COMMON
 |
| File:CommonLogo.PNG The logo of the organization | |
| Formation | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Type | User group |
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose | Educational, Resources, Tools, Networking |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 6,500 groups 23,000 individuals[1] |
Official language | English |
President | Kevin Mort |
Main organ | COMMON.CONNECT |
| Affiliations | IBM |
| Staff | 11 |
| Volunteers | 1,000 |
| Website | www.common.org/ |
COMMON is the largest association of users of IBM midrange computers and IBM-compatible technology in the world.[2] The users' group is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides education, tools, resources and networking opportunities for IBM i users.
Member Resources
- COMMON’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, "the premier" IBM System i "educational and networking event", according to press release.[3]
- COMMON Directions, a small EXPO with two days of educational sessions.[4]
- COMMON Focus, three days of educational workshops, including a small Expo.[5]
- One-day Seminars on leading-edge topics, held in partnership with Local User Groups throughout North America.[6]
- Web-based Education, including Webcasts.[7] and Webinars.[8]
- Networking and membership directory of all COMMON members.
- COMMON.CONNECT, the bi-monthly professional journal of COMMON.
- COMMON Connector, the monthly e-newsletter from COMMON.
- IBM Certification discounts.
- COMMON Online Networking community through iSociety.[2]
- COMMON Career Center, the exclusive System I job board for employers and candidates.[9]
Type of Memberships
- Corporate: the company pays a single annual fee which allows all employees to take advantage of Common’s resources.
- Individual: the named individual is entitled to Common benefits exclusively and is not transferable.
- User Group: Available to local user groups (LUG), affiliated user groups (AUG) and sister user groups (SUG). All members may utilize Common’s resources.
Local user groups
- KSSA.net, a COMMON iSeries (AS/400) Users Group
- OCEAN User Group
- The Omni User -- Chicago, IL
- Fairfield AS/400 User Group
- North East User Group
- South East Michigan iSeries User Group
See also
References
- ^ Fontecchio, Mark: "Disaster recovery to lead Common iSeries user group conference" Search/400, September 13, 2006
- ^ a b "Unique Community Launched by Most Loyal Group of Users in Server Industry". IBM Corporation. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
- ^ Manufacturing Business Technology magazine website: Events-COMMON's 2008 Annual Meeting and Exposition
- ^ Common.org: about COMMON directions 2008
- ^ Common.org: about COMMON focus 2008
- ^ Common.org: COMMON Seminars
- ^ Common Webcast info
- ^ Common Webinar info
- ^ Morgan, Timothy Prickett: "Common User Group Starts Midrange Career Center" IT Jungle, April 14, 2006