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International Informix Users Group (IIUG) TOPICS:
You can update your IIUG information online at www.iiug.org/cgi-bin/update_member.cgi 
I. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear members and friends of IIUG: Given our tremendous growth over the past few months, a word to new members is my first priority. Welcome! We strive to be the strongest and most influential contingent of Informix product users in the world, and your membership and support confirm that we are going in the right direction. Thanks for joining IIUG! To members who joined IIUG prior to July 20, 2001, please visit http://www.iiug.org/members/electiindex.php and cast your vote to elect the 2001-2002 IIUG Board of Directors. The site includesnominees' bios and election addresses to facilitate your thoughtful and important vote. As Informix's database business is integrated into IBM's Data Management division at a rapid pace, the IIUG Board of Directors has worked harder than ever to protect your investment in Informix technology and to strengthen IIUG. We have run more surveys, launched our new bi-weekly IIUG Alert, increased our presence in local user group meetings, improved our electronic infrastructure enormously, and raised IIUG's visibility within IBM Data Management. In the process, we have made new friends and tightened our relationship with the old guard. Among our new friends, one deserves special recognition: Nick Desachy, of IBM Data Management's marketing organization, based in Somers, New York. Nick has attended several local user group meetings on short notice and has fielded your questions with courage, candor and confidence. He's a true trooper who understands the value of IIUG to the Informix community and IBM Data Management. Among the old guard, Brian Staff, now Director of Marketing for IBM Data Management, has earned special standing. Brian's unwavering support for IIUG has opened many doors for us within IBM Data Management. He has brought us into the review cycle for critical documents and initiatives, and has taken our advice much more often than not. People like Nick and Brian exemplify the collaborative, open, and real- time relationship that IIUG came to expect from Informix. Thanks to both. Let's continue working together. And speaking of exemplary people, during its recent July meeting the IIUG Board created the IUGGY, an award to recognize three individuals who have long contributed, beyond the call of duty, to the success of the Informix user community. The IUGGYs will be presented at the upcoming IIUG Annual General Meeting, to take place during the 2001 IBM Informix Conference (IIC), Oct. 21-25. Be there to cheer and honor the recipients. By the way, have you registered yet to attend IIC? In case you haven't, here's the link: www.TheNextStep.net. For more background and all the reasons to attend IIC, this newsletter includes an excellent article by our own Paul Mosser, IIUG Board member and IIC Sub- Committee Chair. Don't miss it! To close, I would like to stress the importance of voting for the new IIUG Board; attending the IBM Informix Conference; and expressing your opinions by responding to our surveys, participating in our special interest groups, and communicating directly with us by e-mail. These actions are your best options for supporting and contributing to the Informix community, especially during this transition time. Thanks for your involvement. Let's keep working together. Federico (Fred) Hubbard II. IIUG NEWS AND EVENTS
A. IBM Informix Conference - Paul Mosser TAKE "THE NEXT STEP": REGISTER NOW FOR THE 2001 IBM INFORMIX CONFERENCE! It's coming up soon -- the IBM Informix Conference (IIC) will be held 21-25 October 2001, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The IIUG has been working diligently with the Conference Steering Committee over the past several months to ensure meaningful content for Informix users. You can now register for the conference at http://www.thenextstep.net. As the web address implies, the theme for this year's conference is "The Next Step", and its objective is to provide reassurances that Informix products and services continue to live and thrive under IBM Data Management. And an exciting conference it will be! Scheduled keynote speakers will include Janet Perna, General Manager, IBM Data Management, and Carl Olofson, Research Director, Application Development and Deployment, IDC. If you are an IUGLC member, you'll want to reserve Sunday October 21, 2001 for our yearly IIUG review. During this meeting you will also interact with IBM Data Management executives and lead developers in a candid and influential forum. IUGLC members are either Presidents or leaders of Informix local user groups. Additionally, on Monday, October 22, 2001, IUGLC members are invited to dinner with Janet Perna, General Manager of IBM's Data Management Group, responsible for the DB2 and Informix databases. A total of 18 three-hour tutorials will be available on Monday, 22 Oct. 2001, providing in-depth presentations and instruction on numerous IBM Informix products and services, as well as some IBM non-Informix products. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will feature informative and useful track sessions on topics ranging from IDS & Foundation to the "Classic" products to Large-Systems Data Warehousing to Application Development -- all this and more! Something for everyone! A special feature at this year's conference will be on-site Informix Certified Professional Program (ICPP) testing. Special "cram" sessions will be available to assist you in review and preparation for certification exams. Your first certification exam at IIC will be free! Additional exams will be available at a discount of 50% off the regular price. The IIUG is pleased to once again host the now traditional "Ask The Experts" (ATE) sessions, where your technical questions can be addressed directly to a panel of IBM Informix experts. ATE sessions are currently scheduled for IDS & Foundation, Classics, XPS, Red Brick, and Cloudscape. Also, a special ATE session this year will focus on IBM Informix Support and Services. Your ATE questions can be submitted now at http://www.iiug.org, or you can submit them at the conference. New this year, IIUG will be hosting "Interactive" Road Map (IRM) sessions, that will feature detailed product road maps, followed by a chance for you to provide feedback and input to IBM Informix Product Management about what YOU would like to see in upcoming product releases! IRM sessions are scheduled for IDS & Foundation, Classics, XPS, Red Brick, and Cloudscape. Other special IIUG events will include a "Meet the Executives" session, where top IBM Data Management executives will field questions from IIUG. Also, IIUG's "Meet the Developers" Night will provide a casual, informal setting for you to chat with the actual developers of various IBM Informix products and services -- over beer and pizza! Finally, when you come to the Conference, be sure to attend the IIUG Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday afternoon! The IIUG Board of Directors has been working hard this year to make IIUG a valuable resource for the Informix user community, and there are several exciting new developments that we will be sharing with you at the AGM: Your new IIUG Board of Directors will be announced at that time (don't forget to vote at http://www.iiug.org!), and the new IUGGYs will also be presented then. You won't want to miss this year's meeting! See you in Las Vegas! B. State of the Server - Stuart Litel and James Edmiston We are delighted to report that the IIUG server has been upgraded and relocated to its own T1 line. This has greatly improved the web site's speed; go to www.iiug.org and experience immediate response time and fast downloads for yourself! As part of this upgrade, we have also added a complete, interactive HTML/4GL, web-based Membership area. This makes life easier for members, who can now change their current contact information and update their profiles online. It also helps the Board to understand what information our members are interested in and what's most important to them, and to monitor the ongoing IIUG Board of Directors voting. We've also added a new area where users can easily subscribe and un- subscribe to any or all of the IIUG's email lists (See James Edmiston's article immediately following this one for more details on these lists). While this subscribe/un-subscribe area is available right now, we will maintain the list of all current subscribers without change until October 1. IMPORTANT: Effective October 1, 2001, ONLY IIUG MEMBERS WILL BE ABLE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE IIUG EMAIL LISTS, INCLUDING OUR FEED TO COMP.DATABASES.INFORMIX (C.D.I./INFORMIX-LIST). Both IIUG membership and list subscriptions are free - we simply ask that list recipients become members of the IIUG before subscribing. SPECIAL THANKS: As with every IIUG effort, this job could not have been complete without the help of our volunteer members. Our thanks go out to the folks at Advanced Data Tools, a premier VAR of Informix products, and especially to Lester and Linda Knutsen and Matt Lesko. ADTC (www.advancedatatools.com) is currently supplying us with FREE System Administration staff to backup our server and maintain its operations and security. We would also like to thank Four J's (www.4js.com), which supplied free software for this new membership area, and we are indebted to John Georges Perrin of Four J's for his technical guidance. If you have any questions or comments about the web site please contact webmaster@iiug.org C. SIG/Advocacy - James Edmiston Did you know that the IIUG server hosts many email discussion lists? Some of the topics are product specific, while other topics address a broader audience. Their purpose is to facilitate Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and support any advocacy efforts from the user community. Here are the names of the email lists currently supported by IIUG:
If you are subscribed to a list, you receive all emails generated by any other subscribers, and you can send email to the list by using the email alias - listname@iiug.org, where "listname" is the actual name of the list. For more detailed descriptions and subscription information, please log on to the members area on the IIUG web site - www.iiug.org. You will need to enter your member number, name and email (the one used to send you *this* email) to login. Click on the "Subscribe" button to view the lists and your subscription status. If you have any questions, please feel free to email James Edmiston (James@IIUG.org). D. New Advisory Council - Malcolm Weallans The IIUG Board of Directors, in its ongoing effort to interact with its members and understand their needs, has established the IIUG Advisory Council as a means of enabling more members to take an active role in the activities of the IIUG. The IIUG Advisory Council is expected to become an extension of the Board of Directors, in much the same way as the IUGLC (Informix User Group Leadership Council) is now, however, it is open to all members regardless of their status in any local group, whereas the IUGLC is limited to local user group leaders. The IIUG Advisory Council will communicate via a moderated email discussion list. Participants will be asked to reply to surveys and provide opinion on issues related to IIUG, IBM Data Management and Informix issues. The IIUG Advisory Council will partake in discussions about the future of IIUG, about IIUG policies, and the relationships between IIUG and other user groups. The IIUG Board of Directors also expects to deliver exclusive webcasts, educasts, and other communications to IIUG Advisory Council members for their participation and feedback. While the Board of Directors welcomes any and all to participate in the IIUG Advisory Council, it also reserves the right to deny or terminate membership at its sole discretion. Breaches of Netiquette, for instance, may result in removal from the Advisory Council. The IIUG Board also urges those who would like to take a place on the Advisory Council to understand that active and timely participation in and contribution to the discussion list and other events is expected. If you want to take part in the continuing work of IIUG, then please join the Advisory Council at www.iiug.org/advcoun. You will be asked for your IIUG membership number and asked to formally accept the terms of membership. You will also be required to complete or update the IIUG member profile if you have not already done so. E. Focus on IIUG LUGs - Fred Hubbard Local user group (LUG) activity has accelerated in the last few months. More meetings, with stronger presenters, but also new user groups! Among them, the Houston Informix User Group, the Greater Philadelphia Informix User Group (GPAIUG), the North Africa Informix User Group, the Tampa Bay Informix User Group, the Carolina's Informix User Group and the re-invigorated St. Louis Informix User Group. A bevy of events is also in the offing, including...
The IIUG Board is also working on a quarterly program to offer standardized content for local user group meetings worldwide. This will make LUG meeting organization somewhat easier. Our "beta" version of this program is currently being rolled out and includes an IBM Data Management executive presenting on "Why Informix", an IBM Informix Education Services workshop, and an IIUG Board member presentation on IIC. For more information on IIUG and LUG events, please visit http://www.iiug.org/whatsnew/events_top.html. And for a complete list of local user groups worldwide, please go to http://www.iiug.org/members/grps_world.html. If you are interested in setting up a new Informix local user group, Please contact Glenn Jacobson at Glenn@IIUG.org. F. Drive to Update the IIUG Membership Database - Bernd Langer As mentioned in the most recent IIUG Alert, IIUG is starting a drive to clean up its membership database. This will improve our services and programs, which will be increasingly tailored to your interests and location. Please note that all members will be receiving notices to update their Member Profiles in the next couple of weeks. If you have not done so recently, please take a moment to visit www.IIUG.org and click on the red Member Profile link to log on to the new membership system. It will require your membership number, which is included at the top of this newsletter. Then review the information we currently have on file for you, update your profile if necessary. In order to maximize our reach and the effectiveness of this drive, those who do not respond to email requests to update their information will be sent fax and snail mail messages. For more information on your Member Profile or the profiling process, please contact Dawn Shannon at 650-926-6762 or Glenn Jacobson at (Glenn@IIUG.org) III. BOARD NEWS
Deadline for the Board of Directors Vote - Martha Schraer There's still time to cast your vote for the IIUG Board of Directors if you have not already done so. The deadline is September 15th. You can find more information and can cast your vote at: http://www.iiug.org/about/iiug_board.html. IV. INFORMIX NEWS AND EVENTS
A. Refreshed Product Roadmap White Paper Now Available - Martha Schraer IBM Data Management, together with the Informix Marketing Department, has refreshed the product direction white paper first published a few months ago. Because product plans are so vital to everyone, the paper is being presented through the following communications channels:
For more information or to arrange a local user group presentation, please contact Dawn Shannon, also at 650-926-6762. B. Sep. 6 Webcast: IBM Informix Portfolio Future Directions - Dawn Shannon Please join IBM Data Management and IIUG for the upcoming IBM Informix Portfolio Future Directions webcast. The webcast will feature key IBM executives and personnel who will take you through the newly updated product roadmap white paper "IBM Informix Portfolio Future Directions" and introduce you to the benefits and changes in becoming an IBM customer. This webcast will take place on September 6th, 2001. Please register at http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/events/customer.
For air times in your local area or geography, please use the World Time Clock Conversion tool at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html. Learn how IBM is focused on setting the standard for the next generation e-business solutions. We will also show how IBM will continue to execute Informix's strategy to support and enhance existing Informix products for the foreseeable future. Over the long term, IBM intends to integrate key Informix technologies into future versions of DB2. With this webcast, IBM would like to show our valued customers how IBM immediately intends to:
IBM wants to assure its customers and partners that it will strive to maintain valuable relationships and the support enjoyed to day. IBM's goal is to minimize change to these sales, support and services relationships. For more information and to register for the Welcome to IBM webcast, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/informix/events/customer. V. CLOSING AND CREDITS
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an international organization that is designed to enhance communications between Informix and its worldwide user community. The IIUG now has over 10,000 members and has major support from the IBM Data Management division. We also help local user groups get started and promoted. If you do not wish to receive future editions of this e-newsletter, please visit www.IIUG.org http://www.IIUG.org, update your member profile and check or uncheck the appropriate choices. CREDITS:Sources: IIUG Board of Directors THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF INFORMIX PRODUCTS AND THE IIUG! |
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