HP and Microsoft Launch Nationwide Network Storage Solutions Road Show; Windows & .NET Magazine Network Manages Ten-City Tour

Business Wire, Feb 20, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LOVELAND, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2003

Windows & .NET Magazine Network, a Penton Media (NYSE:PME) property, today announced the launch of the HP & Microsoft Network Storage Solutions Road Show including Microsoft partners NSI Software, Brocade Software, Quest Software and CommVault Systems.

The ten-city event series, featuring keynote speaker Mark Smith, will explain why Network Attached Storage (NAS) adoption is exploding, and will help IT professionals learn how existing and future storage solutions can make their jobs easier while saving their company money. The Storage Solutions Road Show will cover Windows Powered NAS, including Windows Powered NAS for file server consolidation and Active Directory design, and OS (operating system) migration, with tips to help significantly improve business continuity.

Smith, former MIS Manager, and founder of Windows & .NET Magazine, is renowned in the industry for understanding and explaining existing and emerging Microsoft technologies from the vantage point of the "IT guy." The Network Storage Solutions Road Show will give enterprise IT professionals the tools to effectively use storage as a strategic weapon in their IT arsenal. The tour is no cost to attendees and includes the following cities:

-- Houston, March 20

-- Chicago, April 1

-- Los Angeles, April 8

-- San Francisco, April 10

-- Atlanta, April 22

-- Miami, May 6

-- Washington, D.C., May 13

-- New York, May 15

-- Boston, May 20

-- Toronto, May 22

"The NAS tour represents our third major Road Show this year where we've worked directly with Microsoft and its partners to educate the IT community," said Kim Paulsen, publisher of Windows & .NET Magazine. "Our audience of 1.5 million IT professionals is extremely receptive to this type of grass-roots, community-based educational outreach. Because IT professionals are incredibly busy trying to manage the technologies within their enterprises, they truly appreciate being given top-notch third-party insight into the latest technologies, especially when conducted in half-day seminars that fit into their busy schedules."

A full 80% of Windows & .NET Magazine readers plan to purchase a storage solution in the next 12 months and 59% are most interested in reading more about storage topics, according to reader surveys.

IDC predicts that SAN and NAS configuration will account for more than half of all disk-storage systems sold in 2003 and 66 percent of the market in 2005.

Network Storage Road Show participants will learn the full story about Windows Powered NAS, discover how easy it is to install and manage, plus learn time and money saving tips. Also, attendees will learn how to use real-time file server replication to create a business continuity solution, get a first look at the features of Windows Powered NAS 3.0, discover how the fusion of NAS and SAN can provide a rich storage solution and gather information from resellers and software partners at the storage solutions pavilion. For more information about the Network Storage Solutions Road Show, go to http://www.winnetmag.com/roadshows/nas/.> About Penton Media

Penton Media (NYSE:PME) is a leading, global business-to-business media company that produces market-focused magazines, trade shows and conferences, and Web sites. Penton's integrated media portfolio serves the following industries: Internet/broadband; information technology; electronics; natural products; food/retail; manufacturing; design/engineering; supply chain; aviation; government/compliance; mechanical systems/construction; and leisure/hospitality. For more information, visit www.penton.com.