SHAREnews Digest Feature

At the most recent SHARE conference in San Francisco, SHARE's current and immediate-past presidents sat down for an interview that focused on how SHARE has performed relative to its strategic objectives, and what will serve as SHARE's top priorities in an everchaging industry landscape. Five specific objectives were set forth by the SHARE Board of Directors in 2001. Here's how Lillian and Ken assess SHARE's performance so far:

Objective: Reposition SHARE's Image in the Marketplace
Lillian: Last year, we undertook a full scale market research initiative to gauge members' satisfaction levels with the organization and to determine what we can do to better meet members needs and attract new members to the SHARE fold. As a result, we have redesigned our Web site for better ease of use, launched new training programs in Regional Seminars and Real-Time Webcasts, and continued our sponsorship of USERblue, a new forum dedicated to UNIX systems specialists who use IBM products and services. While we have had a UNIX technologies presence within SHARE for several years, we separated this program to draw additional attention and focus the content and peer networking opportunities.

Ken: We have also made personal visits to several of our member companies to gauge their impression of SHARE and find out what we could do better. This has also helped to dispel the notion that SHARE is "your father's mainframe event." Some of the input we have received has immediately made its way into our program lineup through increased offerings on WebSphere, Security, Windows NT, and Software Asset Management. In the immediate future, we will be rolling out a new advertising campaign that will reinforce SHARE as a provider of education for UNIX, Linux, system management, database and mainframe systems specialists plus a diverse scope of additional enterprise computing technologies.

Objective: Focus Product Development and Delivery
Ken: We have applied considerable resources to evolve SHARE's program to meet the changing needs of technologists. In addition to our USERblue initiatives, we have recently added technical projects dedicated to Software Asset Management, WebSphere, and tracks aimed specifically toward IT Managers. We'll be sponsoring a special program event on Applications Development at our next conference (Dallas, February 2003). We are also conducting surveys of those who participate in and learn about emerging technologies at SHARE: Where do you find the most value? What can SHARE do better to meet your training and community-building needs? Finally, our Webcast series and new Regional Seminars illustrate how we are complementing our traditional conference offerings with new media to make SHARE offerings more accessible to more IT professionals.

Objective: Strengthen the SHARE-IBM Relationship
Lillian: We have made considerable strides in this area. We recently formed a SHARE "Blue Ribbon Council" of IBM employees who represent a wide range of technologies and business units from IBM. Working with SHARE leaders, this council will attempt to keep SHARE top of mind within IBM and among its customer set. We also hope to establish a practice whereby IBM exploits SHARE's potential as a forum to not only dialogue with customers, but also to train their own staff and allow developers to openly communicate with users to determine future product direction. We feel this would yield great results for both organizations. On another front, we are working more closely than ever before with IBM's Tivoli division for systems management expertise on both mainframe and distributed platforms.

Ken: We've also begun to leverage SHARE's collective influence with IBM in bringing pressing customer issues to the table. At our just-completed conference in San Francisco, we hosted roundtable discussions with Paul Loftus, Vice President, Systems Software, IBM Server Group, and Henry Bergmans, IBM Director for Customer Satisfaction. Conversations were both candid and productive. To IBM's credit, they have never shied away from addressing our top concerns, even when discussions focus on how the company can improve its services.

Objective: Ensure an Adequate and Diverse Number of Volunteers
Ken: We're making a concerted effort to ensure our volunteer base stays as vital and diverse as it is today. We aggressively promote the benefits of volunteering for SHARE to our membership and the industry at large. We help justify participation to management, and we believe our volunteers are our most effective sales people as they realize the benefits of volunteering back to their shop. We're cognizant of industry trends and have implemented several initiatives and task forces, such as a "Women in IT Mentoring" program, to ensure our volunteer opportunities are rewarding to active and prospective volunteers and their employers. Further, one of the director roles on the SHARE Board, Human Resources, is dedicated to SHARE's volunteer corps and continually evaluates opportunities and succession plans in this area.

Objective: Increase Active Membership
Lillian: SHARE has undertaken several initiatives to increase active participation by our membership. We have introduced new programs, like Webcasts, through which our volunteer speakers have shared their expertise in forums beyond in-person technical sessions at conferences, and audiences can benefit from the convenience of their computer. We recently launched an online product enhancements request application, SHARE Requirements 2.0, through which SHARE members can suggest, discuss, validate and receive a response from IBM development within a prescribed timeframe. This Web-based application enables more SHARE members to actively participate in SHARE programs of interest to them and as their time allows.

Ken: Member company visits, focus groups, and surveys have all contributed to keep our membership engaged and loyal to SHARE. Even in very difficult economic times, we have seen growth in conference attendance. We welcomed more than 2300 participants to our last conference (August 23-28 in San Francisco). SHARE is faring very well.

On the Horizon for 2003
Lillian: With time and budgets of our constituency becoming more precious, we are continually looking for ways to engage our membership, and prospective members, through channels that meet their needs and availability. We have made considerable strides in making the "SHARE experience" accessible to the desktop through a couple specific means: our online product enhancement request application, Requirements 2.0, and our real-time Webcast series. We also introduced Regional Seminars in 2002, making SHARE-caliber training available for those who cannot afford to travel significant distances or spend more than a day or two away from the office.

On a broader scale, a key result of last year's market research study indicated that professionals who know SHARE recognize its value and are especially loyal to the organization; those who don't know SHARE, simply aren't aware of the organization. While fundamental, moving more companies and individuals into the "Know and Participate in SHARE" category will be a priority in 2003 and beyond.

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