A Company Born in the Digital Age Personifies "generation d"
Identity Through its People, Connections and Services
CLINTON, Miss. (April 13, 2000) -- Staking its claim as the
preeminent communications company for the digital generation, MCI
WorldCom today announced a major initiative to build upon its industry
leadership in advanced global data and Internet services. President and
Chief Executive Officer Bernard J. Ebbers unveiled the new vision and
plans for the future of the company today.
"MCI WorldCom is fundamentally shifting its corporate strategy,
business initiatives, product focus and sales practices to expand its
leadership position beyond high-growth, high-speed data and Internet
services," Ebbers said. "The company is announcing a sweeping
initiative to extend the network and transport services MCI WorldCom is
so well known for to include a broad range of value added services to
facilitate e-commerce and e-business."
The move leverages MCI WorldCom's existing strengths in its
extensive global network assets, vast resources and experience in data
communications and Internet operations, as well as 77,000 employees
worldwide. This shift aptly positions the company as the communications
industry leader enabling the new data-centric economy.
The company unveiled its vision for providing a range of seamless,
end-to-end services for both emerging and established "e-companies,"
and existing brick-and-mortar companies who are adding "e" capabilities
to become "click-and-mortar" companies. The services are part of five
core service sets, which include network and access, hosting, an
e-business "toolkit," turn-key web solutions, and custom web
solutions. The initiative builds upon and extends the industry leading
Internet transport and access capabilities provided by its UUNET
business unit.
There are literally hundreds of companies that provide various
pieces of the puzzle that modern businesses need to become
"e-companies." Dozens of companies offer hosting and/or web site
creation services, still others provide a turn-key e-business creation
environment, while still many others furnish, to varying degrees,
customized solutions or key components that customers can use to build
their own solutions. MCI WorldCom's strategy is to provide a
soup-to-nuts range of services -- from network and access services to
hosting and site creation services -- for small businesses to global
multinational corporations.
"Our data and Internet services are the building blocks for the
powerful new digital economy and this is our emphasis going forward,"
Ebbers said. "Every day MCI WorldCom empowers our customers to
digitally conduct business better and faster. Whether it is an
electronic stock trade, a commercial airliner taking off and landing, a
dial-up call to a leading online service provider, or an e-commerce
purchase arriving at your doorstep on time, it is likely that MCI
WorldCom made it happen. We're blazing a broadband trail to make our
customers more successful in today's data-centric information
age."
Further differentiating MCI WorldCom's approach is a comprehensive
e-business toolkit, which enables its customers to choose carrier-class
components around which to build their e-services. These tools include
directory services, security/certificate services, voice browsing, a
full range of prepaid access alternatives, and support for delivering
third-party applications.
"Customers are in every time zone in the global marketplace. A major
challenge is to meet their service requirements 24 hours a day, 365
days a year. MCI WorldCom's initiative -- generation d -- is aimed,
in part, at helping our customers satisfy theirs," said Vint Cerf, MCI
WorldCom senior vice president for Internet Architecture and
Technology. "Customers want to choose how they communicate with their
e-supplier -- on-line via the web, over the phone via toll free
service, with chat, with e-mail, via wireless devices such as personal
digital assistants and interactive pagers, or by combining any or all
of these services," said Cerf.
MCI WorldCom is leveraging its industry-leading call center services
experience to create a broad range of capabilities to establish world
class "web centers" and to turn existing call centers into web-enabled
communications centers.
generation d
As part of the corporate-wide effort, MCI WorldCom is launching a
national advertising campaign focusing on new types of customers,
entrepreneurial companies and MCI WorldCom employees - "generation d" -
all of whom are driving today's new digital economy. A main theme of
the campaign -- "generation d, it's not an age, it's an attitude" -
will be incorporated in broadcast, print and on-line media. The
advertising campaign was developed by Messner Vetere Berger McNamee
Schmetterer EURO RSCG of New York.
To learn more about generation d, visit
http://www.wcom.com/generationd.
About MCI WorldCom
MCI WorldCom (NASDAQ: WCOM) is a global leader in
"all-distance" communications services with operations in
more than 65 countries. Revenues in 1999 were $37 billion, with more
than $15 billion from high-growth data, Internet and international
services. MCI WorldCom and Sprint have announced a merger agreement,
which the companies expect to close in the second half of 2000 after
regulatory and shareholder approvals. For more information go to
http://www.wcom.com.
