COMMON Scholastic Membership

Benefits of Complimentary Scholastic Membership

COMMON Membership

Download the Scholastic Membership Application here.

• As a member of COMMON, you, your school, and your students will be part of the largest community of IBM Power System users and solution providers.
• The COMMON community provides invaluable opportunities to network with peers, industry experts, and IBM. 
• Through this community you and your students can learn best practices and share experiences, and engage as participants in the broader IT community.
• Your students will be able to interact with this community to learn first-hand practical knowledge about the IT industry and create contacts that will be invaluable to them after graduation.
• As part of the COMMON community, you will also be part of the collective voice to IBM and other solution providers that resonates throughout the larger IT community as the voice of expert authority on Power Systems-related topics and issues. You will have the unique opportunity to bring the college and student perspective to this voice - help mold the future for the students.
• The exclusive “COMMON…Customized” education model provides you with numerous choices of how you want to stay updated with leading-edge Power Systems-related education.  Whether you’re looking for a broad range of education at our conferences, in-depth education on a particular topic, or the ability to learn at your own pace and convenience with our web-based education, COMMON has something to offer.
• Special pricing for students to attend the Annual Meeting and Exposition at a nominal rate of $125, which allows them to fully take advantage of all that the meeting has to offer, as outlined below. Download the Student Registration form here.
• Members-only pricing on all COMMON educational options, including FREE Webcasts on leading topics.
• Plus, much, much more... see below

COMMON.CONNECT Magazine

• COMMON.CONNECT is the official print publication of COMMON and focuses on delivering value to members by engaging the COMMON community.
• The magazine reaches 20,000 recipients through print and electronic versions, and is published bi-monthly.
• The magazine contents include technical articles, member-relevant content, member and company profiles, member benefits, event information, user group updates, and other articles that are of benefit to the membership and the broader COMMON community.
• It reaches a very receptive and niche audience of recipients that are actively involved with Power System users.
• Our recipients include all levels of IT professionals, including decision makers, analysts, and programmers.  A recent survey revealed that 33% of our readership are decision-makers in their company, and another 37% provide input or are involved in their company’s IT purchasing decisions.

COMMON Connector e-Newsletter

• COMMON’s monthly e-newsletter is sent to members to keep you updated on your user group.
• You can learn about all the different initiatives that the three pillars (Community & Networking, Education and Leadership & Advocacy) of COMMON have been working on, and their successes.
• Connector gives you up-to-date information on all upcoming COMMON educational events, keeping you informed on the latest details for each event.
• The e-newsletter also highlights a particular COMMON member benefit, reminding you of all that your membership has to offer.

COMMON Career Center

• The only online job board that brings together employers and job seekers specifically in the Power Systems area.
• Services for Job Seekers are FREE, and they have numerous tools available to them to help them in their job search.
• Job Seekers can search for jobs and apply directly, post their resumes confidentially, create search agents, and save jobs for future application.
• Employers looking to hire Power System users benefit from targeted advertising, the ability to easily list their jobs, resume search options, e-mail notification, and competitive pricing.
• The COMMON Career Center is not the one-size-fits-all approach of the monster-sized job boards, its targeted for the most qualified users of Power Systems and related solutions.

COMMON Educational Options:

COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition

• The premier Power Systems-related educational conference and annual meeting of the COMMON membership, it provides attendees with four full days of in-depth IBM i and AIX education that includes all-day pre-conference workshops, all-day Integrated Seminars, open labs and a wide variety of regular-length sessions.
• The Exposition at the conference is the largest of its kind, giving you the ability to supplement your education with the latest Power Systems-related solutions available to you today.  With over 80 vendors present, you have the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the next generation of technologies and solutions that you can implement immediately.
• The conference provides you with extraordinary networking opportunities with other members of the COMMON community, allowing you to have fun with your peers, renowned speakers, IBM executives, and fellow members.

COMMON Focus

• A unique educational conference, COMMON Focus provides all-day workshops on leading Power Systems-related topics so that you can gain in-depth education.
• Over three days, you may only choose one workshop per day, providing a unique educational experience that goes in-depth on a particular topic of interest.
• With lecture and lab formats available to you, you can customize the depth of the education and the how hands-on you want that education to be.
• The networking events at Focus allow you to relax and meet your peers, as well as interact with the industry-recognized speakers, to augment your education with shared experiences.
• Focus also provides an Expo, allowing you to get hands-on experience on the latest and greatest solutions available to you by some of the industry’s leading solution providers.

COMMON Directions

• COMMON’s newest conference offering, it provides members an opportunity to gain wide-ranging Power Systems education over two days.
• With over 50 educational sessions and a small Expo, Directions is a great option for regional members of the COMMON community who want to maximize their education, while minimizing their time out of the office.
• As with all other COMMON conferences, Directions will have plenty of networking opportunities for attendees, speakers and exhibitors to share knowledge and insights.

Webcasts

• Webcasts are exclusively free for COMMON members, and offer a great option to stay up-to-date on the latest in Power Systems-related education.
• They are delivered by recognized speakers, and offer members the flexibility to participate in the hour-long Webcasts from anywhere they have Internet access.
• The monthly Webcasts are also archived, creating a great knowledgebase of Power Systems-related education that you can access at your own leisure, and go through them at your own pace.
• COMMON Webcasts have immeasurable ROI on your membership dollars, giving you access to leading-edge education that can immediately impact your work, without any additional cost.

Webinars

• Webinars are a great option for COMMON members who are looking for in-depth education on a particular topic at a great value.
• The quarterly Webinars consist of several webcasts on one topic, delivered over multiple weeks by industry experts.
• Webinars provide great value to members and the flexibility to gain in-depth education right from their office, and access to handouts and a discussion board after the Webinar.
• Along with the education, you’ll have access to handouts and a discussion board after the Webinar where you can further discuss the topic with the speaker and other participants.