Member of the International User Group Council (IUGC)

The International User Group Council (IUGC), is a federation of IBM User Groups, represented by their Presidents. Its mission is to enhance the effectiveness of user group members world-wide.

The IUGC was created 1986 in Berlin to maximize the influence and leverage of user groups on IBM through representing nearly all of the major IBM customers in the world. Organizations participating in the IUGC:

GUIDE SHARE EUROPE	JAPAN GUIDE/SHARE (JGS)	INTERACTION Australasia	SHARE Inc.	COMMON Europe

The IUGC meets twice a year, with each group taking a turn to organise the meetings adjacent to one of their conferences.

Where does the IUGC fit?
IBM is a global player. Many IBM customers are global enterprises. For very practical reasons, user groups typically operate within a geographical area, in a country or within a continent. Out of necessity and since their creation, user groups have helped each other through the exchange of visitors and speakers. The younger user groups in Australia, Japan, and Latin America have learned from the more established ones, and combined the best of the Guide and Share traditions and practices. The formation of the IUGC established a consistent framework for the co-operation between the groups and for the partnership with IBM.

How does the IUGC work?
Each of the user groups works with IBM to influence IBM's products and services for the benefit of their membership. In many cases this can be done successfully within a working group in a country or in a specific national project. On the other hand, there are topics that are truly global, and where it would be a waste of effort to duplicate the work in each continent. These topics are typically of a strategic nature and go beyond what discussions with a laboratory or development group can reasonably accomplish.

The IUGC may identify, initiate, endorse, and coordinate projects where customers and IBM form a team that has a clear mission, well-defined objectives, and timely deliverables. Typically, one user group takes the lead or actually carries out the whole project on behalf of the IUGC. This international cooperation is very cost-effective and it helps to avoid IBM's solution becoming purely US centric.

Where can the IUGC help customers?
Any individual customer may take up issues directly with IBM, typically through the local representative. Naturally, the largest accounts have the loudest voice. User Groups combine the weight of many customers, providing a more representative, and a more powerful point of view.

Common problems can be resolved very effectively with the national management of IBM through the Region Manager or with IBM Europe through the GSE President, whatever the most appropriate channel may be. All formally submitted 'Matters of Concern' are also exchanged between the IUGC groups. The presidents will raise those of truly global nature with IBM's top management in the semi-annual meetings. Once IBM recognises a global problem steps are initiated quickly to resolve it.

During its ten-year existence, the IUGC worked very effectively with IBM. Unfortun-ately, the IUGC also worked rather invisibly. Now that the IUGC has been explained, it should be easier to follow future news and results from the IUGC. By being a Member of GSE and through the IUGC, you are part of the world-wide community of IBM users.

Asia Pacific User Groups
Many of the Asia Pacific countries formed IBM User Groups during the last decade modelled after the Guide/Share organisations that were established over 30 years ago in the US and Europe. Seven groups from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore have formed the Asia Pacific User Group Council (APUGC). Their presidents meet twice a year to align strategies and foster technical exchange between the different groups.

The idea of a world-wide User Group Advisory Council (UGAC) was met with great enthusiasm by the Asia Pacific groups and it was agreed that one representative from the APUGC will be invited to future UGAC meetings. This will give these strategic dialogues between IBM and its customers a true global coverage while keeping the number of participants at a reasonable level.

It is worth noting that user groups, even in strong economies, are faced with great pressures to demonstrate customer value and can no longer rely on natural growth. The China IBM User Group, which reached over 500 members in a very short time has still an enormous growth potential. The Indonesia User Group tries to expand from their base in Jakarta to other industrial cities. The Singapore and Hong Kong User Groups must address new topics since they have nearly a 100 percent coverage of the traditional, mainframe oriented corporate membership. In a few years we might learn from these groups.

Back to top