Encanto Networks Expands Internet Strategy, Partners With SCO; Leverages Small Business Technology for OEM Licensing and ASP Hosting

Business Wire, Jan 24, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2000

Encanto Networks, Inc., the leading provider of small business network services and Internet appliances, today unveiled an expanded business strategy to more fully meet the evolving needs of small businesses eager to conduct e-commerce over the Web. The company announced plans to forge major OEM technology and applications service provider (ASP) partnerships. Encanto's initial OEM technology agreement is with SCO (Nasdaq: SCOC) to extend business through the global Internet. (See related release.)

Under the agreement, SCO will bundle Encanto's InstantConnect SM technology with SCO operating systems to Internet-enable small to medium size businesses adopting the cost-effective Unix OS for e-commerce and other Internet applications.

&uot;From day one, Encanto's mission has been to remove the cost and complexity barriers to enable small businesses to participate in the Internet economy,&uot; said Bob Frankenberg, president and CEO of Encanto. &uot;Leading technology vendors are recognizing the potential of this multi-billion dollar market, and by teaming with these firms to provide flexible applications and services, Encanto enables their small business customers to capitalize on e-commerce.&uot;

Encanto is negotiating partnerships with services partners who will couple their online applications with Encanto's to deliver innovative services over the Internet. These online services include options for small businesses requiring assistance with public relations, banner advertising, direct mail, recruiting, credit, sales, market research, tech support, training, business planning and travel. Applications that could be offered through such partnerships include easy, thin-server Web-building software, email, e-commerce, Internet access gateways, remote diagnostics updates, and integrated messaging. Encanto recently announced a partnership with DigitalWork.com, a small business services vendor, to provide some of these online services.

Leading market research firms see the small business market for Internet applications as big, growing and largely untapped. According to Dataquest, the market for Internet-delivered applications is expanding at 22 percent per year and is expected to reach $112 billion by 2002. IDC analyst Ray Boggs has termed the small business Internet market the &uot;birth of e-commerce,&uot; and reports almost two million small businesses are now online. In addition, small businesses and home offices account for about 24 percent of all IT spending in the U.S., for a total of more than $50 billion this year, Boggs reports.

About Encanto Networks, Inc.

Encanto Networks, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is an ISP and ASP dedicated to the creation of successful small businesses on the Internet. By removing today's cost and complexity barriers, Encanto's email, Web site, e-commerce, caching and hosted business applications and services enable small businesses to participate in the Internet economy. For more information, visit Encanto's homepage at www.encanto.com.