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Gold/Mining/Energy : 2000 millennium problem: investment opportunities -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BM who wrote (110)	2/24/1998 11:10:00 PM
From: BM	Respond to of 222

Cognicase finds business beyond 2000 From page A4 of the Internet Business Daily (note all figures are US$) Year 2000 Firm Finds Business Beyond 2000 When the ball drops at midnight, 12/31/99, many computer systems around the world will fail because they can't distinguish between the years 2000 and 1900. Looking into the near future, many companies foresee a desperate struggle to survive this dilemma, commonly called the Year 2000 bug, or Y2K. But oddly enough, a few others will actually mourn its passing. That group includes companies like Cognicase Inc., which specializes in fixing computer systems in advance to prevent Y2K glitches. Right now, these companies are like sandbag merchants during a flash flood. U.S. business will spend about $28 billion in both '98 and '99 to rid their computers of the Y2K bug, says International Data Corp. For its Dec. 31 first quarter, Cognicase earned .07/share, up from break-even a year ago. Revenue rose 238% to 4.1 million. But after Jan 1, 2000, the flood will dwindle to a trickle. "business in the next two years is pretty good, but the real strategic challenge is to figure out how to build sustainable revenue after 2000," said analyst Paul Bloom of Volpe Brown Whelan, which underwrote Cognicase's October IPO. When the bug is exterminated from most computer systems, companies like Cognicase will be out of work. So the trick is to carve out other channels for their products and services that will allow them to live beyond 2000. Cognicase is doing just that. Six months ago, more than 905 of the company's revenue came from Y2K business. But its acquisition of Icotech in Dec. changed that. Based in Montreal, Icotech is a systems integration and consulting firm with annual revenue of $16 million. The company specializes in migrating computer software and data from mainframes to clien-server platforms. It also does systems maintenance. "We bought Icotech to be sure we will be viable aftr the year 2000," said Cognicase President and CEO Ronald Brisebois. Because Icotech's revenue is more than double the $6.6 million Cognicase saw last year, Y2K sales now account for less than 25% of total revenue. "With the acquisition, Cognicase was able to accelerate its own growth by a year," said analyst Damian Rinaldi of First Albany Corp., which also underwrote the company's IPO. "Cognicase now has a clear exit strategy when the Year 2000 problem fades in importance." In addition to keeping Cognicase alive beyond 2000, Icotech expanded the company's geographic presence and augmented its meager sales staff. The acquisition also provides several opportunities to cross-sell products. Cognicase hopes to sell other conversion services to its Y2K clients. "We want to keep our Year 2000 customers after the year 2000. One way to do that is to do maintenance outsourcing for them," Brisebois said. And the company still has $39 million on hand from its IPO. "We will continue to add products and sales channels...through acquisitions," Brisebois said. In addition to client-server and database conversions, possible future business includes systems conversions to the euro, the European Community currency, as well as area-code migrations and otherlarge system changes. As for Y2K business, the company continues to make hay while the sun shines. It recently won Y2K contracts with Canada's Dept of National Defense and Purolator Courier. Other clients include Otis elevator and Bombardier Transportation. The company also licenses its Y2K software to several key partners, including units of MCI and Amdahl. MCI owns a 17% stake in Cognicase. These relationships help build credibility and provide diverse revenue sources, analysts say. Cognicase has 12 sites on 3 continents doing software conversions. The goal, Brisebois says, is to convert Y2K customer relationships into long-lasting, recurring revenue sources. "We want to have a systems integrator in each city around the world to provide recurrent business, selling all our solutions to customers in different locations," Brisebois said. Cognicase earned .10/share in fiscal '97 ended Sept 30, up 43% from a year before. Revenue rose 45% to $6.6 million. First Albany expects fiscal '98 earnings of .37/share on revenue of $31 million. The stock trades as COGIF near 19.

To: BM who wrote (110)	2/24/1998 11:15:00 PM
From: BM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 222

Group West - sale to L.A. Superior Court GROUP WEST COMPLETES INTO 2000 TOOL SALE WITH THE LA SUPERIOR COURT IN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA 1998-02-24 BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA Bill Ste. Marie, President and CEO is pleased to announce the relocation and expansion of the Huntington Beach, California office as a result of increasing activity in the millennium market. We are also pleased to announce some of our most recent tool sales in the California area. They include the LA County Superior Court and Metropolitan Concessions, the supplier of concession food for all movie theaters in the greater Los Angeles area. We have also closed our third contract with Zenith Insurance to convert the code of their Texas facility. John S. McCracken, Chairman and CEO of INTO 2000, Inc. announced that IBM Corporation has named INTO 2000 an IBM Business Partner, which gives the INTO 2000 tool product value-add status for authorized resellers of IBM equipment. "IBM is doing everything it can to help people move forward with their Year-2000 readiness," McCracken said. "For many people, new AS/400 equipment installed with INTO 2000 and all connectivity configurations will allow users to jump-start their Year-2000 project". Group West Systems Ltd. is an IBM business partner and an authorized reseller of IBM equipment. Group West is the only public company that retains the rights to distribute the INTO 2000 software in Canada and the United States. INTO 2000 is the only complete client server tool set for the Year 2000 problem in the AS/400 RPG environment. INTO 2000 has been the most widely installed Year 2000 tool set in the AS/400 community worldwide since March, 1997 and is the only tool that is ITAA (Information Technology Association of America) approved. The product includes an automated methodology, point and click analysis tools and rebuild tool. Group West Systems Ltd. is focusing on the midrange market with offices located throughout Canada and the Western United States. Group West also provides a comprehensive range of services to the rapidly evolving information technology services industry including such leaders as Rogers Sugar, Pharmasave, BC Rail, Toronto Dominion Bank and Microsoft Corporation. For investor relations information contact: Frank Port, Director of Corporate Development Phone 604/473-2132 Fax 604/299-2878 Email: fport@groupwest.ca OR Seaport Communications Inc. Phone 604/541-4188 Fax 604/541-9966 Email: seaport@usa.net The Vancouver Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.