MELBOURNE, Australia, May 8, 1997 — Australian telecommunications giant Telstra Corp. has undertaken a massive deployment program ofMicrosoft Internet Explorer 3.01 that will ultimately extend to 50,000 desktops within the organization that are based on the Microsoft Windows® operating system.
The initial deployment, scheduled for completion by May of this year, will be to 35,000 Windows 3.1-based desktops and is the result of stringent product assessment by Telstra, rapid product enhancement by Microsoft, and the strong relationship between the organizations.
“We have a strong Microsoft focus at the desktop and were keen to retain one-stop accountability for integration of technologies in this space,” said Mac Lemon, Telstra’s national manager of technology planning, IT strategy and direction. “It will also ensure that a consistent browser interface is maintained throughout future transition of our desktops to a 32-bit environment.”
“We are obviously very pleased about Telstra’s decision to deploy Microsoft Internet Explorer,” said John Wood, director of the Internet customer unit at Microsoft. “Telstra has the largest installed base of PCs in the country, and its commitment to the Microsoft browser underscores the huge momentum toward Microsoft Internet Explorer in Australia.”
Following Telstra’s suitability assessment of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft undertook a rapid development program to implement a Dynamic Proxy Configuration feature within the popular browser.
“One of the key features we require is the ability to channel URL connection via one or more proxies and to dynamically derive which proxy to use at runtime based on a variety of criteria,” said Lemon. “I needed a commitment from Microsoft to implement this feature, and they responded at the highest levels of the organization. In my view, this is a good indication of the depth of the relationship and a strong reason to do business together.”
“Telstra requested that we provide the Dynamic Proxy Configuration capability, with just five weeks to complete the implementation,” said Mike Parker, account manager for Telstra at Microsoft. “Due to our relationship with Telstra, the development team was committed to meeting the time frame. In the end, we shipped release candidate code one week ahead of schedule.
“The Dynamic Proxy Configuration feature has also been implemented in the 32-bit version of Microsoft Internet Explorer and is viewed as a major enhancement,” Parker added.
Telstra Intranet
“The rollout of Microsoft Internet Explorer across the Telstra desktop environment will enable companywide access to Telstra’s intranet,” said Lemon.
“Telstra has a major commitment to the exploitation of intranet technologies and is using its intranet, the largest in the southern hemisphere, in the evolution of its own Big Pond intranet product offering,” said John Rolland, Telstra’s general manager, Internet products. “Telstra’s own internal requirements push the envelope in intranet functionality and management, and thus present the perfect vehicle for proving our Big Pond intranet architecture.”
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 for Windows 3.1 is the only browser that ships with a deployment-quality Java
™
Virtual Machine that runs on existing Windows 3.1-based systems (386 and 486 hardware) with as little as 8 MB of memory.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 also continues its leading-edge support for the broadest range of Internet and HTML standards, now delivering support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS1) for viewing of richer Web pages and PICS ratings to block the content that administrators may find objectionable for employees.
Telstra’s choice of Microsoft Internet Explorer as its standard Internet and intranet browser lends force to the February announcement of research results showing the product has emerged as the fastest-growing Web browser in Australia with corporations, consumers and Web professionals.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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