ISPs gain new respect

With 5,000 ISPs descending on Silicon Valley this week for a trade show, companies as diverse as Hewlett-Packard, Netscape, Open Market, Silicon Graphics, and IBM are targeting the suddenly hot ISP market, thinking to make it easier for Net access providers to handle outsourced applications for corporate customers.

Netscape outsourcing woos ISPs lead story The company announces software for ISPs to run applications on behalf of corporate customers. HP offers ISP deals The firm unveils a new business strategy in which it gives ISPs a break on hardware in return for shared revenue. Open Market adds e-commerce for ISPs Open Market unveils a new product line merging transaction processing with store-building tools. IBM's ISP e-commerce software Big Blue is offering an additional version of its e-commerce software to ISPs and Web hosting services. BEA aims for app server market The company shells out approximately $192 million in stock to acquire WebLogic, a Web application server maker.