December 17th 1999

Dear CMG Canada Attendee,

It was a pleasure seeing so many Canadians at the recent CMG’99 Conference in Reno, Nevada last week. I enjoyed talking to many of you, and to those who I did not get a chance to meet, I hope to see you sometime at another conference or at CMG Canada events.

At our CMG Canada board meeting just a few weeks ago, we recognized that many of the areas of interest of the IT community has undergone major shifts. While in the past, we attempted to include topics from many areas, we agreed that our primary focus had to be a more concentrated one in at least the following: UNIX, NT/Windows, Web Performance & Capacity planning, Server performance (all platforms), Systems management, Future Directions, etc. As a matter of fact, we were encouraged by the very positive feedback obtained from our last April Seminar, so much so, that we intend to provide a similar program in April 2000.

We strive to focus on the topics that are timely, informative and offer some form of practical methodology with which you, the practitioner can benefit. The end result is usually personal gains in professional expertise. To that end, we pursue brand name talent. Prior speakers were from companies which include: IBM, EMC Corporation, StorageTek Canada, Candle Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft Canada, SAS Institute, and Hewlett-Packard. Still, the most valuable talks at CMG are those which come from you, the "real" user – and so, we encourage you to participate.

Topic areas usually include:

• S/390
• Client Server & Network Computing(UNIX, NT etc)
• Enterprise Systems
• Performance and Capacity Management
• Storage and I/O
• Internet / Intranet Applications
• Database Technologies
• Systems Management
• Futures (hardware, software, & methodologies)

CMG as a whole continues to be the foremost user group serving the diverse and ever-changing needs of Data Processing Professionals worldwide. A casual stroll through the various programs offered by many of the Regional groups and the National Conference in Reno (CMG’99) a few days ago confirms this.

The seminar dates for the 1999-2000 year are as follows:

• Tuesday February 22^nd 2000 - 1 day seminar – multiple topics
• Tuesday April 18^th 2000 & Wednesday April 19^th 2000 - 2 day seminar - multiple topics

These seminars will be held at the Metropolitan Toronto Board of Trade (Downtown) in One First Canadian Place, Toronto. The specific program agenda will be mailed to you approximately 3 to 4 weeks in advance of the respective seminars, or you can visit the CMG Canada webpage at www.cmg.org/regions/cacmg for ongoing details as the program is being constructed. You can anticipate a slate of dynamic speakers from many well-known, seasoned industry sources spanning a wide range of timely topics.

Membership information is included in this mailing package, and additional membership inquiries can be directed to Don Melton at (416) 878-2697, or via email at meltond@acm.org. Again, we have been able to hold our membership fees to $80 per individual and $320 for a Corporate membership (unlimited number of attendees per Seminar). I would like to ask that you personally circulate the mailing to all other individuals within your organization that might be interested in CMG Canada.

The February meeting will include as one of its sessions (a short one), our annual general meeting. This is the official notification of it and I look forward to seeing you there. Further, the nominations committee will be accepting interested and qualified candidates for two (2) board of director positions. These nominations should be directed to the "Nominations Committee" via fax to the CMG Faxline 905-686-3421, or email to "mungal_tony@emc.com" on or before January 22nd 2000. Please consider offering your time to this valuable purpose.

As usual, I have taken the liberty of including a few statements about the purpose and mission of CMG, so that it is easier to share this valuable affiliation with a colleague or friend. It is quite common for people to circulate into and out of the sphere of applicability of CMG, and I certainly want to encourage those of you who felt that you have drifted out to acquaint your successor with the purpose of CMG. Of course, those of you to whom CMG is still largely applicable, let me continue to extend my warmest and sincerest welcome to you. It has been remarked several times, by many "CMG longtimers" that the most valuable affiliation of CMG lies in its membership!!

Globally, CMG is one of the most influential organizations in the data processing industry. Its purpose as defined in the overall charter statement includes the provision of:

• extensive introductory education for new professionals.
• information on emerging technology as well as methodologies for existing performance professionals.
• forums on the exchange of information, promotion of new ideas, and discussions of management information requirements.
• focus on practical applications and results oriented methodologies.
• encouragement for educational institutions to focus on the IT curriculum.

CMG members are industry professionals concerned with the performance planning and management of computer systems, in all aspects of the industry. CMG is led by officers and directors, who volunteered their time and effort. Full information can be obtained on the website address www.cmg.org.

The CMG Canada website (shared with CMG) www.cmg.org/regions/cacmg is kept current by Kevin Martin and I encourage you to visit it to keep informed about all of CMG Canada’s events and updates. Your suggestions, comments and concerns are always welcomed. I can be contacted at (800) 495-3362 x1220 or via email at "mungal_tony@emc.com". I look forward to seeing you at all three of these seminar days in Toronto.

Welcome to yet another exciting CMG Canada year as we span the millenium.

Respectfully,

______________________

Anthony G. Mungal

PRESIDENT - CMG Canada