Highlights: IIUG Survey, James Edmiston Profiled, IBM Informix Events and More…
Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this publication contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.
Contents:
- IIUG Survey on Direction and Priorities for 2003 – Great Response
- James Edmiston, IIUG Board Member, Profiled
- IBM’s “Inside Track” for Business Partners
- Preview of IBM Data Management Events for 2003 – InfoBahn & More
- IBM’s iSource & Winter 2003 Software Catalog: Informix Listings
- Partnerline Now “PartnerWorld Contact Services”
- IBM developerWorks Live! – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- IBM PartnerWorld for Software Deep Dive Teleconferences – Feb. 2003
- IBM Informix Consulting, Training & Certification News
- Useful Links
- Closing and Credits
IIUG Survey on Direction and Priorities for 2003 – Great Response
Two weeks ago, the IIUG Board of Directors launched a members-only survey requesting opinion regarding the services offered by IIUG. Response was phenomenal: 641 individual IIUG members took time to provide input. Results are currently being analyzed and a report to the membership will be forthcoming.
As promised, IIUG will reward every 10th survey respondent with a gift, which will be shipped with a personalized greeting letter signed by Jerry Hamilton, IIUG President, within the next few weeks.
James Edmiston, IIUG Board Member, Profiled
| Q: | How do you use Informix in your “real” job (DBA, Consultant, Developer, etc.)? |
| A: | I work as a DBA consultant primarily implementing financial data warehouse solutions for an agency within the US Federal Government. In 1999, the customer chose IDS as their database engine and hired our Firm to implement a data warehouse. Since then, they have asked for 6 or 8 additional data marts. My role involves database design, data loading, database tuning, sizing and related DBA tasks. |
| Q: | How long have you been using Informix products? |
| A: | Since 1996. |
| Q: | What is your role on the IIUG Board? |
| A: | In my 3rd year as a Board member, I have taken on several roles. The first 2 years I was the “administrator” of the email discussion lists or Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which I am transitioning to another board member. I have also been the liaison to Informix Local User Groups where I am continuing to focus my attention. Additionally, I work on keeping the IIUG membership database updated and assist where I can with some tasks on the web/database server. |
| Q: | Why did you volunteer to be on the Board? |
| A: | When I started participating in my local user group, the Washington (DC) Area Informix Users Group, I found it to be very enriching. I joined the IIUG board because I wanted to make a difference in the Informix user community by helping others have the same positive user group experience that I had. I also enjoy the interaction among people who have Informix in common. |
| Q: | What do you want to accomplish this year on the Board? |
| A: | I want to continue to grow and enhance the Local User Group program by building on the successes of the past year and helping to expand into more geographies. |
| Q: | Where are you from? |
| A: | I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, but I haven’t lived there since 1983. Since then, I lived in Dallas, TX for 3 years, Detroit, MI for 1 year and finally ended up in Northern Virginia (suburbs of Washington DC) where I have been since 1987. |
| Q: | Best Informix story? |
| A: | When I first started working with Informix, the lady who helped interview and hire me was the DBA “team lead”. After I was there for a couple of months, she resigned and went to work for Informix, Corp. I like to think that she influenced my hiring so she could leave and go to work for Informix. Anyhow, her departure was the best thing to happen to me because I was forced to learn Informix more immediately. As a result, I prepared for and passed the Informix certification, and was able to advance my career as an Informix DBA. |
| Q: | Worst Informix nightmare. |
| A: | While attempting to reorganize some tables to eliminate a high number of extents, I “accidentally” dropped some production tables without successfully unloading them beforehand. Then, after realizing the mistake, tried to restore from the latest backup, only to have problems. After an agonizing 24 hours, I was finally able to restore and recreate the deleted data. It was a very humbling and unpleasant experience, but taught me several valuable “DBA” lessons. |
| Q: | Can you tell us about your family and hobbies outside of the IIUG? |
| A: | I’m married with 2 young children, ages 5 and 2. We recently moved and I have been spending a lot of time and energy (not to mention money) making the house a little more comfortable. My wife is a classical musician and conducts a community orchestra which adds a dimension of music appreciation to my life. We just visited New York City for the first time and got to see a number of famous sites including the former World Trade Center site. |
See James and other members of the IIUG Board of directors as captured attending the recent WAIUG Forum 2002 at /iiug/09nov02_board3.html.
IBM’s “Inside Track” for Business Partners
The following note was contributed by Denise Dunn, if IBM Data Management Channel Marketing.
New Inside Track for Business Partners Seeking Business and Technology Opportunities!
Join IBM as they kick off the IBM Insight Exchange (TM) Business Partner initiative, designed to help current and prospective IBM Business Partners understand the business trends and technologies that are shaping the future. IBM has a vital interest in your success, and are proving their commitment by helping you plan profitable investments and strategies.
Insight Exchange initiative will unveil business and technology opportunities in two separate series of Webcasts presented by top IBM thought leaders and other industry/technology experts:
- Opportunity Track – Presents fact-based discussions of industry and cross-industry trends, helping Business Partners identify opportunities to be tapped for improved success. Topics include: the demand for cyber security, leading edge technologies that will shape the 21st century, digital strategy and the customer, homeland security and related emerging business opportunities, and much more.
- Technology Track – Focuses on discussing technological excellence and providing insight into technology investments for greater competitive advantage. Speakers will offer their views on the highest priorities and the hottest technologies in the industry, such as e-business on demand, autonomic computing, enterprise information integration, grid computing, database futures, content management trends, XML database technologies, and Web architectures.
A third track within the initiative, Business Track is open by invitation and is devoted to building business excellence through a series of interactive, face-to-face sessions.
Insight Exchange is open to current and prospective partners of IBM. You’ll want to be part of this exciting initiative so that you can benefit from insights into business trends and technologies that will help you plan more successful strategies.
Click on the Insight Exchange Web link, http://www.ibm.com/software/insightexchange, to register for the inaugural Webcasts in February for each series. And spread the news about Insight Exchange among your colleagues.
Preview of IBM Data Management Events for 2003 – InfoBahn & More
IBM Data Management has informed IIUG ENews that a new series of Informix specific events – known in some locations last year as InfoBahn – is on its way. IIUG will include these in its calendar, which you can find at /calendar. Confirmed locations and dates are:
| 4 Mar | Dallas, Texas, USA |
| 5 Mar | Houston, Texas, USA |
| 11 Mar | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| 13 Mar | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 19 Mar | Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
| 27 Mar | Taiwan |
| 8 Apr | Denver, Colorado, USA |
| 9 Apr | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| 15 Apr | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| 16 Apr | Tampa, Florida, USA |
| 22 Apr | Washington, DC, USA |
| 23 Apr | New York, New York, USA |
| 20 May | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| 20 May | St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| 21 May | Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
Conferences that will include Informix content, although not specifically organized by IBM Data Management or IBM at large, are:
| IDUG North America | 19-23 May | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | http://www.idug.org |
| IBM Software Symposium | 19-23 May | Munich, Germany | http://www.ibm.com/events/symposium2003/ |
| IDUG Europe | 7-10 Oct | Nice, France | http://www.idug.org |
| IBM Data Management Technical Conference | 27-31 Oct | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
IBM’s iSource & Winter 2003 Software Catalog: Informix Listings
For all of us who don’t suffer yet from information overload, IBM has created a news notification service, which includes Informix topics. If you have not subscribed to IBM’s iSource, you may consider doing so at https://isource.ibm.com/world/module35jan1/index.shtml. You will fill out a comprehensive subscription questionnaire, but it sets you up to receive only information that you would be interested in.
An IIUG ENews team member recently subscribed and was notified of the availability of IBM’s Winter 2003 Software Catalog, which lists all Informix products under the DB2 category:
- Get your copy of the Winter 2003 Software Catalog:
http://isource.ibm.com/cgi-bin/goto?on=usa5sw0121
For non-US residents, please note that you can get geography-specific catalogs.
Partnerline Now “PartnerWorld Contact Services”
IBM has informed IIUG ENews that effective January 27, 2002 Partnerline has been enhanced and renamed to PartnerWorld Contact Services (PWCS). This is the result of the consolidation of the membership services front office functions across the four PartnerWorld communities in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The consolidation stems from the IBM “Ease of Doing Business” initiative to improve Business Partner satisfaction. This change reduces the number of support sites in North America from seven to two and in EMEA from ten to one.
IBM says that the creation of PartnerWorld Contact Services has significant business value for many reasons:
- It reduces the number of contact points to one in North America and to one per country in EMEA.
- It Provides an integrated First Point of Contact support structure for IBM Business Partners in North America and in EMEA.
- It optimizes the ability of the Information Specialist to resolve Business Partner inquiries on the first contact. This results in reduced call transfers and increased responsiveness.
- PartnerWorld Contact Services is staffed with Information Specialists who accept problem ownership and provide first point of contact, teleweb and program administration functions across the four PartnerWorld communities and 10 languages.
For more information please visit ibm.com/partnerworld. Contact PWCS on Web and select your country.
IBM developerWorks Live! – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
IBM developerWorks Live! is touted as IBM’s “premier technical event of the year” and will be held in New Orleans, April 9 – 12, 2003.
IBM says “Attendees will receive a wealth of information designed exclusively for technical teams and be offered a variety of stimulating experiences, including general session presentations by industry experts, hands-on labs, birds-of-a-feather meetings, elective sessions, certification testing, exhibits and meet-the- expert opportunities”.
Register from now through March 16, 2003 to receive an Early Bird Discount – a savings of $400.00!
Register Today and get more information on IBM developerWorks Live! at http://www.ibm.com/events/ibmdeveloperworkslive/r/nltr24iiug
IBM PartnerWorld for Software Deep Dive Teleconferences – Feb. 2003
Denise M. Dunn, IBM Data Management Informix Channel Loyalty Program Manager submitted the following note to IIUG ENews, which is of specific interest to IBM Informix partners based in North American countries:
Are you an Informix reseller, integrator, or a consultant in North America? Would you like to learn how you can access a universe of benefits that can support your efforts to increase sales, heighten market share, penetrate new markets, and expand your business with IBM software technologies? If you answered “YES”, then don’t miss the opportunity to find out about the 2003 IBM Americas Software Marketing and Campaign Plans. To participate in these informative calls, join PartnerWorld for Software (PWSW) today!
Go to http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/software and click on “Apply for membership” in “Shortcuts” on the right hand side. No charge to you.
PWSW North America members should RSVP today to enroll in one or several of the February 2003 PWSW Deep Dive Teleconferences (see schedule below). If you can only attend one call, make the effort to participate in the Teleconference on February 13th – 2003 Data Management Software Channel Marketing Plans.
Thursday, February 6 Teleconference (Available for Replay)
2003 Small- and Medium-Business(SMB)Marketing and Campaign Plans 2003
Start Now and Start Now Solutions Proven Programs
Tuesday, February 11 Teleconference
2003 WebSphere Software Channel Marketing Plans
2003 Lotus Software Channel Marketing Plans
Thursday, February 13 Teleconference
2003 Data Management Software Channel Marketing Plans
2003 Tivoli Software Channel Marketing Plans
Thursday, February 27 Teleconference
2003 Business Partner Sales Programs and Incentives
For Enrollment and call Information, North America PWSW members may go to the PartnerWorld for Software Business Partner Zone Web site: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/software/zone (Enter userid and password) Select Events > Teleconferences
IBM Informix Consulting, Training & Certification News
Nicole Silvia Hayes, of IBM Data Management Skills Opportunity Development and Awareness submitted the following notes to IIUG ENews:
Imagine the value of new technology if, along with it, comes the expertise to implement it correctly from the start… IBM Software Services for Data Management (ISSDM) is focused on providing our customers with the skills and experience necessary to take a project from its conception, through planning and development, to testing, implementation, and beyond. Our goal is to help you turn great technology into successful, innovative, end-to-end business solutions. For more information visit the NEW Software Services web site at: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/services/ or email us at: dmskills@us.ibm.com.
Increase the Productivity of your Informix Technology with Training Services Data Management Training Services offers a complete range of classroom courses, technical certification preparation resources and distance learning offerings for relational database management and IBM Informix databases and tools. To find the training and certification resources you need visit our web site at: http://www.ibm.com/services/learning/us/catalog/informix/
Are you an experienced IBM Informix Dynamic Server System Administrator? Then you already have an edge on becoming a DB2 UDB System Administrator. IBM Data Management Training has developed NEW cross-training courses just for you! For more information and registration please visit: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/sysadmin.html
Take your career to the next level with IBM Data Management Certification. Give a jump-start to your career in this rapidly growing database marketplace! Becoming IBM certified will validate your skills, and give you a competitive advantage in the job market. Begin your certification experience by taking one of our comprehensive exams such as the System Administration for IBM Informix Dynamic Server Version 9. IBM offers a variety of free resources specifically designed to help prepare for our exams as well. For complete exam preparation information and the exams currently available, please visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/db2/skills/cert.html
Useful Links
In response to your input, we have created a new page on the IIUG web site containing all the links we used to include. Please find it at /quicklinks.html.
Closing and Credits
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between IBM and its worldwide user community. IIUG’s membership database now exceeds 16,000 entries and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM’s Data Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.
| Sources: | IIUG Board of Directors |
| Editors: | David Smith, IIUG Board of Directors Jean Georges Perrin, IIUG Board of Directors, and Fred Hubbard, IIUG Managing Director |
| For comments, please send an email to ug@iiug.org. | |
