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Edward M. Peters, CEO OpenConnect, Named Vice Chair of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Long-time industry leader will provide expert guidance

Dallas, TX March 6, 2009 - Edward Peters, chief executive officer, OpenConnect Systems has been named vice chairman of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The CCIA is an international nonprofit organization representing a wide range of companies in the computer, Internet, information technology, and telecommunications industries, represented by their senior executives. The CCIA is located in Washington, D.C.

“We welcome Ed Peters as vice chair of the CCIA. For many years Ed has served the organization in various capacities including chairman,” said Ed Black, President & CEO of the CCIA. “We look forward to having a person with Ed’s vision and expertise as the CCIA Vice Chair to help lead the organization in these uncertain times facing the converging communications and computer industries.”

Created nearly four decades ago, CCIA promotes open markets, open systems, open networks, and full, fair, and open competition. The CCIA is dedicated to promoting innovation and preserving full, fair and open competition throughout the computer and communications i ndustries.

“This is an extremely challenging time for our nation. The technology sector has always played a key role in providing the foundation for economic growth,” said Edward M. Peters, CEO of OpenConnect. “I am glad to be participating with CCIA in its efforts to shape how technology policies can help move our economy forward.”

CCIA members employ more than 600,000 workers and generate annual revenues in excess of $200 billion; these conclude: AMD, eBay, Fujitsu, Google, Intuit, Microsoft, OpenConnect, Oracle, RedHat, T-Mobile, and Yahoo.

Edward Peters is the Chief Executive Officer of OpenConnect Systems based in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Peters is the co-author of the forthcoming book, The Knowledge Gap, which describes how to use actionable intelligence to ‘stop guessing’ and ‘start knowing’ about the true cost of inefficient (and ineffective) business processes. The book is essential reading for every leader in post-meltdown global economy. A recognized business leader, Mr. Peters holds a Bachelor of Arts Master of Science from Lehigh University, attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Management Program at Carnegie-Mellon University. He is also Special Guest Professor in the Faculty of Applied Economic at Catholic Universit- Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

About OpenConnect

OpenConnect solutions help organizations achieve continuous, real-time views of the activities and variations that affect day-to-day operations. Armed with this intelligence, executives can make the immediate improvements that increase process efficiency, improve employee productivity and raise profitability. With a rich history of developing innovative technology, OpenConnect's products are distributed in more than 60 countries and used by more than 60 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information on OpenConnect, visit www.oc.com.

About CCIA

Created over three decades ago, CCIA promotes open markets, open systems, open networks, and full, fair, and open competition. The CCIA is an international, nonprofit association of computer and communications industry firms, representing a broad cross section of the industry. For more information about the CCIA, call (202) 783-0070, email info@CCIANET.org, or visit www.ccianet.org.