Business-Incubator.com Launches to Foster UK "Com" Start-Ups

Strategic Insights -

Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, and Exodus have invested £5 million in business-incubator.com, a joint initiative to aid UK internet start-ups. The program offers a managed "greenhouse" environment for three months at a reduced price, providing a stable platform for testing e-commerce applications before launching a full e-business. This collaboration aims to address the technical barriers and financial risks often encountered by UK companies entering the online market.

Key Takeaways:

  • Business-incubator.com will provide a £15,000, three-month package for start-ups, including hardware, database software, network infrastructure, and web hosting facilities.
  • The program includes consultancy services for server workload, data backup, and information management.
  • Business-incubator.com will facilitate connections with the venture capital community and organizations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ideas Hub.
  • Start-ups will have access to Sun Enterprise servers, Oracle 8i database development tools, Cisco Systems computer network infrastructure, and Exodus hosting services.
  • Successful start-ups will have the opportunity to discuss further help and support from the participating companies after the three-month trial period.

Statistics:

  • 80% of internet traffic runs over Sun Microsystems servers.
  • 69% of the world's e-commerce sites run on Oracle technology.
  • 80% of internet traffic runs on Cisco Systems equipment.
  • Oracle has annual revenues exceeding $8.8 billion, and Sun Microsystems has annual revenues of over $11.7 billion.
  • Exodus Communications has 13 Internet Data Centers (IDCs) in the United States and Europe, with plans to add 6 more IDCs and 3 international server hosting sites by the end of 1999.

Sources:

  • M2 Presswire, September 16, 1999
  • Oracle Corporation
  • Sun Microsystems
  • Cisco Systems
  • Exodus Communications