Montvale, NJ, March 17, 2003 - SYS-CON Events, Inc. announced today that Web Services Edge 2003 East - International Web Services Conference & Expo will open tomorrow, Tuesday, March 18 through Thursday March 20th. The Conference expo floor will open Wednesday, March 19, and Thursday March 20th ( www.sys-con.com/webservicesedge2003east/exhibitors.cfm).

The sponsors and exhibitors of the event will offer their innovative new technologies to conference delegates, corporate i-technology managers, industry decision makers, and software buyers.

In its third year, this fifth international event will take place on March 18-20, at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. The Conference is being sponsored by the world's foremost i-technology companies, including Compuware, Microsoft, Oracle, HP, Sun Microsystems, Digital Evolution, IONA, Rational Software, Sams Publishing, and Sybase. SYS-CON is offering customized education tracks on Web Services, Java, .NET, and XML technologies, as well as vendor-specific learning opportunities for i-technology managers.

"Web Services Edge Conference & Expo has established itself as the leading i-technology event in the world since its launch in September 2001, in New York City," said Fuat Kircaali, founder and CEO of SYS-CON Events, Inc. "By popular demand, this year our East Coast Conference has moved to Boston's Hynes Convention Center. This will be our fifth international event, and the best show we have put together."

"This year's Conference & Expo has drawn the highest level of participation by the leaders in the industry, as well as by our conference faculty, partners, and exhibitors," said Grisha Davida, president of SYS-CON Events, Inc. "In Boston, we will offer the best education opportunity of the year, covering the most essential i-technology topics designed by the conference advisory committee and taught by the world's most renowned experts and speakers in their fields."

Web Services Edge 2003 East Boston Exhibitors

Web Services Edge 2003 East in Boston has attracted twice as many exhibitors and sponsors as any other similar event of this year. The conference will present ground breaking technologies from the following leading industry participants: Actional, Altio, Altova, asp.netPRO, Aspect-Oriented Software Development, ASPstreet.com, Attachmate, BEA WebLogic Developer's Journal , CF Advisor, ColdFusion Developer's Journal, Computer Associates, Compuware, DataPower, Digital Evolution, EAI Industry Consortium, Ektron, Fair, Isaac and Company, Forum Systems, GAO Web Services Inc., Hewlett Packard, HSPstreet.com, Internet Wire, IONA, Itellix Software, iTKO, Java Developer's Journal, IDG JavaWorld, Jinfonet Software, Linux Business & Technology Magazine, McCabe & Associates, Melissa Data, Merant, Microsoft, Mindreef, MySQL, .NET Developer's Journal, Northeastern University, OASIS, ObjectVenture, Parasoft, PerfectXML, Rational Software, Sams Publishing, SD Times, SlickEdit, SoftArtisans, Software AG, SpiritSoft, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, Teamstudio, Trilog Group, Vultus, Web Services Journal, WebSphere Developer's Journal, Wireless Business & Technology, WowGao.com, XML-Journal, and Xtremesoft.

SYS-CON Events offers several levels of registration options at the conference Web site ( www.sys-con.com/webservicesedge2003east/) for delegates who register to attend the conference.

Conference Technical Program

This year's conference program was assembled by an advisory committee led by Alan Williamson (www.sys-con.com/alan.htm), editor-in-chief of Java Developer's Journal and conference tech-chair for JDJEdge 2003 - International Java Developer Conference & Expo; Derek Ferguson (www.sys-con.com/derek.htm), editor-in-chief of .NET Developer's Journal and the tech-chair for .NET Edge 2003 - International .NET Developer Conference & Expo; Hitesh Seth (www.sys-con.com/hitesh.htm), editor-in-chief of XML-Journal and the tech-chair for XML Edge 2003 - International XML Developer Conference & Expo; and Jeremy Geelan (www.sys-con.com/jeremy.htm), editorial director of Web Services Journal and the tech-chair for Web Services Edge 2003 - International Web Services Conference & Expo.

Compuware (Gold Sponsor): Compuware provides business value through software and professional services that optimize productivity and reduce cost across the applications life cycle. Pattern-based, model-driven development with Compuware's OptimalJ provides one of the best means to tackle challenges development organizations are facing today.

Microsoft (Gold Sponsor): Introducing Visual Studio .NET; visionary yet practical, the single comprehensive development tool for creating the next generation of applications has arrived. Developers can use Visual Studio .NET to: build the next-generation Internet, create powerful applications fast and effectively, and span any platform or device. Visual Studio .NET is the only development environment built from the ground up for XML Web services. By allowing applications to share data over the Internet, XML Web services enable developers to assemble applications from new and existing code, regardless of platform, programming language, or object model.

Oracle (Gold Sponsor): Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company, providing enterprise software to the world's largest and most successful businesses. With annual revenues of more than $9.4 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Oracle is the first software company to develop and deploy 100 percent Internet-enabled enterprise software across its entire product line: database, server, enterprise business applications, and application development and decision support tools.

Hewlett Packard (Silver Sponsor): HP is a leading provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and business. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging and printing. HP's $4 billion (U.S.) annual R&D investment fuels the invention of products, solutions, and new technologies, so that HP can better serve customers and enter new markets. HP invents, engineers, and delivers technology solutions that drive business value, create social value, and improve the lives of their customers.

Sun Microsystems (Featured Sponsor): Sun Microsytems was founded with one driving vision. A vision of computers that talk to each other no matter who built them. A vision in which technology works for you, not the other way around. While others protected proprietary, stand-alone architectures, Sun focused on taking companies into the network age, providing systems and software with the scalability and reliability needed to drive the electronic marketplace. Sun presents its fifth Sun University Program at Web Services Edge 2003 East - International Web Services Conference & Expo in Boston.

Digital Evolution (Corporate Sponsor): DE solutions and thought leadership deliver the value of Web services to business users today. DE unleashes the value of underlying IT assets, giving enterprises the freedom to innovate and evolve business processes within a standards-based, vendor neutral, loosely coupled framework. Some of the largest corporations in the world rely on DE's Web services solutions.

IONA (Corporate Sponsor): IONA is the leading e-business platform provider for Web services integration. IONA Orbix E2A enables the flow of information across disparate systems and the liberation of application assets for new business opportunities.

Rational Software (Corporate Sponsor): Rational Software provides a software development platform that improves the speed, quality, and predictability of software projects. This integrated, full life-cycle solution combines software engineering best practices, market-leading tools, and professional services. Ninety-six of the Fortune 100 rely on Rational tools and services to build better software, faster.

Sams Publishing (Corporate Sponsor): Sams Publishing has more than 500 titles in print, and is one of the most successful computer book publishers in the world. From introductory tutorials to comprehensive reference books, Sams Publishing focuses on teaching tomorrow's programmers, developers, and system administrators the skills they need to build and manage emerging technologies.

Sybase (Corporate Sponsor): Sybase has always delivered solutions that help customers to share data. Sybase is platform independent, and integrates everything: platforms, application servers, components, databases, portals, processes, message brokers, and mobile/wireless. Sybase's technologies have the insight that will promote ease of use, leverage best practices, ensure positive ROI, and help your organization build a successful, pragmatic strategy, based on next-generation technologies.

About SYS-CON Media

SYS-CON Media, listed in Inc 500 three years in a row as the fastest growing, privately held publishing company in America, is the world's leading publisher exclusively serving i-technology markets. SYS-CON publications include: Wireless Business & Technology (www.WBT2.com), Java Developer's Journal (www.JavaDevelopersJournal.com), XML-Journal (www.XML-Journal.com), Web Services Journal (www.WSJ2.com), ColdFusion Developer's Journal (www.ColdFusionJournal.com), PowerBuilder Developer's Journal (www.PowerBuilderJournal.com), WebSphere Developer's Journal (www.WebSphereDevelopersJournal.com), BEA WebLogic Developer's Journal (www.WeblogicDevelopersJournal.com), and .NET Developer's Journal (www.DotNETDevelopersJournal.com) Linux Business Week (www.LinuxBusinessWeek.com), and Linux Business & Technology Magazine (www.LinuxBusinessandTechnology.com).

About SYS-CON Events, Inc.

SYS-CON Events, Inc. is the world's leading producer of i-technology developer conferences and expositions. SYS-CON Events' 2003 conference and expo calendar includes: JDJEdge 2003 East - International Java Developer Conference & Expo, colocated with Web Services Edge 2003 East - International Web Services Conference & Expo, XMLEdge 2003 East - International XML Conference & Expo, and .NET Edge 2003 East - International .NET Developer Conference & Expo which will take place March 18-20, 2003 at Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA. Other events include June 3-5, in London, England; June 24-26, in Berlin, Germany; September in Hong Kong; and October in California.

All company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies in the United States and other countries. SYS-CON is independent of Sun, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, BEA, Dell, and all other companies mentioned in this press release. XMLEdge International XML Conference & Expo is not related to XMLEdge by MobileQ, a platform for a complete wireless Internet infrastructure.

Contact:
Michael Lynch (conference)
Company: SYS-CON Media
Voice: 201 802-3055
E-mail: mike@sys-con.com

Contact:
Grisha Davida (expo)
Company: SYS-CON Media
Voice: 201 802-3004
E-mail: grisha@sys-con.com