IIUG Insider (Issue #43) 26 December 2003

Highlights: IIUG President’s Last Letter, 2004 Board Elections & 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.

Jerry Hamilton’s Last Words as Outgoing IIUG President

As the year, and my term as President, draws to a close, I can’t help but to sit back and reflect on what I’ve seen and done during the past 12 months. A little more than 5 years ago the most involvement I’d had with the IIUG was helping to rebuild our local user group in St. Louis, Missouri, US. The group had been dormant for several years but there were many people searching for a place to get some real-life education and where they could share day-to-day Informix tips and tricks. The local group is where my roots are and where I look forward to spending more time in 2004.

During the past year I’ve seen tremendous change with the Informix product line and with the IIUG. The people changed, the database needs changed and the product strategies changed, but the eagerness to succeed remained unchanged.

I’ve met and worked with a group of tireless people, users and IBMers, all working together to deliver product value and to solve the many complex problems that people from all around the globe faced. It was a total team effort.

The volume of ideas and suggestions that were presented to the IIUG during the past year was just about overwhelming. We were faced with the, “too many thing to do and too few people to accomplish them”, problem. Because of this, I plan to continue to support the IIUG through its volunteer program and encourage each of you to lend a hand. For more information on the IIUG Volunteer program please write to info@iiug.org. Without your help, so many great ideas could be wasted.

The new board coming in for 2004 shows the same eagerness and resolve that the boards I’ve worked with had. There are a lot of new faces on the board which will bring even more ideas and even more new programs. With this board and foundation that was built from the past board of directors, we should all be excited about the future of The IIUG and the Informix product line.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays!

Jerry Hamilton

2004 IIUG Board Election Concluded

The election process for the 2004 IIUG Board concluded on Friday, 12 December 2003. As you may remember, this year the election was for a candidate slate and the ballot options were to approve (Yes), reject (No), and abstain. The results were as follows:

Yes:	…	500
No:	…	13
Abstain:	…	11
Total:	…	524

The number of votes received was the second highest in recent IIUG election history and IIUG Board Of Directors thanks all the members who participated.

The election results confirmed the candidates on the election ballot as the 2004 IIUG Board. That slate included the following individuals:

Incumbents:

Stuart Litel (President)
Ron Flannery
Jean Georges Perrin
Neil Truby

New board members:

Gary Ben-Israel
Sam Gentsch
Mark Isepponi
Cindy Lichtenauer
Mark Scranton
Larry Timmins

In addition to the elected board members, IBM’s advocate to the IIUG Board of Directors, Mohan Natraj, who is nominated by IBM and ratified by the IIUG board, will continue to serve as a fully vested IIUG board member.

The outgoing IIUG Board thanks our members for all your support during the past year and we wish the new board much success!

Appergy: “Oracle is Putting the Support Screws to Customers”

An IBM Business Partner tipped ENews to this Appergy’s site, which contains an article titled “Oracle is Putting the Support Screws to Customers.” It opens with the following sentence: “Over the past few years, Oracle has shifted complexity and high pressure sales tactics from licensing to support.”

To obtain access to the article, visit Appergy’s web site [http://www.appergy.com/portal/DesktopDefault.aspx]. You will have to register to access their free content, but it is well worth it.

IBM PartnerWorld’s Technical FAQ Site

IBM’s PartnerWorld web site [http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/indexD.html] is meant to support its business partners, but there are many areas of the very large site which are open to anyone. A case in point is the Technical FAQ Site located at http://www.developer.ibm.com/tech/faq/index.

The Informix product portfolio has its own page at http://www.developer.ibm.com/tech/faq/category?catId=451.

Other IBM technologies covered include DB2, WebSphere, Linux, Tivoli and Lotus, as well as all of IBM’s hardware platforms.

IBM Education News for Informix Professionals

Check out the DB2 information management certification news, offers and more on the NEW Professional Certification Web site!

Have you heard about all the new certification offers and promotions happening this winter? From free certification preparation materials to discounts on certification exams, there is something for everyone. Take a look at the completely re-vamped Professional Certification Web site and see what might benefit you: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert.

Now it’s even simpler for IBM Informix system administrators to become DB2 UDB certified!

If you hold a system administration certification for Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) V9, IDS V7 or RedBrick Warehouse V6, you are not required to take the fundamentals DB2 certification, exam 700. Now you can bypass exam 700 and move directly to an intermediate DB2 certification saving you money and valuable time. For more information on exams available, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/.

Did you know that the IBM Informix Professional Certification exam numbers have changed?

In an effort to make it easier for you to access six of our most popular exams, we have simplified our numbering system. Previously, the IBM Informix exams had 6 digit exam codes. We have now shortened them to 3 digits like many of our other IBM Professional certification exams. To aid in this transition period, we have insured that you will still be able to locate the exams by the old number, but please note the new numbers for future reference. To see the exams currently available or to check out the new numbers, please select Informix Certifications from the NEW DB2 Information Management Certification Web site, http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert.

Validate your skills with IBM Informix Professional Certification — Free Study Materials Available

In this rapidly growing database marketplace, becoming IBM certified will help validate your skills and ultimately give you a competitive advantage in job market. IBM offers a variety of free resources specifically designed to help prepare for exams, as well as study guides to read and even exams at a discount. To get started and map out your path to certification, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/preparation.html.

Are you an IBM Informix Dynamic Server System Administrator looking to Ramp Up and become a DB2 UDB System Administrator?

If you are an experienced IBM Informix Dynamic Server System Administrator if so, you already have an edge on becoming a DB2 UDB System Administrator. IBM DB2 information management education has developed cross-training courses just for you! For more information and registration please visit: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/sysadmin.html.

Get a 30% Discount on DB2 Information Management Published Titles

For a limited time you can get a 30% discount on select DB2 information management published titles if you purchase by December 31, 2003. This offer is valid to candidates in the USA, Canada and EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa). For more details on this offer, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/specials.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

Please visit the IBM Redbooks web site at http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/mail for more details and up-to-the-minute technical information.

Closing and Credits

The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between its worldwide user community and IBM. IIUG’s membership database now exceeds 18,000 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 IBM Corp.
Editors:	Fred Hubbard, IIUG Board of Directors, and Jean Georges Perrin, IIUG Board of Directors
For comments, please send an email to enews@iiug.org.