NetPro Opens Registration and Unveils Speaker Line Up for Seventh Annual Directory Experts Conference

Market Wire, September, 2007

NetPro Computing, Inc., a leading provider of distributed services management software, today announced the speaker line up for its Seventh Annual Directory Experts Conference (DEC) 2008, an important international event focused on advancing the skills of the most experienced users of Microsoft Identity and Access (IDA) technologies. Sponsored in part by Microsoft, DEC 2008 will provide advanced education on Windows Server 2008's business-critical IDA technologies, including Active Directory, Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM), Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), and Active Directory Rights Management Services (RMS).

DEC 2008 will be held March 2-5, 2008, at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago, Ill. The conference's theme, "Active Directory Evolves: The New Identity Platform for Enterprise 2.0," will serve as the centerpiece for the three-day conference. The theme will explore Windows directory and identity technologies as the platform for a rapidly changing distributed computing paradigm that's mobile, free from boundaries, and virtualized. NetPro has selected a highly qualified pool of speakers to deliver keynote presentations, technical sessions and "Birds of a Feather" networking discussions to deliver powerful guidance on how the integration of key component services into a single coherent platform will impact everything from infrastructure and application management to IT security and compliance for the enterprise of tomorrow.

"DEC is fortunate to have its own set of 'rock star' speakers that return year after year to share their cutting-edge expertise," said Gil Kirkpatrick, NetPro Expert in Residence and DEC co-founder. "People like Dean Wells and Joe Richards, Wook Lee and James Booth truly put DEC in a league by itself when it comes to the caliber of the technical education. And, we are thrilled to welcome a few newcomers who bring expanded scope, and new energy and expertise to the event as well." Kirkpatrick also points to the strong support from the Microsoft Program Management teams that characterize DEC year after year. "DEC wouldn't be DEC without Stuart Kwan, Group Program Manager for ADFS, and all of his peers on the technology leadership teams that use DEC as a vehicle for sharing and gaining insight on the products they bring to market," said Kirkpatrick.

DEC 2008 will feature a wide variety of sessions offered within five technology tracks, providing highly technical content focused on IDA business scenarios, including:

--  Directory Services, with specific focus on leveraging and managing
    Active Directory
--  Identity Lifecycle Management, including all aspects of ILM, from user
    provisioning to cross-platform management
--  Federated Identity, highlighting ADFS and CardSpace
--  Information Protection, with specific emphasis on Active Directory RMS
    

In addition to the expanded technology focus, NetPro is pleased to introduce a new element of session content geared toward the developer community. Peppered throughout the three-days of the event, developer-caliber sessions will provide IT pros advanced training on scripting to extend, automate and secure their Windows 2008 infrastructures. Further, delegates are encouraged to bring their questions to new "Birds of a Feather" sessions designed to provide unprecedented access to and interaction with the top experts for key technologies such as Group Policy, ILM and RMS. For a complete view of the DEC 2008 agenda, abstracts and speaker bios, please visit http://www.dec2008.com . The following list is a snapshot of the complete speaker lineup, which features more than 40 leading presenters:

--  Stuart Kwan, group program manager, federated identity and security,
    Microsoft
--  Alex Weinert, program manager, ILM, Microsoft
--  Robert DeLuca, program manager, Microsoft
--  Wook Lee, architect/engineer, HP IT
--  Danny Kim, chief technology officer, Full Armor Corp.
--  Brad Turner, technical architect, Ensynch Inc.
--  Brian Puhl, technology architect, Microsoft IT
--  Ulf B. Simon-Weidner, consultant, Microsoft Platforms, Computacenter
    AG & Co.
--  Jorge de Almeida Pinto, Infrastructure Consultant, LogicaCMG
--  James Booth, director, Oxford Computer Group
--  Craig Martin, director, Oxford Computer Group
--  Eric Fleischman, program manager, directory services, Microsoft
--  Don Jones, director, SAPIEN Technologies
--  Mike Neuenschwander, vice president & research director, Burton Group
    

DEC 2008 is offered on a tiered pricing schedule that includes all food, beverages and conference materials. The early bird registration fee for delegates who register by October 31, 2007, is $1545 USD per person. Delegates who register after October 31 and before December 21, 2007, will pay $1645 USD. Delegates who register after December 15, and before March 1, 2008, will pay $1845 USD. The late registration fee for those delegates who register after March 1, 2008 is $1945 USD. The on-line registration site for DEC 2008 is now open. To register, please visit: http://www.dec2008.com