Ardent Software Convenes Panel of Industry Leaders to Discuss the Future of Data Warehousing and the Internet

Business Wire, Sept 7, 1999

WESTBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 1999--

Ardent Hosts Discussion with Experts from The Data Warehousing

Institute, GartnerGroup, InfoWorld, Intelligent

Solutions, Inc. and MatchLogic at Key Data Warehouse Conference

Ardent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDT), a leading global data management software company, today announced that it will moderate a panel discussion, "The Future of Data Warehousing: The Internet and the Enterprise", to examine the current state and future direction of the data warehousing, business intelligence, and analytical applications marketplace. Ardent will host industry luminaries, including Richard Rist of The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI), Gene Phifer of GartnerGroup, Katherine Bull of InfoWorld, Claudia Imhoff of Intelligent Solutions, Inc., and Jack Garzella of MatchLogic Inc., a subsidiary of Excite@Home, to analyze the changing landscape of data warehousing as it evolves from a platform for business intelligence tools and analytic applications into a dynamic, enterprise-wide platform for e-business.

"The Internet explosion is changing the role of data warehousing across the enterprise, making larger volumes of data more easily accessible to a greater number of users," said Pete Fiore, vice president of marketing operations and business development at Ardent Software. "The panel will investigate how factors such as XML, Java, the need to manage both structured and unstructured data, and corporate portals, are shaping the way successful companies leverage strategic information resources to increase competitive advantage and ROI."

The event will be held in conjunction with The Data Warehousing Institute Best Practices and Implementations Conference in San Diego, in the Manchester Room of the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, at 7:00 PM on September 22, 1999. Attendees can obtain an invitation by calling Melissa Crowe at (508) 366-3888 x3796 or visiting Ardent at Booth #34 at the conference.

The Panelists

Richard Rist, Vice President of Education and Research, TDWI

Richard A. Rist, vice president of TDWI's research and education, has more than 16 years experience with information and database systems. Rist's primary focus is on research and strategic assessment of the data warehousing marketplace. TDWI has experienced in excess of three-fold growth and has become recognized as the leading organization for data warehousing professionals during Rist's tenure as vice president of research and education. Formerly, Rist was worldwide director of marketing for Software AG's data warehousing business, provided strategic direction for Legent Corporation's database division, and spent seven years with IBM as a DB2 specialist at IBM's Large Systems Performance Evaluation Center.

Gene Phifer, Research Director, GartnerGroup, Inc. Internet Strategies

Gene Phifer has more than 23 years experience in the IT industry in both Fortune 500 MIS departments and consulting organizations. He has worked extensively in the areas of distributed processing, client/server and Internet technology. Prior to joining GartnerGroup, Phifer was Manager of Internet Services for Texas Instruments, where he led the implementation of TI's award-winning Internet home page and the deployment of TI's intranet. Phifer has also held leading MIS positions at Melson Technologies and Frito-Lay. He holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi, and an MBA (specialization in MIS) from the University of Dallas.

Katherine Bull, News Editor, InfoWorld

Katherine Bull is news editor at InfoWorld and oversees all print and online news coverage. Prior to joining InfoWorld, Katherine was a vice president at ChipShots Inc. and was responsible for the marketing consulting practice. She spent three years at CMP Publications as a senior editor for VARBusiness and InformationWeek, and was an industry analyst at Dataquest for three and a half years. Katherine was also a market analyst for Nichimen America, a Japanese trading company. Katherine holds an undergraduate degree in government and international relations from the University of Notre Dame.

Claudia Imhoff, CEO, Intelligent Solutions, Inc.

Claudia Imhoff is the founder and CEO of Intelligent Solutions, Inc., a data management consulting company. To date, her company has successfully completed the design and construction of data warehouses, operational data stores, and data marts across several industries. Her company offers basic and advanced courses in data warehouse and operational data store design and construction, data modeling, data architecture, and the principles of information engineering. She has co-authored two books with Bill Inmon entitled "Building the Operational Data Store" and "The Corporate Information Factory," and is a regular columnist for Data Management Review and other trade journals. Dr. Imhoff holds a Doctorate from the University of Tennessee in Oak Ridge and an undergraduate degree from Duke University.

Jack Garzella, Manager of Database Development and Architecture, MatchLogic, Inc.