ELECTRONIC COMMERCE UPDATE

November/December € 1996

Oracle Outlines EC Stategy

Oracle (Redwood Shores, Calif.; www.oracle.com) has publicized its strategy, products and partnerships for enabling an open electronic commerce solution, utilizing plug-and-play technology, that allows software and payment providers to form an electronic commerce solution for business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions.

The new products announced by Oracle include:

Project Apollo -- a Web cartridge that allows a business to establish a commerce presence on the Internet, and set up electronic storefronts with rich content and integrated transactions. The Apollo server manages product browsing, personalized marketing and promotions, order entry, inventories, payment processing and order fulfillment. Because Project Apollo is based on Network Computing Architecture, Oracle's open standards-based architecture for intranet computing, merchants can integrate with back-end systems already in place with suppliers, partners and financial institutions.
The Oracle Payment Server -- a server that is available as both an integrated part of Project Apollo and as a stand-alone product. In addition, CyberCash, First Data and VeriFone offer Web cartridges that plug into the Oracle Web Request Broker, which acts as a bridge to enable a number of payment and authorization options between client and server devices or consumer and merchant systems
Oracle Security Server -- authentication software designed to recognize and protect consumer identity and information, and authorize payment service.

Oracle is also integrating Quark authoring and multimedia products with Oracle server software. This integration allows for published catalogs to be repurposed for personalized high-fidelity, multimedia viewing over the Web.

Oracle also plans to Web-enable its entire application line and integrate these applications with Project Apollo by the end of 1997.

Other Oracle Ventures

Computer Sciences Corp. (www.csc.com), EDS (www.eds.com), KPMG (www.kpmg.com) and MCI System-house (www.systemhouse.mci.com) have all been named as electronic commerce business solutions providers for Oracle. Each of these companies has agreed to provide support and solutions to organizations integrating electronic commerce into their businesses using Oracle information management and electronic commerce products.

These companies are also planning to serve as beta sites for Project Apollo.

Computer Sciences Corporation is collaborating with Oracle as a business solutions provider to help clients achieve profit growth through new and creative uses of electronic commerce. CSC's initial work with Oracle will focus on supply chain issues, pinpointing new ways to speed the exchange of products and information between customers and suppliers.

KPMG will leverage its technology and consulting expertise with Oracle's Electronic Commerce Solutions to help businesses improve their performance.

"Electronic commerce is more than a storefront," said Greg Jacobsen, executive vice president of business strategy and marketing at MCI Systemhouse. "It's about dealing with new business models, cost structures, and gaining competitive advantage by joining the network economy and outsourcing functions to the network where it makes sense."

MCI Systemhouse will use Oracle's Electronic Commerce Solutions to provide networked outsourcing of financial processes in companies worldwide and will focus on solving the complexities of security and reliability behind the electronic storefront.

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