Netscape's Work Culture

BACKGROUND NOTE

Netscape was co-founded by Jim Clark (Clark) and Andreessen. Clark was a Stanford University professor turned entrepreneur^[3]. Andreessen was an undergraduate from the University of Illinois, working with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications^[4]. In 1993, with a fellow student, Andreessen developed the code for a graphical Web browser and named it Mosaic.

In the same month, Netscape launched Navigator 1.0. During February-March 1995, Netscape launched Navigator 1.1. This new version could be run on Windows NT^[6] and Macintosh Power PC^[7]. Within three months, the beta version^[8] of Navigator 1.2 for Windows 95 was launched. At the same time, Netscape announced its plans to launch the commercial version of Navigator 1.2 in the next August 1995. By launching new versions of browsers quickly, Netscape set new productivity standards in the web browser market.

Numerous Netscape servers were also launched within a short period of time. Netscape Communications Server, News Server, and Commerce Server were launched within a year. In total, within the first 15 months of its inception, Netscape rolled out 11 new products. Within a year of its inception, Netscape made an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which was well received by the investing public.

In 1997, Netscape broadened its product portfolio by developing Internet content services. In June 1997, Netscape launched its Communicator^[9] and in August rolled out Netcaster^[10]. In August 1997, Netscape also announced its plans to strengthen its presence in the browser market by forming 100 industry partnerships. In September 1997, Netscape transformed its corporate website into Netcenter website – a site featuring news and chat group services.

During 1998, Netscape faced increasing competition from Microsoft in the browser market. Netscape therefore entered new businesses like enterprise and e-commerce software development. By the fourth quarter of 1998, the enterprise and e-commerce software business accounted for 75% of Netscape's earnings. In November 1998, Netscape was acquired by AOL, the world's largest online services provider.

Analysts remarked that Netscape's ability to respond quickly to market requirements was one of the main reasons for its success. The ability to introduce new versions of products in a very short span of time had made the company stand apart from thousands of startup dotcom companies that were set up during that period. Analysts said that Netscape's culture, which promoted innovation and experimentation, enabled it to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. They also said that the company's enduring principle ‘Netscape Time'(See Exhibit II) had enabled it to make so many product innovations very quickly.

^[3] Clark's first venture was Silicon Graphics, which produced super fast visual workstations. He had invested US $4 million while another US $4 million came from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital company.

^[4] The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is one of the five original centers of the National Science Foundation's Supercomputer Centers Program and a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was founded in January 1986. NCSA is involved in high-performance computing and networking and in developing innovative software applications. NCSA broadened the user base of remote supercomputing and the Internet with NCSA Telnet in 1987. In 1992, the center introduced NCSA Mosaic, the first readily-available graphical Web browser.

^[5] A web browser is a software application for locating and displaying Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both of these are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. In addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information, including sound and video.

^[6] A version of the windows operating system. Windows NT (New Technology) is a 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multi-tasking. There are two versions of Windows NT: Windows NT Server, designed to act as a server in networks, and Windows NT Workstation for stand alone or client workstations.

^[7] A popular computer model made by Apple Computer with the PowerPC microprocessor.

^[8] A beta version of the software is the last stage of testing the software, and normally involves sending the product to beta test sites outside the company for real-world exposure.

^[9] The Communicator was a complete set of tools for browsing dynamic web content and powerful e-mail.

^[10] Netscape Netcaster dynamically delivers intranet and Internet information to user desktops. Netcaster allows Netscape Communicator users to subscribe to a content ‘channel'- a content source much like a broadcast TV or radio channel - and receive content that they can view offline. Netcaster also enabled users to receive constant information updates in the background while they were working on other tasks.

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