IBM CUTS 80,000 JOBS, REVENUES ERODE, IT EXECUTIVES CONCERNED

Will IBM Survive? Conference Assesses future of Big Blue

Salem, Mass. - National Productions, Inc., organizer of the MIDRANGE Expo
trade show and conference series, today announced the computer industry's
first business conference for corporate users of IBM hardware, software
and services. Called the STRATEGIC PLANNING SUMMIT (SPS), the event will
bring together large IT user consultants, industry analysts, IBM
representatives and members of the plug compatible manufacturer community
for an unprecedented three-day event dedicated to making a strategic
assessment of the future viability of IBM and IBM computing solutions.

It was once said that "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM." But that was
then and this is now. With the upheavals in the computer industry and the
quickly changing computing paradigms -- and IBM's abysmal financial
performance over the past two years -- IT executives find themselves faced
with crucial technology and business decisions that will impact their
companies for years to come, hinging on a company that is sending out
mixed signals. Can IBM rebound and once again become a powerhouse of
computing solutions? Or has the industry landscape been forever changed?
Where exactly is IBM heading over the next five-to-ten years? With IBM's
sales plummeting by nearly $2 billion per year and 83,000 employees
eliminated since late 1992, should IT professionals continue to support
IBM or move to a multi-vendor environment to reduce the risks to their
employers --and their jobs?

SPS will bring decision-making insight to IT executives needed to answer
these questions and more. The conference format will bring information
with a focus to emerging trends and technologies such as client/server and
downsizing/rightsizing, and will identify which ones IBM is or should be
embracing. The conference will take a hard, unbiased look from a business
perspective on the pros and cons of staking your business on IBM computing
solutions -- from mainframes to minicomputers, to PCs and networking. The
experts briefing the IT executive will be presenting both sides of the
story.

A lineup of high-profile speakers includes Dave Andrews, founder of D.H.
Andrews Consulting, Charles H. Ferguson, co-author of Computer Wars, Jan
Jaben, editor of Business Marketing and Brian Jeffery, managing director
of International Technology Group.

The STRATEGIC PLANNING SUMMIT is scheduled for June 20, 21 and 22, 1994 at
the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort & Spa in Miami Beach, Fla. The event is
expected to draw 300 CEO, CFO and CIO-level business people --large scale
IBM IS users -- interested in guiding their companies into the future with
the most competitive, reliable and cost-effective computing solutions. The
conference format will include question and answer time, with one-on-one
discussions between IT executives and the industry experts.

National Productions, Inc. President Andy Wahtera said, "This type of event
has never before been available to IT executives. But with the changes our
industry is experiencing, strategic planning is an absolute must for all
companies that expect to remain competitive in today's global markets. By
putting together the kind of expertise we have for this exclusive
three-day program, attendees can accumulate more strategic information
than is possible from any other industry event."

Based in Salem, Mass., National Productions, Inc. produces the STRATEGIC
PLANNING SUMMIT, the MIDRANGE Expo trade shows in the United States and
Europe for users of IBM AS/400, S/3X and RS/6000 computer systems, the
Midrange Solutions Seminar Series, and the Export America trade show and
conference.

National Productions Inc
27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970-5575
508-745-6010,   Fax 508-745-8914

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