Common Connect - February 2012

President’s Message
At the recent IBM User Group Conference (IUGC) which I attended representing COMMON, fourteen
of us discussed the issues that are affecting our user group all over the world, as well as how we
can all increase the value we provide to our membership. The world is a changing place, and in the
technology world, the rate of change occurs at an even faster pace I believe. We currently work very
closely with COMMON Europe, Share North America, but also at this meeting was Guide-Share Europe,
Interaction (representing Asia & Australia), and Association of User Groups of JAPAN.

For each user group, we are focused both on a geography, as we well as a technology. Our memberships are getting older, the internet had made getting some information easier, companies are reducing their travel budgets, volunteerism is down across all groups, and costs continue to increase for the groups while most groups hold the rates the same they charge for services and products. COMMON was no different in the issues that affect user groups, but we were leading in the number of new products we have introduced, as well as products that we have in the works. I call them products, perhaps because of my background, but some could be classified as products and some as member services. In every case, they are being created by COMMON to meet the changing needs of our organization. As the Power Systems communities’ needs continue to change, COMMON is going to be there to meet those needs. Why? Because COMMON is your user group, dedicated and created to help fill our members needs in Education, Leadership/Advocacy, and Community/Networking. At our board meetings we discuss how we will continue to build value for our members, to meet the needs and requirements of our members, both today and tomorrow. We aren’t going to do this by just having our existing product set. Last year COMMON created our Virtual Conference, live streaming of opening session, the consultants guide, the COMMON Professional certification, to name a few. We are not just producing new products, but making sure the products/services we are delivering meet your needs. We have more new things that I hope to be able to announce at the annual meeting in May. In addition, we continually update all our existing offerings to meet your needs.

That is the funny thing about being in the technology world, you can’t stay still. If you don’t continually strive to improve your skills, you are not staying still, you are actually going backward against your peers. For this reason, you need to be looking up your local user group and attending the monthly meeting, signing up for the monthly COMMON Webcasts (free to COMMON Members), reading a new technology book every year, attending either the 4 day Spring Annual Conference or the 2 ½ day Fall event. I say this because as a member of the community we need to improve our education. You are a member of this Power Systems community and you have a duty unto yourself to improve your skills and get as much education as possible. Yet, you also have a duty to the community of which you are a member. Yes, you are both a member of the community and of COMMON. Investing in yourself, improves your skill set, makes you more valuable to your employer, and a better candidate to a future employers when looking for a job. But wait. I also said you need to invest in yourself because you’re a member of the community. That is because I always hear people say that people are moving from the platform, and it is because IBM doesn’t market the box and what it can do. I think that we as members of the community have an obligation to leverage the technology and do as much with the box as possible. In my day job, I am visiting customers and prospects every day. I can usually always hear the Windows staff talk about new technology, but the Power Systems staff might be talking about RPG II, AIX 5.3, IBM I 5. 4. If you are still on an older operating system you aren’t getting the most from your machine, you aren’t playing with the newer technology, and you don’t realize all the features and functions that are now there. This is where by educating yourself, you are helping the community. The community as a whole grows because the educated can now use the new technology, discuss the new technology, and stop the migration of key business workloads from moving to Windows. Why, because it can be done better on Power Systems, but if the individual doesn’t know that, how can they show everyone else in your company.

That is why, now is the time to register for the COMMON 2012 Annual Meeting being held at the beautiful Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim, California. May 6 to the 9. Come hear from all the industry experts share their knowledge, learn new ways of doing existing functions, learn about new technology, learn about new features. Not only will you learn from the speakers, but you will get a chance to learn from each other at all the networking and interaction events on the schedule.