NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Dave Costello, DCI Media Relations
(508) 470-3870

Release Date: March 13, 1997

Three Never-Before-Seen Conferences Will
Highlight DCI's Database & Client/Server World
in Boston, May '97

Network Computers, Universal Servers, Extranets Solidify Status as Premier Event; Year 2000 Conference, Great Debates Are "Must-Attends"

Andover, MA -- DCI's Database & Client/Server World has gained a reputation as the premier show and most focused event in the database industry. While other database events have become cluttered with peripheral issues, DCI's Database & Client/Server World has maintained its concentration on database-related subjects, according to George Schussel, chairman of DCI's Database & Client/Server World. The upcoming version of the show -- May 20-22, 1997, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston -- will solidify that reputation with a number of cutting-edge and never-before-seen presentations, all focused on the future of database technology.

Of the seven distinct conferences that comprise DCI's Database & Client/Server World, three are either being presented for the first time or feature first-time elements. The Intranet/Extranet Developers Conference offers insights into extranets, seen as the next important Internet development. In addition, an opening plenary by John Patrick, Vice President, Internet Technology, IBM Corporation, on "Creating the Future Beyond the Internet" will take place on May 20. An industry-first conference titled the "Network Computer Conference" focuses on the next step in the evolution of the desktop. Other sub-conferences include Application Development Tools & Packages; Data Warehousing; Data Modeling; and Distributed Objects & Middleware.

An innovative addition to the conference is a debate between Mike Stonebraker, Chief Technical Officer, Informix Software, and Jerry Held, Senior Vice President, Server Technologies Division, Oracle Corporation. The debate, "The Universal Server Championship Debate: Informix vs. Oracle," will pit these highly visible participants in a battle for universal server supremacy. A second debate, "Has the Internet Killed Client/Server?", will also be held, featuring four industry experts with widely varying opinions.

Of particular interest will be DCI's Year 2000 Issues & Answers Conference, co-chaired by Year 2000 gurus Peter de Jager and Ken Orr. While much of what has been written and discussed about the Year 2000 has been of the doomsday, "sky is falling" variety, de Jager and Orr will offer insights to help attendees cope with the problem, addressing issues such as actual strategies, financial implications, and the consequences of ignoring the problem -- a problem that, by some estimates, will force at least 1 percent of all American companies out of business.

Co-sponsors of DCI's Database & Client/Server World are Computer Associates International; Computron Software, Inc.; Data Management Review; Datamation; Great Plains Software; Hyperion Software; IBM Corporation; Informix Systems Journal; Informant Communications Group; InterSystems Corporation; Lawson Software; M Technology Association; Oracle Magazine; PeopleSoft, Inc.; PLATINUM technology, inc.; Popkin Software & Systems, Inc.; PowerCerv; Sybase Forum Journal; Sybase/Powersoft; and Unisys Corporation.

Members of the media interested in registering for the show should call Dave Costello at DCI Media Relations, (508) 470-3870. Editors wishing to register via E-mail can do so at dcostello@dciexpo.com. A brochure outlining all of the show details can be accessed at www.dciexpo.com.

DCI, located in Andover, Massachusetts, is a world leader in high-technology education, trade shows and management consulting.