“IBM is raising the incubator concept to a whole new level. In
an effort to accelerate sales of its Netfinity servers and to
jump-start sales of its Websphere e-commerce software, the company
literally is giving them away to start-ups for six months, with no
strings attached.”
“…Epoch Internet, an Internet service provider, currently is
working with IBM to provide hosting services to dot-com companies
in the entertainment business. “Entertainment in the last year has
come forward as a market niche that recognizes the need for the
Web,” says Paul Hoffmann, Epoch’s VP of hosting services. “What we
do is aggregate bandwidth for them.””
“Like IBM, Epoch will offer its hosting services free of
charge for the first six months, providing to its customers
Netfinity servers preferably on Red Hat Linux, but also
preloaded with Windows 2000 or Windows NT. It also is offering to
bring in its own partners, including a law firm, Silicon Valley
Bank, Big Five accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, and the
Capitalist Group, which can help a start-up fine-tune its business
plan. The only minimum requirement is that the start-up have at
least $500,000 of seed money to get going.”