Sentry Launches Electronic Publishing Division; Strengthens Editorial and Research Staffs With Three New Positions.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- May 21, 1996--Sentry Publishing Company today announced the formation of an Electronic Publishing Division to focus on Web site development and Internet delivery of information for IT professionals and the IT vendor community.

Selected content from the company's industry publications, Software Magazine and Client/Server Computing, as well as market survey results from Sentry Market Research will be available this summer on Sentry's Web site, which has been in prototype development for more than six months.

William A. Gannon, Sr., Sentry president and CEO, said that "Sentry has been delivering information electronically on disk and CD-ROM for years and now the Internet adds yet another delivery mechanism for all of Sentry's information services and business units." Founded in 1984, Sentry is now operating at its highest rate of growth in revenue and earnings, and sees the Internet as a way of reducing certain operating expenses while providing incremental income from subscription-based services and advertising, said Gannon.

Jack Vaughan, who had been news editor at Software Magazine since 1993, has been named electronic publications manager of the new division. "The opportunities for commercial Internet publications are only now ready to be realized," said Vaughan. "We think the mass market approach of pioneer commercial Internet publishing efforts is about to give way to more focused offerings.

"Sentry will build on its strengths in corporate software and client/server computing coverage, although we expect to develop related Web-based enhancements that will expand on our established mandate," Vaughan continued.

Key elements of Sentry's Web site will be searchable archives of focused product articles, issues-based features and user stories. It will also include regular updates of industry news. SMR will offer research data to clients primarily on a password basis, though portions will be accessible to the general public interested in application development tools, client/server, enterprise networking and other issues. Vendor advertising opportunities will also be available.

"The goal," said Vaughan, "is to create a virtual community where IT vendors, IT professionals and research clients can meet." The target audience includes senior IS executives and software decision makers at large computing sites, and the departmental and business unit managers who implement and manage distributed computing resources.

Vaughan is a veteran of 14 years in the computer trade press. He began his career at Computer Design and has held senior-level positions at Digital Design and EDN News. He received a journalism degree and a Master's in Science Communication from Boston University.

New Senior Writer Joins Client/Server Computing Editorial Staff

To accommodate the strong growth of its publication and research divisions, Sentry has recently created and filled three key positions. Rick Whiting has joined Client/Server Computing as senior writer, where his responsibilities include writing in-depth articles about trends in client/server technology and issues surrounding the implementation and management of client/server systems. He will also help fulfill the magazine's commitment to expanded coverage of Internet/Intranet issues, networks, storage and systems.

Whiting has been tracking the computer industry for nearly 10 years, as both a journalist and an industry analyst. Prior to joining Sentry, Rick was a senior analyst with Summit Strategies Inc., a Boston-based market analysis and consulting firm, where he researched and authored influential analytical reports on IT vendor marketing and distribution strategies. Before that, he held senior editor positions at a number of computer industry trade publications including Client/Server Today, Digital News & Review, Electronic Business and Computer Systems News. Whiting holds a B.A. in English and political science from the University of Massachusetts and is an M.B.A. candidate at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.

Sentry Market Research Fills Two New Positions

Nancy Meachim, who has a 20-year career as a computer industry journalist, recently joined Sentry Market Research as managing director. In her new position, she is responsible for all SMR management reports, custom publishing and custom studies. She also manages SMR's analyst and production personnel and oversees the publication of all market research. Meachim also works with clients to produce white papers and special editorial supplements for Software Magazine and Client/Server Computing.

For the two years prior to joining SMR, Nancy was features editor/research director at Datamation magazine. In addition to editing the magazine's feature stories, she managed primary research projects, including the Datamation 100, the IS Salary Survey and the IT Spending Survey. Before joining Cahners Publishing, she was a senior analyst with International Data Corporation. Meachim holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Temple University.

Sentry also announced that Theresa Rigney has joined Sentry Market Research as client/server analyst, based in Sentry's San Francisco office. She is responsible for overseeing Sentry's client/server market research programs. In addition, she will write frequent features for Software Magazine and Client/Server Computing. Theresa has five years of experience covering database applications and client/server technology. She was features editor of DBMS magazine and a reporter for CommunicationsWeek. Rigney earned a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley.

Sentry Publishing Company, a privately held firm headquartered in Westborough, Mass., is a strategic partner to IT providers, helping them communicate with their markets via quality special interest magazines, direct marketing services, conferences, custom publishing, seminars and market research.

CONTACT: Cynthia Reehl

[phone]