The following announcement was made on 4/17/89: SUN EXPANDS CATALYST THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE PROGRAM Extended Program to Include New Technical, Marketing and Sales Support MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--April 17, 1989--In a move to further boost the fast-growing number of third-party software applications for its UNIX(R) -based workstations, Sun Microsystems is significantly expanding the level of support in its Catalyst program for independent software vendors (ISVs). The new Catalyst services were introduced to ISVs at Sun's semi-annual developers' conference April 13 in San Francisco. Sun has expanded its Catalyst program -- already one of the most extensive of its kind for a company Sun's size -- to include many new services in the areas of marketing, sales, program and technical support. These additions to Catalyst reflect Sun's awareness of the importance of selling integrated solutions rather than just hardware. "Our original Catalyst program, started seven years ago at the time of our founding, has always been a trendsetter in the industry," reported Bill Larson, director of corporate marketing programs at Sun. "Other companies have emulated us, trying to attract software vendors to their platforms. So we're continuing our leadership position by making Catalyst even better." Sun Offers More Applications Through Catalyst Catalyst has grown steadily since its beginning and now encompasses 1,450 vendors offering 2,500 products (including 2,300 software applications) for Sun workstations. Through Catalyst, Sun has more UNIX applications than any computer vendor in the industry. The Catalyst program already includes a wide range of services, such as porting centers, catalogs, special sales and marketing support, seminars, sales leads and other assistance. Sun's commitment to its many vertical markets is seen in its staff of market segment managers, who work closely with Catalyst vendors on a daily basis. Sun holds two developers conferences annually and publishes a quarterly ISV newsletter called "Party Line," which focuses on market developments. Sun also offers discounts to Catalyst members. Marketing and Sales Support For qualifying ISVs, the Catalyst top-tier "Advantage" program will now provide additional marketing and sales support through joint advertising, joint collateral development and sales consultation with Sun's applications marketing representatives (AMRs). They perform needs analyses for prospective Sun customers and as experts in specific application areas, they make recommendations for third-party solutions. For all Catalyst ISVs, sales services will include support from Sun's field marketing representatives at regional and local trade shows and sales seminars. The expanded Catalyst program offers several other important new sales and marketing benefits for ISVs. An applications sales guide will give Sun's sales force in-depth product information on third-party solutions, including benchmarks and customer references. An on-line catalog accessible by all Sun sales offices will permit real-time entry of information on new third-party products. For Catalyst Advantage ISVs, Sun will also inaugurate a direct mail support program called "ISV Express," which offers customer lists tailored by geographical location, vertical markets and other parameters. Technical Support and Communications New technical support benefits for Catalyst Advantage ISVs consist of a rental program for development workstations, a technical support electronic mail system, price reductions for developer's software toolkits and preliminary releases of toolkits to facilitate early porting of applications. A SPARCware(TM) Development Kit for designing applications for Sun's RISC-based SPARC workstations will be available at a substantial discount. To facilitate communications with ISVs, Sun is also implementing an electronic bulletin board accessible on public networks. The bulletin board will allow the timely delivery of short-lived information such as new product and marketing developments at Sun, pricing changes, and new procedural guidelines. Additional Program Enhancements The expanded Catalyst program includes several other new vehicles for facilitating communications between Sun and ISVs: o Quarterly updates to the Catalyst catalog, a comprehensive product listing used extensively by the Sun sales force; o A hotline for general information on the Catalyst program; o An advisory board to Sun consisting of Catalyst members; o An executive forum for Catalyst Advantage ISVs, providing them with advance information on new Sun products and product directions. The new Catalyst services and other benefits build on the program's established elements. All new Catalyst enhancements will be phased in over the next two months and will be in place by July 1. Special Attention Paid To SPARC One of the goals of the enhanced Catalyst program is to expand the selection of applications running on Sun's SPARC workstations. Already, there are more applications for SPARC than for all other RISC platforms combined. Sun helped start an organization of SPARC hardware and software vendors called SPARC International, dedicated to promoting this RISC architecture. "We want SPARC to remain first among RISC platforms," Larson said. "As our application base continues to broaden beyond Sun's traditional technical areas into business applications, having the industry's strongest ISV program will be an important element in our success." Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. Press contact: Nancy Groves 415/336-6411