COMMON
Encyclopedia
COMMON is the largest association of users of IBM
midrange computer
s and IBM-compatible technology in the world.
The users' group
is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides education, tools, resources and networking opportunities for IBM System i
users, especially those lacking experience.
Attendance at COMMON's technical events, which increased throughout the 1980s and 1990s, dropped substantially, resulting in a 2009 loss exceeding half a million dollars. The elected board of directors was unusually candid at the April 2009 meeting of members when they outlined the cutbacks to the 2010 conference, which included reducing the conference length from five days to four, eliminating free attendance for volunteers and seeking sponsorship for social events. Even so, 2010 expenses were expected to exceed income by nearly $140,000.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
midrange computer
Midrange computer
Midrange computers, or midrange systems, are a class of computer systems which fall in between mainframe computers and microcomputers.The class emerged in the 1960s and machines were generally known at the time as minicomputers - especially models from Digital Equipment Corporation , Data General,...
s and IBM-compatible technology in the world.
The users' group
Users' group
A users' group is a type of club focused on the use of a particular technology, usually computer-related....
is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides education, tools, resources and networking opportunities for IBM System i
IBM System i
The IBM System i is IBM's previous generation of midrange computer systems for IBM i users, and was subsequently replaced by the IBM Power Systems in April 2008....
users, especially those lacking experience.
Financial problems
The Late-2000s recession had a severe effect on COMMON activities. IT professionals were working longer hours and had smaller budgets for training and education, which resulted in COMMON changing from two conferences per year to one.Attendance at COMMON's technical events, which increased throughout the 1980s and 1990s, dropped substantially, resulting in a 2009 loss exceeding half a million dollars. The elected board of directors was unusually candid at the April 2009 meeting of members when they outlined the cutbacks to the 2010 conference, which included reducing the conference length from five days to four, eliminating free attendance for volunteers and seeking sponsorship for social events. Even so, 2010 expenses were expected to exceed income by nearly $140,000.
Member Resources
- COMMON’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, "the premier" IBM System i "educational and networking event", according to press release.
- COMMON Directions, a small EXPO with two days of educational sessions.
- COMMON Focus, three days of educational workshops, including a small Expo.
- One-day Seminars on leading-edge topics, held in partnership with Local User Groups throughout North America.
- Web-based Education, including WebcastWebcastA webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
s. and Webinars. - 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.
- COMMON Career Center, the exclusive System I job board for employers and candidates.
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 -- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, ILIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... - Fairfield AS/400 User Group
- North East User Group
- South East Michigan iSeries User Group