Formation 1960 Legal status Association Region served Worldwide | Type User group Headquarters Chicago, Illinois | |
Purpose Educational, Resources, Tools, Networking | ||
COMMON is the largest association of users of IBM midrange computers and IBM-compatible technology in the world. The users' group is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides education, tools, resources and networking opportunities for IBM i users.
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Financial problems
The Late-2000s recession had a severe effect on COMMON activities. IT professionals were working longer hours and had smaller budgets for training and education, which resulted in COMMON changing from two conferences per year to one. Attendance at COMMON's technical events, which increased throughout the 1980s and 1990s, dropped substantially, resulting in a 2009 loss exceeding half a million dollars. The elected board of directors was unusually candid at the April 2009 meeting of members when they outlined the cutbacks to the 2010 conference, which included reducing the conference length from five days to four, eliminating free attendance for volunteers and seeking sponsorship for social events. Even so, 2010 expenses were expected to exceed income by nearly $140,000.