commoneuropecongress2026

* User groups exist to educate, connect, advocate, and modernize the IBM i community.
* Joining one accelerates your learning, expands your network, and increases your
strategic influence.
* Creating one fills a critical gap, builds local capability, and positions you as a leader in
the ecosystem.
This session is targeted at non-member and members of user groups. Ranga will expand
each of these 3 major parts of the presentation by giving key criteria of each of these
traits.
Creating a user group is essential for the European geographies where IBM Power (IBM
i, AIX and Linux) user groups do not exist or are phasing out. Fostered by European user
group mentors from other geographies will help to expand the IBM i community.
Taking leadership will show the attendees how to foster a user group community
helping to enhance their own and their members’ careers and improving the platform in
fine. This will also help them to join the Common Europe Advisory Council and obtain
recognition as IBM Champion.
Comments
IBM i user ecosystem direly needs expansion to sustain this all powerful, fully integrated,
best platform for small and medium enterprises. As Common Europe, we need to
enhance the community and Ranga with his very long experience will continue bringing
his yet another small stone to this magnificent edifice.