3000 sites using Speedware and Autobahn, or any 3000 managers who want to get their MPE applications on the Web quickly, will want to get registered for the latest SpeedExpo conference by March 15. That’s the early-bird deadline for “SpeedExpo 2000: Welcome to the e-world,” to be held May 1-5 in Montreal. This year’s Speedware User Group conference provides a special focus on bringing a 3000-based business to the Web through Speedware. The company is making a pitch to put the 3000 in a more vital role in Web operations, saying that the system can be a lot more than just a data server for Web servers and other applications (See “Autobahn II takes 3000 beyond Web data services” in our January issue for more details.) With its special Autobahn focus, this year’s SpeedExpo is set to show how to automate business processes online, make money by reaching new markets cost-effectively, and expand a customer base by providing products and services over the Internet. Even if a company doesn’t sell over the Web, putting a 3000 on an intranet can enhance a company's internal communications and administrative systems. And then there’s the improved communications and information exchange with customers and partners over an extranet.

Existing Speedware customers can learn tips and tricks from the Speedware Professional Service experts at SpeedExpo, and see presentations on how Professional Services helped companies become more productive with Speedware applications. The conference also offers two days of bonus Autobahn training, days for which Speedware usually charges $1,200. Hands-on test drives of Visual Speedware 2.0 and Autobahn II will be available as well. It all costs just $600 for the five-day event if users register by March 15. Register on the Web at www.speedware.com/shows/e xpo2k, or contact Mary Fleischman at 425.452.2300 or mfleischman@mutualmaterials.com.