Montvale, New Jersey - (The Hosting News) - April 28, 2006 - Centric CRM will be one of the sponsors of the SOA Enterprise Open Source Conference to take place June 5-6, 2006, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

David Richards, CEO of Centric CRM, will deliver one of the general sessions at the conference. Since 1989, Mr. Richards has worked with a combination of mature and growth companies. He began his career as President of AutoNet in 1989 and served in that capacity for two years; this early stage company established one of the earliest electronic marketplaces of used-vehicles in the United States. After AutoNet, Mr. Richards joined the Greensboro (NC) News and Record, a subsidiary of Landmark Communications. In his role of vice president of sales and marketing he was responsible for all of the company's revenue departments: advertising, circulation, promotions, marketing and specialty publications.

After serving with the News and Record Mr. Richards moved into the position of vice president of corporate development at Landmark. He reported to the CEO and worked with the Senior Executive team making investments in new media. In 1995 Mr. Richards was appointed President and CEO of InfiNet, Inc.

InfiNet was a three-way joint venture of Landmark, Gannett and Knight-Ridder, the former being the founding company, the latter two follow-along investors. InfiNet is now wholly owned by Gannett. Mr. Richards returned to Landmark in 1997 to become corporate vice president. In this position he was responsible for two, wholly owned subsidiaries: Landmark Community Interests and CareerWeb.

In April 1998, Mr. Richards was named Chairman and CEO of Physicians' Online, a company backed by venture capitalists including AT and T Ventures, Invesco Funds, and Advent International. At that time Physicians' Online was the largest authenticated community of on-line physicians in the world (+ 200,000 MD members). POL was a turnaround that Mr. Richards successfully sold after 18 months for $180 million prior to his departure in December 1999. Mr. Richards founded Centric CRM in January 2000.

''Putting the ''Enterprise'' into Enterprise Open Source Software'' will feature the following:

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a business strategy, rather than a technology. Every organization employs some method of CRM whether it be a deck of index cards, a spreadsheet, or an expensive proprietary computer system. Until recently, sophisticated CRM systems were reserved exclusively for very large enterprises. Fortunately, that is no longer the case. One of the most exciting developments in CRM technology is the emergence of true enterprise-class open source CRM applications. By their very nature, open source applications are less expensive to acquire, deploy and support than proprietary solutions. When correctly designed and implemented, an Enterprise Open Source system like Centric CRM 4.0 will provide true enterprise-class security, scalability, and features at a price and in a form accessible to everyone.

Mr. Richards' presentation will focus on several key points of concern to IT decision-makers looking to support critical corporate business objectives with Enterprise Open Source solutions. Among them, Mr. Richards will explore:

- An appropriate definition of "Customer Relationship Management," and what it means for the enterprise

-An examination of the expanding definition of ''Open Source,'' including the emerging notion of "Enterprise Open Source''

-The inescapable reality of today's complex IT environments - mixed operating systems, mixed licenses, multiple vendors, and budget pressures - and how Centric CRM 4.0 is designed to integrate into those environments

-Architectural considerations for true Enterprise Open Source solutions including security, scalability, flexibility, ease of deployment and maintenance, and development discipline

Attendees should leave this presentation with a general understanding of some of the larger trends and issues within the overall Enterprise Open Source application space, and a particular understanding of how Centric CRM is designed from the ground up with those issues in mind.

This year's conference will feature more than 100 distinguished faculty members who are the world's top celebrity experts in their fields, presenting more than 96 sessions and power panels in three distinct themes: SOA Web Services, Enterprise Open Source, and Real-World AJAX. The conference offers seven simultaneous tracks in two days.

The conference on-site delegate registrations are limited to 500 attendees, and is expected to sell out. In addition to the live audience, more than 20,000 simulcast viewers are expected to tune into keynotes and general sessions live.

SOA Web Services Conference, co-located with the Enterprise Open Source Conference, will be sponsored by a total of eight leading SOA and Enterprise Open Source technology vendors. The conference will offer exhibit opportunities to other vendors in addition to main event sponsors. Additional information on sponsorship and exhibit opportunities can be obtained by email at events sys-con.com or by phone at 201 802-3021.

To learn more about the conference, please visit: www.sys-con.tv.

For more information about SYS-CON, please visit: www.sys-con.com.