BT's Ignite Fuels Worldwide ASP Market With Citrix Systems; Citrix Provides Application Flexibility and Efficiency for Global Application Hosting Initiative From BT Ignite

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

BT's Ignite and Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) today announced a global alliance to enable Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to offer customers network hosted and rented applications worldwide. The agreement will accelerate the growth of the Application Service Provider (ASP) market, combining BT's technical expertise and global reach with Citrix's market leading application server software.

Citrix(R) MetaFrame(TM), ICA(R) and NFuse(TM) software will be used to install, manage and deploy a world class portfolio of hosted ISV applications in data centers around the world. In addition, Citrix and Ignite will work in collaboration with ISVs to embed Citrix MetaFrame into applications, enabling ISVs to deliver the full richness and interactivity of Windows(R), UNIX(R) and Java(TM) applications over the Web without costly application rewrites.

"We're playing a major part in the huge growth of ASP by delivering the essential components of successful application hosting through strategic partnerships such as this one with Citrix," said Keith Langridge, Ignite's vice president of applications hosting. "It's a very significant relationship. It helps ISVs and smaller ASPs develop, host and deploy applications online and enables larger independent ASPs with their own hosting infrastructures to tap into BT Ignite's ISV base and resell applications. It also means BT Ignite Application Services Group can provide a substantial application service to BT's own customer base."

In August this year, BT Ignite joined the Citrix iBusiness Application Service Provider program, a global initiative which gives participants access to Citrix application server software on a pay-as-you-go basis, as well as joint marketing and sales opportunities and support services. There are currently 110 Citrix-enabled ASPs worldwide.

"The worldwide ASP market has undergone immense growth over the last year, and continues to grow at a very rapid rate. BT Ignite's ASP initiative is one of the first programs to concentrate on bringing together all of the disparate elements that make up the ASP food chain," said John Glendenning, director of Citrix iBusiness Europe. "We believe that the combination of BT Ignite and Citrix will be a very strong incentive for ISVs to really start capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the ASP model."

The ASP rental model, facilitated by BT Ignite and Citrix, offers significant advantages to ISVs. As well as potentially increasing user licence sales and thus generating new and recurrent revenue streams, ISVs will benefit from the following:

-- The ability to rapidly deploy network hosted and rented applications to end
customers

-- Access to a wider audience via BT Ignite's carrier class platform and
application server technology from Citrix

-- Remote end user software upgrades and bug fixes

-- Reduced time-to-market in application development

-- BT service surround: billing, fault handling, and order handling appropriate
to the market

-- Opportunity to build on innovative commercial models such as "Risk & Reward"
type agreements

About MetaFrame

Citrix MetaFrame application server software is enabling organizations to achieve "Digital IndependenceTM" from the high cost and complexity of traditional computing by transforming the way they deploy, manage and access business applications across the extended enterprise. MetaFrame extends the functionality of Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R) Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition and Microsoft Windows(R) 2000 Terminal Services, as well as UNIX(R) operating system. It provides enterprise application management for increased scalability, deployment and simplified application support, Web enablement of applications via Citrix NFuse application portal software, and universal application access to users in any location, on any device, over any network connection - wireless to Web.

About Ignite

Ignite is BT's new international broadband IP business focused on corporate and wholesale markets in the UK and Continental Europe, and through AT&T and Concert, worldwide. It has one of the largest broadband networks in Europe and plans a series of significant investments over the next three years to expand its backbone network and web hosting and application service provider (ASP) capabilities. This investment also supports its strategy to provide city fibre rings, xDSL and wireless local loop broadband access across Europe. Ignite also includes BT's international solutions businesses, Syntegra and Syncordia. Alfred T. Mockett is chief executive of Ignite.

Ignite businesses include both wholly owned operations and joint venture partnerships: Inmarsat; Eutelsat; Intelsat; Impsat; New Skies; Esat / Ocean; Mahindra BT; Albacom; BT Telecomunicaciones; AT&T Holdings Canada; Sunrise; Telenordia; BT Belgium; Clear; Commerce One; VerticalNet; I.NET; Al Saudia; Vio; Bharti-BT.

For more information please visit www.ignitecontenthosting.com and www.ignite.com/asp_enabler