Leading Corporations Worldwide Choose Internet Explorer 5

Companies Cite Browser's Ease of Use and Reduced Cost of Ownership As Key Reasons for Deployment

REDMOND, Wash. - March 10, 1999 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that leading companies in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to finance are already choosing Microsoft^® Internet Explorer 5 for companywide browser deployment. These companies, comprising more than 300,000 desktops, are adopting Internet Explorer 5 because of the improved productivity and reduced cost of ownership it will offer through its premier ease of use, powerful deployment and management tools, and its unmatched ability to create rich enterprise applications.

Corporations already choosing to standardize on Internet Explorer 5, scheduled for release on March 18, 1999, include Compaq Computer Corp., Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Eli Lilly and Co., Ernst & Young LLP, Pfizer Inc. and J.D. Edwards & Co. In addition, more than 5,000 corporations have downloaded the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 beta for evaluation.

"With Internet Explorer 5, the browsing choice for the enterprise has never been more clear," said Yusuf Mehdi, director of Windows^® marketing at Microsoft. "Internet Explorer 5's combination of premier ease of use, administration and intranet development technologies will open up the Web as a productivity tool for corporations."

"Microsoft has impressed us with Internet Explorer during our deployment of previous versions," said Mark Natelson, director of standards responsible for the configuration of Internet Explorer 5, which will be used across Ernst & Young LLP's approximately 60,000 desktops worldwide. "We're currently in a mixed browser environment and are excited to roll out Internet Explorer 5 and benefit from standardization as well as all of the enhanced technologies and tools it offers."

Internet Explorer 5 Delivers Increased Productivity and Reduced Cost of Ownership

Internet Explorer 5 offers a multitude of features and tools that address common corporate issues and improve the ease and speed with which employees can access and utilize information. Through the incorporation of IntelliSense^® technology, Internet Explorer 5 dramatically simplifies complex tasks like searching the Web and automates common ones like typing URLs or Web forms and installing new components. Reducing the browser's complexity improves productivity and reduces TCO for IT departments by decreasing support costs.

"After evaluating other browsers, we found that hands down, Internet Explorer 5 offers the fastest and easiest-to-use browsing solution available today," said Doug Eichner, IT project manager, J.D. Edwards & Co., a leading industrial solution provider. "With Internet Explorer 5 and its IntelliSense technology, we can rest assured that our employees will have a more positive and productive experience on the Web."

Corporate administrators can also benefit from reduced TCO by employing the next version of the award-winning Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Administrators using Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 will enjoy enhanced control and flexibility in the customization, deployment and management of the browser in their environment. A streamlined, wizard-based user interface assists administrators in quickly customizing the various browser features, including locking down certain features and settings, setting security levels and adding unique toolbar buttons or menu items. Once the browser is deployed, administrators can take advantage of the IEAK's ability to update the browser corporatewide from a central location, saving time and money.

Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, one of the leading global investment banks, is taking advantage of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit to standardize on Internet Explorer 5 on its more than 30,000 desktops worldwide.

"The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 provides the flexibility to customize Internet Explorer 5 to fit my organization's needs," said Jan Jones, information technology manager, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. "And with its easy-to-use and powerful administration capabilities, we will be able to focus more of our efforts on other areas of technology such as building enterprise applications to improve our business processes."

The Fast Way to Write Web-Based Enterprise Applications

A critical aspect of a corporate browsing solution is its ability to provide a powerful development platform for building enterprise Web-based applications. Internet Explorer 5 offers support for the latest Web technologies, including HTML 4.0, the Document Object Model (DOM), Cascading Style Sheets and Extensible Markup Language (XML), and also offers a rich componentized authoring solution with Dynamic HTML behaviors. Together, these technologies speed development of powerful line-of-business applications designed to improve business efficiency.

Eli Lilly and Co., a global research-based pharmaceutical corporation that is deploying Internet Explorer on more than 27,000 desktops, is taking advantage of Internet Explorer to build a Web-based application. This application will function as a newsroom, providing users timely and easy access to company information.

"Internet Explorer 5 enables much easier development and maintenance of Internet and intranet applications," said Lori Vosefski, team leader, collaboration services at Lilly. "We anticipate a reduction of 10 percent in development time as well as a 15 percent decrease in the size of Web-based applications. Neither of these advances would be possible without the enhanced developer functionality within Internet Explorer 5."

Internet Explorer 5 Final Coming Soon

Internet Explorer 5, scheduled to launch on March 18, 1999, is designed to work faster to save users time. For the first time, Microsoft will simultaneously deliver Internet Explorer for the Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT^® 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 3.1, Sun Solaris and HP-UX operating systems. In addition, Microsoft will be delivering Internet Explorer 5 in 10 languages at launch, with 16 additional language versions to be made available in the weeks following. This broad availability enables corporations to simultaneously standardize on Internet Explorer 5 to update their mixed and international desktops using the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, which is also scheduled to be made available on March 18, 1999.

Availability

The final version of Internet Explorer 5 will be available for free download (connect-time charges may apply) at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 will also be downloadable free of charge (connect-time charges may apply) at http://ieak.microsoft.com/default.asp.

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