etscape Communications next week will release the first beta of Netscape Compass Server, a tool for automating the flow of knowledge throughout companies.
The product, which will be a part of the next version of Netscape's SuiteSpot, will compete with Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes and Domino software. Compass Server will replace Netscape Catalog Server, which automatically creates a visual hierarchy of documents stored on corporate servers and the World Wide Web.
Compass Server integrates technology licensed from grapeVine Technologies LLC in Troy, Mich., that lets a user create personalized catalogs that are updated with links to new content matching the user's interests. The user is alerted to the updates on a personalized Web page, in an E-mail message, or in a message "pushed" to the client viaNetscape Communicator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0.
A separate add-on product from grapeVine called grapeVine for Netscape Compass Server, also to be released this week, will let users rank t
he importance of incoming information, comment on it, and then forward it to others-adding human judgment to the automated filtering process. The add-on will also let companies generate reports that document the flow of information and identify the information sources used most often.
A version of the grapeVine product has been available for Notes since January 1995. Owens Corning Inc. installed Notes solely to use grapeVine, says Jeff Hire, manager of industry market and analysis at the fiberglass manufacturer. The Toledo, Ohio, company plans to phase out Notes and instead use Compass Server and the grapeVine add-on on its corporate intranet.
"With everyone having browsers for free, all we're stuck with is the cost of [Compass Server] and somebody to maintain that," Hire says. "That's a fraction of what we're talking about with Notes."
Pricing hasn't been set for Compass Server, which will be available through a per-user license. Pricing for the grapeVine add-on will start at $1,000 for 100 users
.
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etscape Communications next week will release the first beta of Netscape Compass Server, a tool for automating the flow of knowledge throughout companies.
