The UniForum Conference and Exposition returns to San Francisco at the Moscone Convention Center for a historic week of speeches, presentations and educational events, plus an outstanding exposition with over 230 exhibits and pavilions featuring the latest in open systems technology. In addition, for the first time the Enterprise Computing Solutions Exposition and Conference will be running concurrently with UniForum '96. Enterprise Computing Solutions is a leading event for enterprise-wide solutions and strategic business applications.
This year, the lineup of keynote speakers for the UniForum Conference is possibly the strongest ever presented. Speakers include Lou Gerstner, chairman and CEO of IBM Corp.; Lew Platt, president, CEO and chairman of the board at Hewlett-Packard Co.; Scott McNealy, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Sun Microsystems, Inc.; and Alok Mohan, president and CEO at SCO, Inc. Topics range from Platt's discussion of HP's dual focus on Unix and PCs to Mohan's defense of Unix as the business-critical choice in platforms.
Two plenary sessions are being presented. The session on Thursday, "21st Century Technologies," is moderated by Eric Schmidt, chief technical officer of Sun Microsystems. It examines how existing technologies will adapt and evolve for enterprise computing in the next millennium. The Friday session is entitled "The Data Warehousing Revolution" and is moderated by Rebel Brown, president of Cognoscenti. It focuses on the promises and problems of data warehousing with an emphasis on "real-world" solutions in the enterprise.
The UniForum Conference has been the stage for many historic announcements such as the unveiling of the Common Open Software Environment (COSE) and the Common Desktop Environment (CDE). Several press conferences are planned this year, and industry observers expect news that will affect the entire open systems industry.
Over 90 track sessions cover recent developments in open systems technology along with case studies, hands-on demonstrations and in-depth question-and-answer sessions. Track sessions will include topics such as the Internet, integration with Microsoft products, advanced technologies, security and databases. Over a dozen Birds-of-a-Feather meetings are offered to provide detailed technical information in areas such as Unix specifications, middleware and Linux.
In addition to the Conference, UniForum '96 offers a three-day trade show featuring the largest gathering of open systems technology in the country. Vendors are presenting an impressive range of new products, enhancements and integration capabilities. Special "hands-on" pavilions offer a close-up view of the Internet, Web sites and the Linux operating system environment.
UniForum '96 attendees can expect to be amply informed, entertained and educated during what is generally regarded as the premier event in Unix and open systems computing. A special wrap-up issue of UniNews on UniForum '96 will be available Feb. 28.