Over 500 Attendance at Chicago's First ASP Conference Signals Intensifying Interest in Web Enabled Services.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2000

Braving the season's first bona fide blast of winter, over 550 members of Chicago's high tech community were warmed by enthusiastic industry leaders gathered to address dramatic changes facing the software industry.

The January 20th conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago was the Chicago Software Association's (CSA) first event of 2000. Sponsored by Geneer and Exodus Communications, the conference -- tagged &uot;Software Breaks out of the Box: Transforming an Industry&uot; -- was designed to educate regional technology companies on the challenges of a market shifting quickly from a product-based to an ASP (Application Service Provider) or web-based e-Services model.

Speakers at the event represented vendors supporting the ASP market (including FutureLink, Citrix Systems, Data Return, Storage Networks, and USinternetworking), as well as pioneering companies already delivering e-Services (Bank One, Oracle BOL, PeopleSoft, JDEdwards, and Orbit Commerce). A keynote address from Peter Boit, Vice President of Microsoft's eCommerce Business Solutions Group, reinforced Microsoft's support of the ASP model. Topics addressed covered both business and technology issues and included strategic partnering, service level agreements, billing approaches, client care, leveraging current software investments, scalability, and security.

Ken Pedersen, Vice President of Strategy for Geneer, noted that, &uot;Last year, IDC predicted that 1999 would be the year of the 'new Internet'. From what we've seen at this conference, it's obvious that we're in the midst of a major transformation. With all the press about ASP and software delivered as a service, some companies may think they're already late with their own plan. Well, not true. This market is still in its infancy. At Geneer, we're so convinced that this is the future of software that we've made built-to-order design, development, and hosting of ASP-ready applications the heart of our business.&uot;

The Chicago Software Association, www.csa.org, is a regional association dedicated to fostering collaboration within the software and IT community, promoting the information technology environment, and influencing public policy. The CSA includes all of Illinois and a 150 mile radius around Chicago (including southern Wisconsin, SW Michigan, and Northern Indiana), and is a private, not-for-profit 501(c) 4 corporation.

Established in 1984, Geneer, www.geneer.com, is a pioneer in the development of built-to-order, business-to-business web-based services. Serving the Internet technology needs of vertical marketing entrepreneurs and product management executives in start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, Geneer is a rapidly growing, 150-person Internet Professional Services firm with production and consulting operations in its suburban Chicago campus headquarters. Geneer's client base includes AT&, Dow AgroSciences, Celarix.com, e-merge.com., Appointments1-2-3.com, Lucent Technologies, AC Nielsen, Omron Electronics, and Boeing Corporation.