HP business technology user groups Encompass, ITUG and HP-Interex EMEA
have approved the vote to consolidate and unveiled its new organization
name—Connect. Earlier this year, the users
groups announced their intent to consolidate to form the independent,
pre-eminent worldwide community of users of HP enterprise technologies.
The consolidation was contingent upon the vote of members from all three
user groups which took place in April. Connect is HP’s
largest user community representing more than 50,000 participants.
Current memberships of the three groups will be honored as Connect
members until the end of 2008.
Also announced today is the newly elected 2008-2009 Board of Directors
to lead and set direction for Connect. The board representation includes
members from each of the founding users groups. Nina Buik, former
president of Encompass, will lead the Board as president. Margo Holen
will serve as vice president, Glen Kuykendall was elected
secretary/treasurer, and Scott Healy, former ITUG president, will serve
as immediate past president. Newly elected directors include Steve
Davidek, Bill Johnson, Jay McLaughlin, Henk Pomper, Joe Ramos, Dr.
Michael Rossbach, Gerhard Wedenig and Brad Harwell (HP).
“We are thrilled to bring together the
complementary skills of each group to grow Connect into a strong and
vibrant global community that garners support from HP and its valued
partners, said Buik. “By joining forces, we
are able to increase member value while maintaining technology relevance
and services to our current members and create a community for new
members to be part of for years to come.”
Brad Harwell, director of marketing in the Technical Solutions Group for
the Americas at HP, said, “We congratulate the
groups on this significant accomplishment. The combination of forces
will allow customers globally to access an expanding portfolio of HP
technologies. It will also provide HP a direct, unified customer forum
representing the greater HP user community interests worldwide.”
The launch celebration for Connect will take place at the 2008
HP Technology Forum & Expo June 16-19 in Las Vegas. The annual
HP technical training event for customers, partners and employees
provides unparalleled educational and peer-to-peer networking
opportunities.
About Encompass
Encompass is an independent, customer-run user group with a strategic
business partnership with HP. This community of IT professionals deliver
information technology solutions for complex and multi-system computing
environments, focusing on the HP (and legacy Compaq and Digital)
technologies, including HP-UX, Enterprise Storage, Enterprise Unix,
OpenVMS, Linux and Windows. The organization promotes the unimpeded
exchange of information by providing members with professional
development programs, technical training, information exchanges,
advocacy programs and networking opportunities. Encompass is
headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. To learn more about Encompass,
visit www.encompassUS.org.
About ITUG
ITUG is an international independent, non-for-profit, user-run
organization of more than 3,500 members representing more than 800
companies that serves as a key vehicle for the exchange of information
about HP's NonStop(TM)-related solutions and services. ITUG provides the
information and resources its members need to conduct business in HP's
open system environment and maximize the best software and architectures
available from alliance partners and developers. Today, ITUG focuses as
much on future applications as on current operational efficiencies,
including interoperability and interconnection. This focus enables ITUG
members to wield more direct influence than ever. To learn more about
ITUG, visit www.itug.org.
About HP-Interex EMEA
Representing the largest network of HP customers in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa (EMEA), HP-Interex EMEA empowers HP professional users
through advocacy, information and networking. HP-Interex EMEA is a
not-for-profit volunteer-based association uniting about 35,000 HP
professional users in over 45 countries. For more information, please
visit www.hp-interex.com.
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