The COMMON Americas Advisory Council

The COMMON Americas Advisory Councils (CAAC) is a small, diverse group of members that represent IBM customers of varying sizes and industries, such as retail, distribution, and education.  The council was created to act as the liaison between IBM and members of COMMON in order to gage the community reaction to strategic IBM decisions and future direction.  CAAC members are encouraged to pool their expertise and know-how to gather requirements from the user community and pass them along to IBM.

The inaugural meeting of volunteer CAAC members took place in 2004 and since then has contributed to a variety of enhancements and changes that have been implemented by IBM, the most notable of which was the release of V6R1 - read the full Press Release here. In fact, Jim Herring commented: "The COMMON Requirements process and the COMMON Advisory councils provide invaluable feedback to IBM regarding directions for our products. We have enjoyed a great working relationship with them during the development of this latest release.” This is just one example of the work the CAAC has done over the years.

If you are interested in adding a requirement, you can do so on the iSociety website.

CAAC members serve a two-year term, which is renewable based upon active participation. All members are required to sign a confidential non-disclosure agreement and are expected to attend two face-to-face meetings per year and two conference calls per month.

Criteria for selection:

1. General IT knowledge
2. General business knowledge
3. Leadership qualities
4. Vision for the future in IT terms
5. Vision for the future in business terms
6. Presentation qualities
7. Availability to be away from office/home for two days twice a year

When the CAAC is in need of new members, it is COMMON's discretion to interview the candidates for a final choice or to judge them on the basis of their application. The list of selected candidates and their applications will be submitted to IBM for final approval.

Procedure for Applying

Download the CAAC application form, complete it, and e-mail it as an attachment to CAAC@common.org.