Chairman Letter

An Open Letter to Informix Users Worldwide Welcome to the Inaugural Issue of Informix User News The Newsletter for the International Informix User Group. We are proud to announce the formation of the International Informix User Group. This organization will foster communication between Informix and its users, promote the growth of local user groups, and act as a focal point for user group activities worldwide. The first meeting of the International Informix Users Group will be held at the 1995 Worldwide User Conference in San Jose, California, during the week of July 17-20. Be sure to attend the Birds of a Feather session on Tuesday night. At that meeting, we will elect our first officers, and hold a wide ranging discussion on how the International Group can best serve Informix users and provide support to the local Informix user organizations. I urge you to attend the BOF session and voice your opinions. Also, be sure to drop by the User Group booth in the Exhibit Hall. We can give you information on how to contact the local Informix User Group nearest to you and demonstrate how to use the user resources available on the Internet. This first issue of Informix User News provides a Directory of User Groups Worldwide and a Directory of Internet Resources focused on Informix. Today, there are local Informix User Groups established in many parts of the world. These groups provide their members with a chance to meet other users, exchange tips, and learn about Informix and related products. The benefits gained from joining a local user group range from obtaining first-hand technical information to simply enjoying the company of fellow professionals. Up until now, the there has been only limited contact and coordination among the many local user group communities. We hope that the International User Group organization will provide a layer of service and coordinating effort that will bring all groups closer together and promote contact among Informix technical professionals. Our goal is to promote the exchange of information on how to use Informix products and to facilitate the success of the Informix user community. As you participate in the track sessions and visit the vendor displays in the Exhibit Hall at the conference, you will see hardware and software products that reflect the trends toward decentralization, partitioning, and networking. These forces put tremendous demand on the user support infrastructure. The move to open systems has brought great flexibility in computing choices, but it has caused an explosion in the number of applications, platforms and environments with which vendors must be familiar. We must work toward helping each other. Tools such as multimedia and the Internet make it possible for users to take a more active role in self-help. As technical professionals, we can meet the challenge of collecting and disseminating an ever-expanding base of support information by developing the organization of the Informix user community. Together we can find ever more creative ways to cope with increasing complexity and not be overwhelmed by it. The user group movement provides an excellent vehicle for building this kind of mutual support system. Be sure to get on our mail list! Send us your name, postal address, telephone, fax, and email address via the Internet or the Fax Reply Form on the back cover of Informix User News. Have a Great Conference! Walt Hultgren Chair, Organizing Committee International Informix Users Group Email: walt@rmy.emory.edu Designed, edited, and printed courtesy of Informix Systems Journal.