DEFENSE

NEW YORK, -- CeBIT America, the first international CeBIT trade show to convene in the United States (June 18-20, 2003; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City), today announced that it has teamed up with two leading New York area technology industry associations -- the New York eCommerce (New York eComm) Association and the Wall Street Technology Association (WSTA) -- to develop specialty conference programs for senior technology mangers at the inaugural trade show. "The rapid shifts in investment pattern, coupled with limited capital, continues to pose considerable challenges for emerging companies, particularly those in the technology sector," said Robert Johnston, Executive Director, New York eCommerce Association. "With its focus on the enterprise technology market, CeBIT America provides an ideal setting to engage technology and financial professionals in high-level discussions about how to best approach and handle critical investment decisions faced by business management in 2003." As part of the CeBIT America's conference program, the New York eCommerce (New York eComm) Association, the premiere trade association representing senior and strategic-level business executives throughout New York, will convene its quarterly New York eComm Venture Economy Forum at the trade show. Titled "The State of Venture Capital at Mid-Year 2003," the seminar will focus on investment trends in emerging technology sectors and the challenges and implication these have for investors and entrepreneurs alike. Panelists will also discuss the results of the latest MoneyTree Survey, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, which tracks equity investments in venture-backed U.S. companies. CeBIT America is also collaborating with the Wall Street Technology Association (WSTA), a highly-regarded educational forum for technology professionals in the financial industry, to host a seminar titled "Disruptive Technologies for 2004" that will examine the impact the latest breed of disruptive technologies will have on the enterprise market. Panelist will discuss ways to deploy and optimize the use of hardware and software solutions, ranging from application security and data quality management to intelligent instrumentation and grid computing, given enterprises' limited IT budgets. "Disruptive technologies continue to provide largely untapped opportunities for enterprises to drastically alter the ways in which they use their current technology infrastructure and systems to communicate with employees, customers and vendors," said Mark E. Sanders, President, Wall Street Technology Association. "Senior IT decision makers do not only need to understand which of the latest cutting edge technologies make the most operational and financial sense for their business' specific needs, but also how to effectively manage the implementation and subsequent impact the solutions will have on their companies' operations." Both seminars will be part of CeBIT America's comprehensive conference programs designed to address concerns and issues faced by enterprise managers and senior information technology professionals. In addition to working with several leading industry groups, such as New York eComm and WSTA, CeBIT America has also partnered with CNET Networks to co-develop and co-market an extensive core conference program, compromised of the IT Executive Conference, IT Manager Conference and Developer Conference. Additionally, the Business Council for the United Nations will convene its 'Bridging the Global Digital Divide Conference' at CeBIT America. "Enterprise managers attending CeBIT America will find our special conference panels an important part of their trade show experience," said Mark Dineen, Managing Director, CeBIT America. "Our partnerships with New York eComm and WSTA give attendees a unique opportunity to hear different industry perspectives on what technology sectors and products will be lucrative this year and how the latest trends could potentially impact their business' bottom line." The New York eComm's "The State of the Venture Capital at Mid-Year 2003" seminar and the WSTA's 'Disruptive Technologies for 2004" seminar will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2003 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York. Both seminars will be open to attendees of CeBIT America only. CeBIT America will bring together over 400 exhibitors and 35,000 senior decision-makers from technology and vertical industries, including the automotive, banking, education, government, healthcare, hospitality, insurance & finance, manufacturing, media & publishing, and retail sectors. For more information on CeBIT America, please visit www.cebit-america.com.