Alok Mohan, president and chief executive officer of the Santa Cruz Operation, will deliver the keynote address at UniForum '96 on Friday morning, Feb. 16, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Mohan joins Hewlett-Packard's CEO, Lew Platt, and IBM's CEO, Lou Gerstner as UniForum '96 keynoters in the most powerful lineup of speakers ever presented at a UniForum Conference and Trade Show.
Ever since SCO surprised the industry in September with its purchase of Unix from Novell (see UniNews, Oct. 4), much has been made of what the shift in ownership means to those who are using Unix now and to others who are considering Unix instead of competing proprietary systems such as Windows NT. In Mohan's address, UniForum '96 attendees can anticipate hearing for the first time a clear statement of purpose and marketing direction for Unix that will have significant impact on the future of operating systems for the enterprise.
Mohan's keynote, entitled "Why Unix is Still the Business-Critical Choice," will focus on the bright future SCO envisions for Unix. Mohan told UniNews that his remarks will center around why Unix is, more than ever before, the operating system of the future, along with his own view of where Unix is headed next, including important new information about how SCO OpenServer and UnixWare will merge.
Another party involved with the sale of Unix was, of course, Hewlett-Packard, with the announcement that Novell and SCO will support its efforts to develop a 64-bit Unix system to run on the next-generation processor coming from the work HP is doing with Intel. UniForum '96's opening keynoter, Lew Platt, is expected to address the strategy of this development arrangement. HP, of course, is a Unix market leader with the resources and commitment necessary to make the future of Unix happen.
Opening day, Wednesday, Feb. 14, will also feature a special CEO address by Lou Gerstner in his first West Coast computer show appearance. Although Gerstner's topic had not been announced by UniNews press time, IBM watchers are sure to be out in force as Big Blue remains a strong presence in Unix sales and in its commitment to AIX.
All UniForum keynotes are free to registered attendees of UniForum '96; seating will be on a first come, first served basis. All UniForum members are receiving detailed registration materials in the mail and are urged to complete and return them as soon as possible. To have a UniForum '96 brochure sent to you, call the show manager at Softbank Comdex, (617) 433-1650, or send your request via e-mail, with a mail-back address, to prindle@comdex.com.