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December 16, 1997

Hitachi and Netscape to Collaborate on Intranet and Extranet Solutions Based On LDAP Standard for Internet Directories

- Hitachi Licenses Netscape Directory Server 3.0 Source Code to Deliver International Directory Support in Hitachi Software Products Using LDAP Version 3 -

LDAP is an open, flexible, fast-performing directory protocol for storing and retrieving user names, email addresses, phone numbers and other information on Intranets and Extranets. Support for international character sets in LDAPv3 enables multi-lingual directory data from around the world to be managed in one central directory. Hitachi plans to develop its new software products with support for LDAPv3 as well as Japanese language capabilities and market them to customers in the Japanese marketplace in the second quarter of 1998. Mitsuhiko Kodaira, general manager of Hitachi's Software Development Center, said, "LDAP directory services will be the key technology in future corporate information systems and electronic commerce applications. Netscape is leading the industry with the standardization of the LDAP protocol, and implementation of the specification in Netscape Directory Server. Our collaboration with Netscape enables us to provide the best solution for Hitachi customers by integrating Netscape Directory Server with Hitachi's technology."

"As the world leading information system vendor, Hitachi has tremendous experience providing corporate software solutions," said John M. Paul, senior vice president and general manager of Netscape Server Products Division. " Using Netscape Mission Control and LDAP-based Netscape Directory Server as the foundation for its next generation corporate applications and e-commerce solutions, Hitachi will be able to rapidly extend its leadership and expertise in providing these solutions for the Japanese market." With Netscape Directory Server as a foundation, Hitachi plans to develop new LDAP extensions for better integration with Hitachi's Intranet and Extranet software products including Hitachi Groupmax groupware software, Hitachi RDBMS database engine software and Hitachi security solutions based on digital certificates and the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) specification. Hitachi plans to work with Netscape to submit these innovative directory extensions to the Internet Engineering Task Force for standardization as part of the LDAP protocol.

Netscape^(R) Directory Server software is also at the heart of the newly-expanded Netscape Mission Control solution. Netscape Mission Control provides a unified solution for the administration of Intranets and Extranets with greatly reduced cost of ownership for enterprise customers. The new Netscape Mission Control solution builds on the Netscape^(R) Mission Control Desktop feature of Netscape^(R) Communicator Professional Edition to deliver enterprise-scale administration of shared application data, including user and configuration information for the next generation of Netscape client and server software. Netscape Mission Control is the first administration solution to combine the cross-platform Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) open Internet standard with Java to provide network managers with a single point to administer the client, server and application software in their enterprise.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol, "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world 's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1996 (ending March 31,1997) consolidated sales of 8,523 billion yen (68.7 billion dollar). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.

NOTE: Netscape, Netscape Navigator, Netscape ONE and the Netscape N and Ship's Wheel logos are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other Netscape logos, product names, and service names are also trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation, which may be registered in other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com, or by calling 650-937-2555 (corporations) or 650- 937- 3777 (individuals).

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