me the multiple choices I always want to have when I buy something.

Open software also has low switching costs - I can change from one vendor to another very easily, and I can usually do it over a heavy-duty weekend. We've always wanted that; we just never had it. I can bring up applications much more quickly and therefore less expensively than with proprietary products. I get the advantage of better products, lower price, and lower switching costs.

Now everyone and their brother is getting on the open standards bandwagon. But hopefully people will always remember that Netscape was a leader in getting the software industry to adopt open standards much more quickly than it otherwise would have. Where we go from here is up to our customers - the people who have let us know, through their support, what's important to them and why the industry needed to move in this direction. We're dedicated to building good products that meet real needs and help our customers solve real problems.

Netscape is a good choice. You can feel safe with us. We don't believe anybody is going to own this new world of open software. If they could, then it isn't open - by definition. The playing field is going to be as open as the product lines. Users will have multiple choices - and that's the best thing that ever could have happened for them. We're going to work very diligently in our little piece of the world to make our products and services the best they can be. But the good news to you is, if you decide we aren't worth your trust and money, you can quickly switch to another vendor. It may cost you a long weekend, but nothing more. Not only that, you can also mix and match products from multiple vendors to come up with custom solutions fitted to the needs of your employees, your customers, and your IS departments.

So instead of lying in bed at night wondering what your support of the Aardvark Company is costing you, hopefully you'll be sleeping and dreaming about all the great open systems you can build.

Jim Barksdale is president and chief executive officer at Netscape Communications Corporation. Prior to joining Netscape, Barksdale was chief executive officer of AT&T Wireless Services, following the merger of AT&T and McCaw Cellular Communications, and chief operating officer for Federal Express, which became the first service company to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.