iPlanet Unveils Industry's First Full-Up B2B

iPlanet Unveils Industry's First Full-Up B2B Commerce Platform

New York, NY, December 12, 2000 - iPlanet[tm] E-Commerce Solutions, a Sun-Netscape Alliance, today unveiled its next-generation commerce platform, the industry's first to include buying, selling, billing, market making and trade facilitation software solutions, designed exclusively for the Internet to deliver continuous services with massive scale.

The iPlanet Commerce Platform contains all of the company's next-generation Java-based business applications, including iPlanet[tm] BuyerXpert, iPlanet[tm] BillerXpert, iPlanet[tm] TrustBase Transaction Manager, iPlanet[tm] Market Maker and iPlanet[tm] SellerXpert. Each of these applications leverages the infrastructure platform, enabling customers to offer smart services in a dynamic e-commerce environment. The iPlanet Commerce Platform delivers the next level of integration, secure identity, extensibility and customisability to accommodate the demands of commerce on a global scale.

"While buying and selling products have been widely available as point solutions, a B2B commerce platform must provide a seamless commerce experience - from buying and selling, to billing and trading," said Stuart Wells, senior vice president at iPlanet. "Today we have taken a giant step forward in delivering and extending this vision. With the breadth and depth of our platform, enterprises and service providers are realising the power of delivering a "full-up" commerce experience through the creation of powerful commerce portals -- a commerce environment uniquely customised for their customers, suppliers, partners or employees."

Next-Generation Commerce Platform Available Today The iPlanet Commerce Platform includes the following next-generation commerce applications:

iPlanet BuyerXpert 4.0 is a comprehensive, automated procurement solution that streamlines internal processes and centralises control of product and service acquisitions. Integrated with the iPlanet Application Server and rearchitected in Java, iPlanet BuyerXpert offers a new, more intuitive user interface, robust workflow, support for direct and indirect purchasing, and other enhancements.

iPlanet BillerXpert, B2B Edition builds on the success of the BillerXpert (B2C) and BillerXpert Consolidator products to enable a new level of bill presentment and payment that every business can use. iPlanet BillerXpert B2B, which is also integrated with the iPlanet Application Server and architected in Java, offers hierarchical billing, dispute resolution, multi currency support, full workflow management for approvals and dispute resolution, and support for discreet and cyclical billing.

iPlanet Trustbase Transaction Manager 2.2 enables financial institutions to provide trade facilitation services such as payments, credits and identity verification, to their corporate customers. It provides digital certificates to help manage identity risk, links identity services and back end systems, and allows organisations to interface new services to their existing business systems using XML. Trustbase Transaction Manager 2.2 also includes an implementation of the Identrus Transaction Coordinator specification.

In addition, iPlanet updated the status of two other commerce applications resident in its commerce platform. MarketMaker, introduced this spring, is currently in limited release to selected early deployment customers. It is expected to be broadly available in the first quarter of 2001. Also, the next-generation iPlanet SellerXpert, Enterprise Edition, rearchitected as a Java application on top of the iPlanet Application Server, is currently in Early Access and is expected to be available in the Spring of 2001.

The Power of Integration Between Applications and Infrastructure The iPlanet Commerce Platform uniquely leverages the award-winning iPlanet Internet Services Deployment Platform. By bringing it all together, the power of integration can deliver common user management, common security, common install, common administration, common internationalisation and common platform support throughout the commerce platform for one-to-one and one-to-many business models.

For example, iPlanet BuyerXpert calls upon personalisation and directory services to create in-depth vendor profiles that speed procurement transactions. Its robust workflow service allows the user to establish individually tailored transaction and approval processes. B2B integration services connect with ERP and legacy systems, proprietary systems, databases, EDI and even marketplaces. Portal services allow the creation of a customised procurement portal, providing multiple simultaneous views of commerce transactions, data or information. Commerce communities can be connected through multiple communication vehicles such as e-mail, AOL Instant Messenger, Calendar, Unified Messaging and Wireless devices.

All of these interactions occur in a highly integrated environment that conforms to numerous open standards, including XML, Java, J2EE, PKI, OBI, SOAP, UDDI, EBM XML, OFX/IFX, Spectrum, Identrus and others. In addition, the iPlanet Commerce Platform is the only platform on the market that has strategically integrated Internet bill presentment and payment, as well as secure identity and trust services supporting the Identrus initiative.

"Businesses today are faced with the daunting task of integrating disparate point product solutions to survive in a dynamic commerce environment," said Wells. "Customers are telling us they want a powerful component-based commerce platform that delivers full functionality of enterprise applications and is integrated with iPlanet's scalable and proven infrastructure platform, including unified user management, application and integration, and communications and portal services."

Pricing and Availability iPlanet products are offered on a per-CPU or subscription basis. iPlanet does not charge transaction fees for its commerce products, nor does it establish or run its own closed supplier networks or emarketplaces. The iPlanet BuyerXpert 4.0, BillerXpert B2B and TrustBase Transaction Manager 2.2 products are available immediately.

About iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, a Sun-Netscape Alliance, was established in March 1999 by America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and Sun Microsystems, Inc. [NASDQ: SUNW] to power the next wave of the Net Economy through thought leadership, technical innovation, expert services and the creation of exceptional customer satisfaction. The iPlanet Internet Service Deployment Platform is the industry's leading software environment designed to enable rapid assembly and deployment of scalable Internet services. Based on best-of-breed, open and proven technologies, the platform includes the world's #1 Messaging, Directory, Web and Application Servers. For more information, consult the iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions Web site at www.iplanet.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Mike Lowe E-Business Solutions Manager SolNet Ltd. Ph: 04-462-0725 025-577-022 mike.lowe@solnet.co.nz

SolNet is the exclusive master distributor for iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions in New Zealand.

Regards Amanda McVitty

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Amanda McVitty Marketing Communications Manager SolNet Ltd. PO Box 397 Wellington New Zealand

Phone: 64-4-462-0700 Fax: 64-4-462-0775 DDI: 64-4-462-0724 Mobile: 021-898-798 Email: amandam@newzealand.sun.com

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