ADVISORY/METAmorphosis 2000 Conferences.

Business &High Tech Editors

ADVISORY...for Tuesday (Feb. 8)

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2000

Laying the e-Foundation for 21st Century Business

(www.metagroup.com/mm2000)

Your coverage is invited. To attend a METAmorphosis conference, to obtain more information on a particular issue or trend, or to arrange an interview with a META Group analyst, please contact George Medici ([e-mail]) or Steve Vitoff ([e-mail]) at 212/481-7000; or Peter Ward ([e-mail]) at 203/973-6923.

METAmorphosis Forums:

February 8-10 (Orlando, FL, The Peabody Orlando)

February 21-23 (San Francisco, CA, Hyatt Regency)

February 28-29 (Tel Aviv, Israel, David Inter-Continental)

March 7-8 (Pretoria, South Africa, CSIR Conference Centre)

March 21-23 (Sydney, Australia, ANA Hotel)

March 27-29 (Munich, Germany, Munich Park Hilton)

META Group (NASDAQ: METG) will host its 11th annual METAmorphosis conference, the company's flagship forum for meeting information technology and business change. The conference is held at six sites across the globe in the U.S., Israel, South Africa, Australia, and Germany.

META Group analysts will discuss key issues and trends shaping today's business environment: Architecture and Program Management, CRM, Commerce Chain Management, Infrastructure, and Operations Excellence. Conference highlights:

KEYNOTE: Laying the e-Foundation for 21st Century Business

Dale Kutnick, META Group President, CEO, and Co-Research Director, and Peter Burris, META Group Senior Vice President and Co-Research Director, will discuss how understanding &uot;infonomics&uot; -- the emerging economics of information -- can help drive competitive advantage in the new century.

E-Reality Sets In: Separating E-Fact from E-Fiction (Orlando, FL)

META Group will release a major study of U.S. corporate perceptions, usage, and plans regarding e-business and e-commerce. The findings will include new quantitative and qualitative data, providing a far-reaching, high-level perspective on e-business and e-commerce today.

The Future of E-Government:

Federal, State and Local (San Francisco, CA)

A multi-client study focusing on the status of current and planned e-government implementations, and the effect privacy, security laws and government regulation will have on the delivery of e-government services, will be released. Carol Kelly, Vice President, Executive Services, will also lead a presentation titled &uot;Architecting E-Government&uot; which will anticipate the impact of e-government on all organizations by assessing early e-government efforts.

Securing E-Business: Risks and Rewards

Jeff Johnson, President, META Security Group, and Marlo Kosanovich, Program Manager, Global Networking Strategies (GNS), will discuss how information security policies, practices, and products will be the building blocks of e-business storefronts, warehouses, and production sites. Both analysts will outline how companies are developing new business-oriented security disciplines, such as risk management, threat assessment, and information forensics.

Managing IT's Value in the Digital Economy

CD Hobbs, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Executive Services, and Karen Rubenstrunk, Vice President and Director, Executive Directions, will discuss the impact of e-business on markets, governments, and cultures. They will address trends relating to business and government CIOs adopting new approaches to measuring IT value, and managing strategic IT relationships for developing IT human capital.

E-Commerce Infrastructure: Adapting to E-Business Imperatives

Nick Gall, Vice President and Director, Open Computing &Server Strategies (OCSS), and Johna Till Johnson, Vice President and Director, Global Networking Strategies (GNS), will discuss how organizations must successfully externalize applications and integrate business partners, customers, and suppliers -- and that means they must create an adaptive e-business infrastructure to handle the load. Topics covered include: middleware, security, directory, server, content deployment, customer access options, and networking.

Customer Relationship Management: Capturing Customers, Capturing Business

Aaron Zornes, Executive Vice President and Director, Application Delivery Strategies (ADS), and David Cearley, Senior Vice President and Director, Web &Collaboration Strategies (WCS), will focus on how organizations need to develop pragmatic, business-aligned CRM initiatives. Topics include: integrating front-office applications with back-office applications; convergence of voice, video, and data; analyzing customer patterns; and data warehousing.

Commerce Chain Management: Forging Strong Links

David Yockelson, Senior Vice President and Director, Electronic Business Strategies (EBS), and Barry Wilderman, Vice President, Application Delivery Strategies (ADS), will discuss &uot;information externalization&uot; as it relates to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers as they optimize relationships with their supply chains. The analysts will also focus on service chain organizations (financial services, healthcare, government, transportation, professional services, etc.) looking to reach and retain customers, sell and perform services, and drive brand (and profit) recognition.

Guaranteeing Operations Excellence amid Business Chaos

Carl Greiner, Vice President and Director, Enterprise Data Center Strategies (EDCS), and Herb VanHook, Vice President and Director, Service Management Strategies (SMS), will discuss how shortened business and technology cycles are breaking many &uot;best practice&uot; IT operations models. The analysts will address how IT operational groups must now exhibit greater degrees of flexibility and adaptability, and ingenuity in leveraging resources.