Staying Competitive and Keeping Up with the Pace of Technology

UniForum Association Presents: The Best of UniForum Conference, Showcase and Tutorial Programs

to be held in conjunction with Comdex Conference & Expo

TWO LOCATIONS

At this year's Comdex Shows at Chicago and Toronto, UniForum will definitely be a major presence as it offers The Best of UniForum Conference and Tutorial Programs -- one of the most comprehensive sets of conference and educational programs the association has ever assembled.

At Chicago, the conference and showcase are scheduled for June 3-5 and the tutorial program for June 6-7. At Toronto, the tutorial is scheduled for July 8-9 and the conference and showcase for July 10-12. The Toronto event is co-sponsored by the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS).

As a special bonus, all attendees of the UniForum Conference and Tutorial Program will become automatic general members in the UniForum Association for one year. Member benefits include a subscription to IT Solutions, UniNews, the 1996 Open Systems Products Directory, discounts at UniForum seminars and conferences, and much more!

A complete description of the conference and tutorial programs is found below. Conference tracks and sessions are the same at both Chicago and Toronto with the exception of Toronto-only sessions marked with (T). The tutorial sessions are the same at both locations.

SESSION/TUTORIAL OVERVIEW:

UniForum Conference Programs:


The UniForum Conference programs will address the concerns of today's IT professionals: executives, managers, technical staff and developers who need to choose, implement and maintain the best technologies to support today's fast moving businesses.

Track One: Using the Internet and the Web for your Competitive Edge

How far the Internet and World Wide Web technologies have progressed, how they will give you the competitive edge in business, and what lies ahead in the not no distant future are the hot topics of discussion for this track of informative sessions and tutorials.

Sessions:

(C) Denotes Chicago
(T) Denotes Toronto


Firewalls and the Future of Internet Security
(C)
Chair: Rik Farrow, UNIX security consultant and author
Panelists: Fred Avolio, Trusted Information Systems; Steven Lamb, Border Network Technologies; Win Treese, Open Market, Inc.
(T)
Chair: Rik Farrow, UNIX security consultant and author
This session includes an in-depth discussion of firewalls including firewall options and the level of security provided by each. There will also be a discussion of advanced security methods and their future deployment.

Using the Internet for In-house Communications (Including Groupware)
(C)
Chair: Stephen Tolchin, President, WebFlow Corporation
Panelists: Richard Rebh, Vice President, WebFlow Corporation; Chuck House, General Manager, Spectron; Daniel Mendez, Vice President & CTO, American Management Systems
(T)
Chair: Catherine Smith, President, UUNorth International, Inc.
Panelists: Joel Maloff, President, The Maloff Company; Glee Harrah-Cady, NETCOM; Daniel P. Dern; Michael Mussington, President, BroadCatch Electronic Publishing Inc.
How can internal corporate intranets be designed to arm employees with tools to access the Internet's vast array of resources and also to create powerful media for business communication?

Electronic Cash and its Alternatives
(C)
Chair: Corinne Moore, Associate Executive Director, CommerceNet
Panelists: Cynthia Bengier, Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank; Daniel
Eldridge, Vice President, DigiCash; Steve Klebe, Vice President, CyberCash
Inc.
(T)
Chair: Michael J. Shade, Vice President, Chip Card Program, VeriFone Inc.
With the majority of companies turning to the Internet today to broaden their marketability, what are the pros and cons of electronic cash and what alternatives are available?

Java: How Hot Is It?!
(C)
Chair: Bill Blundon, President, SourceCraft
Panelists: Alan Nugent, Executive Vice President & CTO, Xerox
(T)
Chair: Brad Meinert, Internet Program Manager, INPUT
What is it about this interactive language that turns Web pages into dynamic documents?

Advanced Internet Technologies
(T)
Chair: Randall Howard, President Mortice Kern Systems
Panelists: Dr. Ezra Gottheil, Senior Consultant, Internet Services, Hurwitz
Consulting
An in-depth look at security concerns and tools, efficient information searching methods and the newest developments for networking like ISDN, frame-relay, ATM and the more conventional T-1/T-3 leased line.

Introduction to HTML & HTTP
(T)
Co-Chairs: David Kensiski, Network Design Engineer and John Stewart, Lead
Systems Administrator, Cisco Systems, Inc.
An overview of the technologies that make the World Wide Web happen: the Hypertext Markup Language and the Hypertext Transmission Protocol.

Track Two: Business-Critical Architecture

If you're serious about data warehousing, enterprise-wide distributed computing and other business-critical architectures, be sure to attend this track of sessions and tutorials devoted to new concepts and practical applications that can improve your business processes.

Sessions:

Integrating Window Desktops with UNIX-based Servers
(T)
Chair: Lyle Bunn, Vice President, Communications, Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)
UNIX servers host a majority of the databases and applications for enterprise-level computing, yet they must be accessed via users' personal desktops, primarily windows-based systems.
This session will explore options for enabling desktops to access the robust services of UNIX-based systems, without sacrificing the users' familiar environment.

Choosing and Integrating the Right Server: UNIX and Windows NT
(T)
Chair: Dr. Pamela Gray, President, The Winta Group
Panelists: Ashvin Sanghvi, Amdahl Corporation
This panel will examine the pros and cons of UNIX and NT, presenting perspectives on each platform's capabilities today and in the future. Users of both systems will present their UNIX and NT deployment, the logic behind their configurations and the integration within their two environments.

DCE: Productive or Just Promised?
(C)
Chair: Jean Bozman, Research Manager, UNIX & Server Operating Systems, IDC
Panelists: Ted Hanss, University of Michigan; David Skeen, Sr. Staff Software Engineer, LEXIS-NEXIS; Feisal Mosleh, Hewlett-Packard Co.
(T)
Chair: Steve Latz, Founder and Managing Editor, DCE Magazine On The
Web
The Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) standard is used to develop and maintain applications that run over multiple operating systems and network protocols. Is it delivering on its promise to simplify complex network management?

Strategies for Developing Multi-Tier Applications
(C)
Chair: Jim Lenahan, Director of Consulting, Enabling Technologies Group
Panelists: Jim Carlini, President & CEO, Carlini & Associates; Benoit
Lheureux, Sr. Consulting Analyst, NCR Corp.; Paul J. Wanish, Sr.
Programmer, IBM
(T)
Chair: Tammy Lowe, Assistant MIS Director, Burlington Coat Factory
Issues to be addressed include what architecture model and tool sets should be used, which applications should be deployed and who is going to integrate the solution.

Message-oriented Middleware and Supporting Distributed Applications
(C)
Chair: Max Dolgicer, Director, International Systems Group, Inc.
(T)
Chair: Max Dolgicer, Director, International Systems Group, Inc.
How can message-oriented middleware be used to keep control of thousands of user accounts and system configurations, all of which are in a constant state of change?

Options for Integrated Systems Management
(C)
Chair: Frank Henderson, Director, Network Strategies and Design Practice Group, The NetPlex Group, Inc.
Panelist: Albion Fitzgerald, President & CEO, Novadigm
(T)
Chair: Dr. Matthias Autrata, Vice President, Systems, Bank of America
Effective strategies will be examined for managing UNIX and NT/Windows in heterogeneous environments.

Software Quality: Debugging, Deploying and Driving Distributed Applications
(C)
Chair: Chuck Boudreau, Director, Technology Infrastructure, PowerCerv Corporation
Panelists: Victor Wolters, Director of Quality Assurance, PowerCerv Corporation
(T)
Chair: Russ Aldrich, Vice President, Simba Technologies
This session details what you need to do to ensure that your software performs as required, while allowing your information system to evolve with new generations of technology.

OLE Integration with UNIX Object Systems - Fact or Fantasy?
(C)
Chair: Gerhard Bayer, Director, Technology Planning, Software AG
Panelists: Alan Ewald, Semaphore; Erik Townsend, President, The Cushing Group
(T)
Chair: Ed Borkovsky, President, UNICAN Management Consultants Ltd.
Object-oriented technologies, Microsoft's OLE and UNIX vendors appear to be following different courses. This session will examine the similarities and differences in the various approaches and present options for integrating these environments.

Windows and UNIX Co-existence
(T)
Chair: Douglas Hamilton, President, Hamilton Laboratories
How will Windows, Windows NT and UNIX co-exist in the world of networking, communications and heterogeneous environments?

Tutorials:


The UniForum Tutorial Program offers you the most comprehensive technical and managerial educational experiences that the open systems industry has to offer. With a two-day format, instructors can cover more information in greater detail. The tutorials are intensive, informative, practical and filled with information relevant to your continuing professional development.

Advanced UNIX and Internet Security
Instructor: Rik Farrow, Security Consultant and Author
Who Should Attend? System and network administrators and managers, IT auditors and managers, computer programmers, security administrators and individuals involved in providing Internet service and securing network gateways.
Course Level: Intermediate to advanced
Prerequisite: Attendees should be familiar with UNIX and with TCP/IP networking.
Overview: While the Internet is becoming an essential part of your infrastructure, it also invites hackers to probe or attack your networks from anywhere in the world. This two-day program provides the basis for practical UNIX System and Internet Security.

Designing and Building Your Enterprise World Wide Web Server
Instructors: John Stewart, Lead System Administrator, CISCO Systems
David Kensiski, Network Design Engineer, MCI
Who Should Attend? This is a must-attend course for all computer professionals thinking of building a Web server.
Course Level: Introductory to intermediate
Prerequisite: Attendees should have a basic knowledge of UNIX system administration to fully understand installation and configuration issues.
Overview: This course provides attendees with a comprehensive overview of the Web with a focus on building, configuring, and maintaining a Web server. In addition, you will be provided with a complete overview of the authoring and publishing process including design issues and advanced features such as forms, Java and Java Script programming, CGI-bin Script programming and image maps.
Bonus: All attendees of the Web Tutorial will receive a complimentary copy of the System Administrator's Guide for Establishing a World Wide Web Server, published by UniForum.

The Open Data Warehouse
Instructors: Dr. Brian Boyle, Managing Director, NOVON Research
Dr. Pamela Gray, President, The Winta Group
Guest Speakers: Chuck Kelley, President and Founder, Front Range Consulting International (Chicago and Toronto); Ed Peters, Jr., Vice President and General
Manager, INTERSOLV (Toronto only)
Who Should Attend? All serious information systems professionals responsible for planning and implementing data management systems where data reliability, integrity, security, maintainability, efficiency or responsiveness are needed.
Level: Introductory to intermediate
Overview: On day one, the tutorial introduces the concepts, tools and terminology underlying current commercial implementations, explores the potential benefits of applying selected aspects of these technologies, and presents the associated limitations and risks. The 12-Point Open Data Warehouse Planners and Purchaser's Checklist will be discussed. On day two, the tutorial builds on prospects and problems of data warehouse applications uncovered in day one and sets forth a specific road-map for successful implementation while maintaining open systems compliance and minimizing the complexity that leads to most failures.

Enterprise Distributed Computing Architecture for the '90's -- the Middleware Solution
Instructor: Max Dolgicer, Director, International Systems Group, Inc.
Who Should Attend? All computer professionals, managers, consultants and computer users/programmers interested in attaining a basic understanding of the UNIX operating system and middleware.
Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: A basic understanding of the distributed computing environment.
Overview: This tutorial defines, compares and contrasts the various types of middleware--RPCs, ORBs, OLE, messaging, database gateways and TP monitors including their pros and cons, and makes recommendations on what middleware should be used and under which circumstances. Other topics include middleware evolution, major vendors strategies and the convergence of different middleware technologies such as DCE, ORB, OLE/COM and MQSeries.



For more information and registration, please e-mail to karen@uniforum.org -or- call Karen Clapes, 1-408-986-8840, ext. 30.

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