MKS Hosts Process and Quality Improvement: Stepping Stones for IT Governance and Compliance

Business Wire, Oct 18, 2004

WATERLOO, Ontario -- Forrester Research, Ernst & Young, SunGard SCT, TEVA Pharmaceuticals, and Smart Associates Share Strategies for Regulatory Compliance through Enterprise SCM

MKS Inc. (TSX:MKX), a leading provider of Enterprise Software Configuration Management (ESCM) solutions for the Global 1000, today announced it will host "Process and Quality Improvement: Stepping Stones for IT Governance and Compliance," a one day event aimed at IT decision-makers challenged with implementing IT controls to satisfy Sarbanes-Oxley, FDA CFR Part-11 and other government imposed regulations.

The event takes place at the Hilton Philadelphia Airport, Philadelphia, PA on October 27, 2004 beginning with breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and concluding at 3:00 p.m. EDT. It will showcase a line up of presenters who will explore IT controls, compliance hurdles and enabling tools from industry analyst, consulting, auditing and IT organization viewpoints. Presenters include:

- Forrester Research analysts Philip Murphy and Margo Visitacion;

- The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Philadelphia Chapter President, and Smart Associate's John McLaughlin;

- Ernst & Young LLP Partner Jerry Golberg; plus

- IT thought leaders from SunGard SCT and TEVA Pharmaceuticals

For additional presentation details or to register, please visit: www.mks.com/go/steptocompliance.> "Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is a dominating business issue in corporate America, and IT controls is at the center of the issue. MKS is pleased to offer IT organizations an opportunity to engage with leading experts in the area of IT auditing who are living with compliance on a daily basis," says Michael Harris, chief operating officer, MKS.

IT Governance and Compliance Webinar Series

For IT organizations unable to join us in Philadelphia, MKS is also presenting an upcoming Webinar series entitled, "IT Governance and Compliance." For more information or to register for the upcoming Webinars, please visit the following links:

- Presenting MKS (October 19) - Improving Your IT Controls - How Enterprise SCM Can Support Your Compliance Efforts and Drive Long-Term Business Value www.mks.com/go/pritcontrolswebinar

- Presenting Forrester Research (October 21) - The Affect of Portfolio Management on IT Governance - What's Hot, What's Hype, And Why It Matters To You www.mks.com/go/prforresteroct21

- Presenting Institute of Internal Auditors (October 26) - IT Controls, A SOX Battleground www.mks.com/go/prsoxbattleground

- Presenting Gartner (Webinar recording from October 12) - IT Governance and the Role of Enterprise SCM and Process Best Practices www.mks.com/go/gartnerbestpracticesevent

About MKS

MKS is the preeminent provider of enterprise technology management solutions for the global 1000. Our solutions let companies manage the technology governing the enterprise by enabling all of the key steps in the technology lifecycle, from requirements capture and business process design to global development team collaboration, to metrics management and reporting to complete auditing of software and system change in support of IT governance initiatives. MKS solutions are distinguished for their speed of implementation and low total cost of ownership. Founded in 1984, MKS serves more than 10,000 customers in countries across the world. Whether our customers deploy MKS's enterprise solutions strategically on an enterprise scale, or leverage individual components to solve project-level challenges, our customers can use MKS's technology to better connect their business through flexible process, manage global development activity and protect their most critical business applications and software assets. More information about MKS can be found at www.mks.com, or by calling 1-800-265-2797 (US & Canada), 49-711-351775-0 (Germany), and 44-1483-733900 (United Kingdom).

Copyright (C) 2004 MKS Inc. MKS is a registered trademark of MKS Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to such risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the statements made including those factors detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated or expected. The Company does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.