How COMMON Is Positioning Itself for the Next Generation
User group President Peggy Tuttle and Executive Director Manzoor Siddiqui discuss efforts to attract new members and the decision to co-locate NAViGATE with IBM TechXchange
For 65 years, COMMON has been the cornerstone of education and community for IBM i professionals. But standing still has never been part of the plan.
Fresh off a well-attended POWERUp event in New Orleans, and with NAViGATE in Atlanta on the horizon, the user group is entering a new chapter, which is defined by expanding technology horizons, younger membership demographics and a bold NAViGATE co-location strategy. Taken together, they signal just how seriously the organization is thinking about its future.
Momentum Built on More Than Nostalgia
The energy currently surrounding COMMON is hard to miss. POWERUp 2025 drew a large crowd, with 33% of attendees identifying as first-timers—a meaningful signal that the community is actively reaching new audiences.
For new COMMON President Peggy Tuttle, the growth reflects something deeper than a single successful event. “We’ve been seeing a lot of crazy momentum over the past couple of years,” she says. “Now, with AI and the advancement of technology moving so fast, that’s really helping to push that momentum. Modernization, automation, security, these continue to be big areas that people need education around.”
Executive Director Manzoor Siddiqui, who leads COMMON’s strategic initiatives, points to a generational shift as a key driver. “We’re seeing a shift happening with the demographic,” he says. “There’s a lot of younger people coming in. We had 33% first timers, and there’s a confluence of a lot of different things happening at the same time, which has been great for the community.”
At the same time, COMMON’s core identity of providing education as well as networking opportunities remains intact.
NAViGATE and the TechXchange 2026 Co-Location
One of the most significant developments on the horizon is COMMON’s decision to co-locate its NAViGATE conference with IBM’s TechXchange 2026 event. It’s a strategic move rooted in COMMON’s 2030 plan and one that reflects where the IBM i community is heading.
“Our members are not living in a single technology world anymore,” Tuttle explains. “They’re supporting not just IBM i, but adjacent technologies—AI initiatives, data platforms, cloud, security, modernization. Co-locating gives them the benefit of COMMON’s content, plus the opportunity to experience the broader world of IBM and adjacent technologies.”
Attendees who register through COMMON gain access not only to NAViGATE’s eight dedicated session tracks, but also to the full catalog of TechXchange content. An added bonus is that those attendees pay a negotiated rate lower than registering through TechXchange directly.
“It gives them even more benefit of attending. When they register for NAViGATE, they get access to our sessions, but also the entire catalog that’ll be there,” Siddiqui says. “And for those attending TechXchange who aren’t COMMON members—they get to see what COMMON has to offer.”
The early response has been encouraging. Twenty-four exhibitors had already signed up for COMMON’s expo space at the time of writing, and member registrations have been strong.
Building for the Next 65 Years
The co-location strategy isn’t a one-off experiment; it’s a reflection of a broader transformation underway at COMMON. The organization’s 2030 plan is explicitly focused on meeting the needs of a younger, more diverse membership base while staying relevant across an increasingly complex technology landscape.
“NAViGATE is a natural evolution of what we’ve been doing for the last two years,” says Siddiqui. “Part of the 2030 journey is not just acknowledging the demographic change, but making sure we’re prepared for it—meeting the needs of future members. We’ve done it for 65 years. How do we position ourselves for the next 65, especially as these next generations are coming in?”
That question extends beyond North America. Tuttle notes that the international audience expected at TechXchange aligns directly with COMMON’s Global Initiative, which includes growing presences in India, Latin America and Japan. Greater visibility on a global stage could accelerate that effort.
COMMON Reimagined
The phrase has started to appear organically in community conversations, and Tuttle isn’t backing away from it. “Somebody said it on a post—’COMMON reimagined’—and I really do feel that is our slogan going forward.”
That reimagination doesn’t mean abandoning what has made COMMON indispensable to the IBM i community for six decades. It means building on that foundation deliberately, with eyes clearly fixed on the future.
NAViGATE takes place this fall, co-located with IBM TechXchange. Registration is open through the COMMON website.