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IT forum to touch on industry's current big issues

April 22, 2004

KALAMAZOO--Top information technology executives from around the region, state and nation are slated to speak at a conference Friday, April 30, organized by Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business.

The WMU-Haworth College of Business IT Forum will feature talks from local experts as well as executives from SAP and Microsoft. With the theme "IT Trends, Challenges and Solutions," the forum runs from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.

"We're all facing similar challenges in IT today, including outsourcing and keeping pace with rapidly changing technology," says Dr. Mike Tarn, forum chairperson and associate professor of business information systems at WMU. "We've lined up an impressive slate of speakers for attendees to learn from, and the day provides an excellent networking opportunity."

The following are the times, speakers and topics of the sessions.

9:15 a.m., Dr. Andrew Targowski, WMU professor of business information systems, "Making Business Sense of IT"

10:30 a.m., George Boersma, director of technical partnerships, Michigan Department of Information Technology, "The State of Michigan's IT Challenges and Opportunities"

11:30 a.m., Viji Murali, WMU vice president for information technology and chief information officer, "IT Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education"

1 p.m., David Thompson, vice president of information technology and chief information officer, Borgess Health Alliance, "IT Challenges and Best Practices in Health Care"

2:10 p.m., Patrick Hickey, director of SMB solutions, SAP AG, "IT Solutions Using mySAP All-in-One"

3:30 p.m., Brian Loomis, academic developer relations manager, Microsoft Corp., "IT Outsourcing and Innovation"

In addition to the Haworth College of Business, conference sponsors include Pfizer, Perrigo, Manatron, WMU's Office of Information Technology, BlueGranite, the state of Michigan, Borgess Health Alliance, SAP and Microsoft.

The cost to attend is $100 for corporate representatives, $60 for WMU alumni, $45 for those employed in academia and $30 for students. Online registration and additional information about the forum is available at <cis.hcob.wmich.edu/itforum>. Reservations are due by Tuesday, April 27. In addition to the online option, reservations can be made by calling (269) 387-5411 or sending e-mail to <betsy.drummer@wmich.edu>.

Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu

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