Jim Barksdale Quotes

We're no longer a small business; we're a large organization spread around the world. I can't imagine Netscape growing as fast as it has if it weren't for the way we use our products.

We're building a great company, and we're very excited about the future of the company.

We provide many options in many product areas that they seem to want to adopt, and that's working well for us.

We can provide beta software to our developers in advance of the general public. We can easily link up with external partners, customers, and suppliers.

We can collaborate with a Netscape employee or partner who's halfway around the world. We can distribute information and software to customers and shareholders, and get their feedback.

We also provide a lot of services with our consulting group that allow people to take maximum advantage of the Net economy. Those all seem to resonate with customers and are providing a good strong base going forward.

There are no pat answers - we're pushing through some new frontiers, and lessons of the past don't always apply.

The ability of our people to think quickly and create great products in this whole new world of Internet open standards is not only essential to our success but is also one of the things that impresses me most about Netscape.

That's the ultimate gratification in any business situation - do customers buy the product? And do they use it and do they come back and buy more of it?

Take our own company as an example: We're living proof, we jump with our own parachutes.

Our people are excited about building solutions, and it's rewarding to see how much fun Netscape employees have doing something they think is relevant and important.

One problem was that my direct testimony was in writing, so a lot of people didn't get to see it. I hope they see it, because I think it built a very strong case.

One of Netscape's main attractions to customers from Day One is that we provide alternatives. And that's cherished by many customers - certainly not all.

It's the first time I've ever done anything like that. It took longer than I expected. I've gotten a lot of E-mail since I got back, saying they thought I did a good job and presented the case well.

In my column series 'The Main Thing,' I often talk about how Internet technology can improve the way people communicate - both within a business and between a business and its customers and partners.

I've tended to work at fast-growing companies that improve the way business gets done.

I was telling the truth. I feel like we got that point across.

I want my testimony to stand on that point. But I would point out that Zona Research Inc. showed we have increased market share among business users, educational users, and government users over the past several months - and that's more recent than the IDC report.

I think we're proving ourselves as we go along. The past several months our strategy has been evolutionary - making maximum advantage of our client browser, as well as our enterprise software for people who want to build Web sites.

I think they should separate Microsoft's application group from its operating system group.

I think the touchstone is to give consumers a full, fair choice without the power of a monopoly operating system pushing them in a direction that free competition might or might not achieve.

I don't believe in government regulation of the software industry.

I can't deny that some customers and prospects think it's the key to our future. But it's not. We're certainly supportive of the Dept. of Justice and the 20 states that have brought this action.

Of course, nothing happens until somebody sells something.

After all, it's the future of business communication that we're looking toward.