By Manzoor Siddiqui, Executive Director of COMMON

COMMON India 2026 in Hyderabad, India just ended recently, and I feel invigorated from the buzz, excitement and energy at COMMON’s second conference event for the Indian IBM i community! After months of planning, and building something from ground-up, it was really fulfilling for me to see how the local community showed up and embraced what COMMON is trying to do for the local community – provide them with an opportunity to learn, engage and grow in their careers. It also gave the attendees a glimpse into what’s possible with IBM i, why it continues to deliver the best business value of any system, and why its future is stronger than ever with AI.

The conference was an amazing 2 days of connections, education, and engagement with a shared purpose – bringing together the Indian IBM i community. There were attendees from all over India, Sri Lanka, UK, France, Australia, and the US, creating a great melting pot community to serve India and surrounding markets. The event grew by double digits from our inaugural event in Pune last year, and I was excited to see so many new faces, as well as returning attendees and companies from last year.

The event kicked off with a welcome and COMMON update by myself, and Floyd DelMuro, COMMON’s Board President, followed by IBM keynotes by Wennie Allen and Kavita Sehgal. That kicked off 2 days of great educational sessions by over 30 speakers from local experts, partners, IBMers, and recognized US speakers.  It was great to see so many local speakers step up and share their expertise, showcasing the level of talent that is already present in the local community. In addition to the sessions, there was ongoing engagement among attendees, the partners and the speakers, everyone taking advantage of opportunity to continue learning outside of the session rooms. It was exactly what a COMMON event should be – a gathering of the community where all share a “common” purpose, build relationships, and create meaningful connections.

The feedback from the conference has been overwhelmingly positive, and attendees left on a high note – many of whom have shared, and continue to share, their experience on social media. The biggest question I received was, “when and where will the 2027 conference take place?” Everyone also expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to attend, to connect, to speak, and just to be a part of the conference. This sense of positivity was shared among all attendees, and many have offered to volunteer to help build COMMON India into a vibrant community that has great potential to grow and excel.

I want to also thank IBM, Programmers.io, and Rocket Software for being “founding” partners with COMMON on this journey. Their support and contribution from our inaugural event in 2025 till now, and their commitment for the future of this community is really a testament to their partnership with COMMON.

I can’t help but be enthusiastic after such a great event filled with energy and positivity, and I am even more excited to see how COMMON India will grow as a community in the future. There is a lot of opportunity in India, and we’re excited to just get started on this journey!