Delivering on the promise of network computers (NCs) as easily administered desktop devices for accessing and sharing information, IBM today announced the immediate availability of software for its NC that enables systems administrators to customize and configure the IBM NCs in their networks. Offered at no charge, the new server software makes IBM's network computer -- the IBM Network Station -- unusually easy to manage and more attractive to a broader customer base.

Using the software, which defines the varying degrees of information access required by users, a systems administrator can tailor unique desktops for particular workers. For example, some users may only need to access and enter data -- such as a travel agent booking airline reservations -- while others may need to use Lotus Notes to collaborate with colleagues. Users can access their personalized desktop and applications from anywhere in the world from any connected IBM Network Station. Systems administrators also can perform management functions from any location, through a browser. Such flexibility is important to businesses considering network computers. In fact, the Yankee Group reports that 76 percent of the businesses that it surveyed cited streamlined and easy network administration as the most compelling aspects of NCs.

The software available today -- the IBM Network Station Manager and IBM Network Station Browser -- personalizes access to the Internet, corporate intranets and Java and traditional applications. Systems administrators can tap into the intuitive Network Station Manager through the majority of browsers running on most clients in their network (Microsoft Explorer 3.01, or Netscape Navigator 3.01 on Windows 95, NT or AIX) to deploy applications, designate printers or even change the cursor speed on a particular user's screen. Conveniently, they can accomplish these tasks, which used to be performed within the "glass walls" of an MIS department, from remote locations in the network -- even from home. Users can now be more productive, as they spend less time resolving computer issues themselves.

The IBM Network Station Manager controls all the Network Station's applications, including access to multiple servers on the network for transaction-based applications, access to Windows applications and also cross-platform connections to the Internet and corporate intranets by means of the IBM Network Station Browser.

Both the Network Station Manager and the Network Station Browser can be downloaded from the Internet by current customers from http://www.ibm.com/nc. They will be available in CD-ROM versions next month.

Bob Dies, general manager of IBM's Network Computer Division, said, "These new products build on our strategy to offer our Network Station customers greater manageability on their desktops, accelerated application deployment, reduced complexity and lower cost of ownership. For our customers, it means providing their employees with unlimited access to the information they need and at the same time it makes delivering this information unbelievably simple."

The IBM Network Station Manager and the IBM Network Station Browser comply with the Network Computer Reference Profile, a set of standards that major computer makers have agreed upon to make it easier for NCs to operate with one another and other systems.

The IBM Network Station Manager and IBM Network Station Browser are available today for AS/400 and will be available for S/390, RS/6000, OS/2 and NT platforms during the second and third quarters. Both products will be made available through IBM's resellers, IBM solution providers, systems integrators and distributors that are eligible to remarket systems for IBM's AS/400, RS/6000 and S/390 divisions, as well as the IBM PC Company.

In addition to the IBM Network Station Browser, IBM also will offer the Navio NC Navigator, a customized version of Netscape's Navigator 3.0 for NCs, beginning later this quarter.