The Value of a COMMON Membership
In my last post, I wrote about IBM i resources for continuous learning. This week, I want to talk about COMMONand the value of a COMMON membership. COMMON is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the careers of its members through education, certification, advocacy and networking.
Many associate COMMON with the annual conference, but COMMON membership provides value, resources and learning opportunities throughout the year in many ways. In addition, COMMON has expanded upon the content and benefits that are included with a 2022 membership. Below you will find highlights of what a 2022 COMMON membership offers, with links to more information available on the COMMON web site.
FOCUS
FOCUS is the winter workshop event that will be held Feb. 22-24; a COMMON membership includes registration for this event—as a COMMON member there is no additional fee to attend FOCUS. This is an online event with over 15 half-day workshops that provide in-depth education. The workshops will be presented live, with the opportunity for Q&A sessions with the speakers. There will also be a virtual expo where you can talk with solution providers.
Online Content Library
COMMON has an online content library that consists of over 250 hours of recorded sessions covering a broad set of topics. Your COMMON membership gives you access to this content library and you can view these recordings on demand.
Boot Camps
New in 2022, your COMMON membership includes access to the pre-recorded boot camp training series. The online boot camps cover technical material, primarily geared toward training employees that are new to IBM i or new to a particular skill set. The content is broad and even experienced professionals may benefit from them. Existing boot camps on IBM i Systems Administration and Programming in ILE RPG are being updated this year, with a Domino Administration boot camp coming soon. A new Security boot camp on will be available later in the year, currently planned for March.
POWERUp 2022
Being a COMMON member also gives you a discount on registration for POWERUp 2022, which offers the broadest opportunity for IBM i education and networking available. POWERUp has been virtual the past two years, but many of us are eager for the in-person event to return. I’m looking forward to New Orleans from May 23-26.
NAViGATE 2022
NAViGATE 2022 is the fall conference, which is planned to be a hybrid event where you have the choice to attend in person or virtually. NAViGATE will be in St. Louis, MO on Oct. 3-5.
An Affordable Membership With Excellent Benefits
A COMMON membership is very affordable when you consider what’s included. An individual membership is only $249 for the year. Corporate memberships are available for companies that want to provide COMMON membership for a group of employees and membership fees are tiered based upon the number of company members. Corporate memberships are a great deal when you look at the education you can get for a group of people at a very low cost. For more information on member benefits and membership options, see the COMMON member benefits web page.