Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference Draws Record Crowd of Top Technology Executives.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2004

Mapping the Future of IT, Assessing Security Risks, Solving

Business Integration Challenges Featured at 5th Annual Gathering

of Big Company VPs, CIOs, CTOs

Buoyed by renewed optimism in the technology sector, IDG's Computerworld, the "Voice of IT Management," today announced that it surpassed previous registration records at its annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, being held this week at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. The audience of more than 700 - comprised mainly of vice presidents of IT, CIOs and CTOs - gathered from March 7-9 to honor the 2004 Premier 100 IT Leaders for their business and technology accomplishments.

"Senior IT managers are optimistic about the prospects of a recovering economy, and the role technology will continue to play," said Maryfran Johnson, editor in chief of Computerworld. "Our conference gives them much-needed breathing room to talk to each other in great depth about the most important issues they're facing today."

"As the CIO of a company with forecasted annual revenue of $28 billion, I don't often have the opportunity to learn - everyone else is looking to me for answers," said Tom Shelman, Vice President and CIO of Northrop Grumman Corporation and a 2004 Premier 100 honoree. "At Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, I've learned an invaluable amount. There are impressive names here and they are discussing critical topics that all CIOs struggle with. Another value is that the conference is non-industry specific, and I can learn how CIOs outside my industry have dealt with the IT challenges I face today."

In a pre-conference survey conducted among Premier 100 attendees, Computerworld found that 73% of the executives were feeling very optimistic about the future, while another 25% were somewhat optimistic. In hiring plans, the survey found that 44% are planning increases in U.S.-based staff this year. The respondents said the key areas for likely staff increases will be systems integration, Web services, project management and infrastructure/networking. The most critical IT projects this year will center on business intelligence and data management, enterprise integration and Web services. The complete results of this pre-conference survey are available in the March 8 issue of Computerworld or at www.computerworld.com/news/2004/story/0,11280,90873,00.html.

The Premier 100 event provides an executive-level forum for the exchange of new ideas and business-focused strategies among leading IT managers from a broad cross-section of industries. This year's conference theme is "Mapping the Future of IT," and the engaging program featured numerous addresses from senior IT executives and experts, including Glen Salow, Executive Vice President and CIO, American Express Company; David Bauer, First Vice President and Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, Merrill Lynch; and Joe Schmadel, Senior Director of Business Technology at Pfizer, Inc. Attendees also witnessed the first-ever debate between Nicholas Carr, a former editor at the Harvard Business Review and author of the upcoming book "Does IT Matter?" and Bob Metcalfe, venture capitalist, Ethernet inventor, 3COM Founder and former CEO and Publisher of InfoWorld.

Many of the world's leading organizations were represented at the Premier 100 Conference, including Allstate Insurance, American Express Company, Bank One, MasterCard International, Merrill Lynch, MetLife, Inc. Pfizer, Inc. and Wachovia Corporation. Sponsoring companies are represented at the event not by pitching their products, but by introducing attendees to leading customers, and presenting case studies. Platinum event sponsors included American Power Conversion, BMC Software, HP, IBM, InterSystems, Lawson, PeopleSoft, SAS, Symantec, Teradata and Verisign.

The agenda and program information are available online at www.premier100.com. Computerworld's 6th annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference will take place March 6-8, 2005, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.

About Computerworld

Computerworld, the "Voice of IT Management," is the most trusted source for the critical information needs of IT management. Through its weekly print publication, Computerworld.com website, focused conference series and custom research, Computerworld's integrated offerings form the U.S.-based hub of the world's largest (58-edition) global IT media network. Computerworld has won more than 100 print and online awards for editorial and design excellence in the past five years, including a Jesse H. Neal Award for "Best News Coverage," 22 ASBPE awards and BtoB Magazine's "Media Power 50" in 2003. In print since 1967, Computerworld currently has a guaranteed rate base of 180,000, a total print audience of 1,869,000 (according to IntelliQuest CIMS v.10.0), and an online audience of over 900,000 unique monthly visitors (according to DoubleClick). Breaking news and resources for IT management are available at www.computerworld.com.

About IDG 

International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), COMNET(R) Conference & Expo, DEMO, and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.