Message from the Chair

EMA'98 marks the association's 15th anniversary, a milestone deserving of reflection about the future of the industry. We're providing just that kind of reflection in this issue of Messaging Magazine. EMA'98 represents an opportunity for both in-depth reflection on the direction of the industry, and a chance to celebrate our successes to date. I hope you find the following articles stimulate your thinking about the directions for messaging, and that you bring your ideas to EMA'98 so that we may discuss them together.

A centerpiece of this showcase of issues and experts will be a keynote address by Jim Barksdale, President and Chief Executive Officer, Netscape Communications Corporation, who will speak on the opening day of EMA'98. Mr. Barksdale's goal at Netscape is to provide open software to enable people and companies to exchange information and conduct commerce over the Internet and other global networks.

This edition of Messaging Magazine previews technology and product innovations scheduled for release in 1998. While there is a messaging infrastructure in place now, the integration of diverse messaging environments has not yet been achieved. The questions remain: What should be done and how in order to fully integrate? Messaging Magazine focuses on upcoming solutions that can improve businesses in the next 12-24 months.

Nina Burns, President & CEO, Creative Networks, examines the convergence of Intranets and Extranets. The Internet Mail Consortium looks at the Internet mail user experience in the next millennium. Rounding out the issue are articles on directory enabled applications, mail, voice and fax integration, and new information on message retention policies.

As this issue goes to press, the education program for EMA'98 is in development, too. With a focus on "Messaging in the Millennium," the program committee, co-chaired by Michele Rubenstein, Messaging Program Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and Gary Rowe, Principal of Rapport Communication, has pulled together a team of content experts to build a program around 21st century issues. Sharon Boeyen, Entrust, and Warwick Ford, Verisign, are crafting an education track on security. Dave Crocker and Paul Hoffman, Internet Mail Consortium, are constructing a track on Internet and intranet messaging. Directories and management issues in the millenium will be the focus of a track devised by Dan Blum, Rapport Communication, and Jim McDermott, Exxon Corporation. The final track, EC solutions, is under development by Rik Drummond, Drummond Group. Watch the website (http://www.ema.org) for programming updates.

Martha Hanlon
Director, Enterprise Access and Applications Marketing
MCI Telecommunications Corporation
Chair, Board of Directors, Electronic Messaging Association