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To: joemjo who wrote (331)	2/1/1998 12:02:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 446

No Downtime for the CIO No one needs to understand the interplay between today's dynamic business environment and the fast-paced IT industry better than the chief information officer -- the person charged with managing the corporate network. In the next three to five years, say Gartner Group analysts, CIOs will confront multiple pressures on their IT strategies and investments. Some arise from unstoppable events in the outside world, others from revolutionary changes in the IT and telecommunications industries or from forces within companies themselves. It is this era of accelerated change, says Gartner Group, that will define the key management challenges for the balance of the decade. No Place to Hide One overarching threat to organizations worldwide is the year 2000 problem -- a coding snag in software applications that, if left unfixed, could bring many companies to a halt. Within a similarly urgent time frame is the need for affected enterprises to adapt computerized operations to the European Monetary Union's single currency, the euro. What is more, global deregulation of telecommunications compels CIOs and their companies to monitor the impending competition among telecom companies and its impact on business. In bygone days, when mainframes and early PCs were barely noticed in the workplace, it all seemed a lot simpler. Today's IT industry is a staggering inventory of competing products and both familiar and unfamiliar vendors. Many factors have contributed to this fiercely competitive and entrepreneurial spirit, such as the doubling of chip densities about every 18 months, the universal appeal of the Internet, and the ambition of some IT companies to dethrone the PC from the desktop. The competitive push is seen everywhere, in innovations to slim down and modernize the PC, cast a security net around sensitive company data and market products via global electronic markets. It will be the job of network managers to interpret the media hype surrounding new products, and decide what emerging technologies to adopt -- and when. Too early, the risks may not be evident; too late, the competitive advantage may be diminished. At the same time, CIOs must assess the longevity of vendors -- many of whom will succumb to industry consolidation. The challenge of managing this climate of constant technological change, where the replacement cycle for products is shortening, becomes even greater in light of demands inside corporations. The common theme: Senior management wants to see a measurable return on IT investment. It is also tightening the IT purse strings. At the same time, employees' expectations are rising. They want products and software applications that are easier to use and deliver more capabilities to do a better job. The hype cycle of emerging technologies characterizes the typical progression of a technology from overenthusiasm through a period of disillusionment (due to the inevitable failures that arise from inappropriate application) to an eventual understanding of the technology's relevance and role. A Call to Management It is no wonder that this environment demands nothing less than a new generation of IT investment and management approaches. The time has come -- or is long overdue, says Gartner Group -- for companies to take an active role in managing their physical IT infrastructures and software assets, so they remain assets rather than an escalating expense. Often overlooked by management is the invisible resource of knowledge -- the sum of each employee's experiences and expertise -- which some companies are now trying to "capture" through technology. Given that change is the norm, IT managers seek approaches that are flexible and nimble. To meet evolving market conditions, companies need to swiftly modify business processes, exploit advancements in technology, and rapidly and cost effectively change applications. Such requirements will go unmet if an enterprise's applications are structured so that the inclusion of new technology requires a major investment in time, labor and money. More and more, enterprises will seek out flexible technology in order to evolve rapidly. Items on the CIO's agenda in the coming years include: Dealing with legacy systems as enterprises migrate to new architectures and platforms Accelerated technology obsolescence Strategies to install advanced technology Strategies to implement network computing Selection of packaged applications and network infrastructure Business ramifications of the Internet and enterprise intranets Outsourcing IT functions Network bandwidth explosion. To build tomorrow's strategic systems, CIOs must maintain a vision of technology's ultimate purpose, which is to make their business stand out from the competition by offering more responsive customer service, faster delivery and greater reliability. Linked to each IT decision is the question: "How can we, as a company, harness these resources that are available to everyone, whether they be people, machines, software or knowledge, to be different from our competitors?"

To: joemjo who wrote (331)	2/3/1998 9:19:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 446

FIRST CALL EARNINGS ESTIMATES INSS International Netwk Svcs, Inc. 01/26/98 Industry: Com-wo AT&T SIC: 7380 Latest Price: $23.13 1998 P/E: 52.6 Analyst Recommendation: 1.2 QTR QTR FY FY Mar 98 Jun 98 Jun 98 Jun 99 --- --- -- -- CURRENT MEAN EPS 0.12 0.13 0.44 0.64 Number of Brokers 6 6 6 5 Median 0.12 0.13 0.44 0.65 Standard Deviation 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.03 Current High 0.12 0.13 0.44 0.68 Current Low 0.11 0.12 0.43 0.61 Year Ago EPS 0.06A 0.08A 0.24A 0.44 Current vs. Year Ago Change 100% 63% 83% 45% Report Date wk/Apr 28 wk/Jul 28 wk/Jul 28 - EARNINGS ESTIMATE REVISION MOMENTUM Up Revisions last 7 days 3 3 5 4 Up Revisions last 30 days 3 3 5 4 Down Revisions last 7 days 0 0 0 0 Down Revisions last 30 days 0 0 0 0 EARNINGS ESTIMATES CONSENSUS TRENDS Current Mean 0.12 0.13 0.44 0.64 7-days ago Mean 0.11 0.12 0.42 0.62 30-days ago Mean 0.11 0.12 0.42 0.62 60-days ago Mean 0.11 0.12 0.42 0.61 90-days ago Mean 0.11 0.12 0.42 0.61 COMPARATIVE ESTIMATES AND TRENDS Industry - Com-wo AT&T 8.17 11.26 45.58 59.29 Current vs. Year Ago Change 4% 17% 17% 30% Sector - TECHNOLOGY 8.94 10.46 38.12 47.68 Current vs. Year Ago Change 7% 13% 11% 25% WSJ/DJ US Index 10.68 11.93 44.79 51.39 Current vs. Year Ago Change 7% 11% 10% 15% Ratios Relative To: Company Industry Sector WSJ/DJ P/E on 1998 Cal Yr Mean 42.8 24.68 20.83 18.71 PEG on 1998 Cal Yr Mean 0.91 1.04 1.17 1.51 RECOMMENDATION AND GROWTH RATES RECOMMENDATIONS LONG TERM GROWTH RATES Current Mean 1.2 Next 5 yrs - Median 47% Number of Brokers 6 Number of Brokers 2 Industry Recommendation: 2.0 Industry Growth Rate: 24% 7-days ago Mean 1.2 Next 5 yrs - High 50% 30-days ago Mean 1.2 Next 5 yrs - Low 45% 60-days ago Mean 1.8 Last 5 Years 104% 90-days ago Mean 1.8 Diff. from Industry +0.8 Rel. to Industry 2.0 Diff. from Sector +0.8 Rel. to Sector 2.6 Diff. from WSJ/DJ US +1.0 Rel. to WSJ/DJ US 3.8 Transmitted: 1/27/98 4:05 PM (E_INSS)