Today's PC business computing model is a strong departure from business computing of the late 1990s. eComStation(tm) has evolved to support the changes and transitions which dominate the current computing environment. The PC computing model of the late '90s has been replaced by the Internet driven network centric model of today. All that's clear is that whatever is in use today will be "legacy" in two years, or three years. And what organization can afford to discard all that they are using today? This is the challenge met by eComStation. Appropriate for the Internet computing model of today, ready for the changes demanded for tomorrow.

Personal productivity applications and office suites running on proprietary operating systems once dominated the desktop. But the landscape of business computing is changing. Moving away from the large monolithic operating systems and applications of the '90s, Internet email, web enabled browser based applications deployed by servers are now the key business applications. Proprietary document formats, once standards, are considered restrictive and limiting. New cross platform technologies like XML,TCP/IP, and Java are defining the tools required by today's PC user.

The PC evolved as a standalone computer, absorbing changes in technology, churning new version of software every year. The cost of operating and managing PCs, supporting PC users skyrocketed, costing four or five times as much to maintain a PC as to acquire one. And while this is happening, the network has begun to play a key role in the operations of the desktop computer.

The result is an array of workstation "appliances", PCs, Network Computers, handhelds, Internet phones. The characteristic of this new generation of workstations is that they are entry points to the network. Providing access to information deposited on the intranet and Internet, access to email, team rooms, and the new generation of mission critical business applications which have replaced the office suite in importance.

Why eComStation? Well, because:

• eComStation provides a full range of functions for the enterprise, small and medium businesses, and connected users. eComServer is a complete Network Operating System based on IBM network technology providing an application server foundation with integrated file and print sharing, backup and recovery connections systems management, advanced printing, and Internet access, including one of the best TCP/IP stacks available in the industry.
  
  
• eComStation offers user organizations and service providers the opportunity to significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership by controlling support costs. Managed Client opportunities also improve the stability and reliability of the workstation, creating potential for increasing the productivity of users.
  
  

eComStation is a Managed Client(r) approach to providing business users with more reliable, more responsive access to programs and data. While supporting legacy DOS, Microsoft(r) Windows(r), and OS/2(r) applications, eComStation is the premiere Java platform, supported by IBM(r) Intel(r) based technologies. eComStation is focused on the complex, network centric computing environment which is evolving, supporting Internet enabled application development. Supporting stand-alone use, Peer Network Services, LAN and WAN, with IBM developed back end support to highly scalable databases and tiered network servers.