> It was quite obvious that when it came to making a decision > between which group IBM would support when it came to a > GUIDE/SHARE choice that IBM took the SHARE group as they > could influence (bully might be a better word) > SHARE easier. GUIDE was really giving IBM what for for about > 10 years and when it came to picking it was an easy choice for > IBM as their knew they could bend SHARE with their little pinky. > GUIDE had to many powerful people so it was an easier decision.
I do not speak for SHARE. I am not a SHARE Officer. I am a lowly SHARE attendee. The following is solely my opinion. Once upon a time there were two user groups: SHARE and GUIDE. SHARE had its roots in the scientific/engineering community; GUIDE in the business community. SHARE was very technically oriented; strong in Fortran; worked with IBM to develop PL/I, etc. GUIDE was more business oriented and had a very strong storage management program and was also strong in languages such as COBOL. Over time SHARE and GUIDE became quite similar. At their peak, SHARE and GUIDE each drew more than 5000 people to their conferences. In the early 1990s several things occurred that hurt both SHARE and GUIDE: 1. Given the huge attendance, IBM entered the conference business. Witness the IBM Expo, Storage Symposium, etc. 2. The training budgets for most companies were severely curtailed. They have never recovered. 3. Acquisitions and mergers. Probably 100 banks used to attend SHARE. Few remain. 4. The Client Server/Distributed/PC revolution. Gartner declared the mainframe was dead. 5. Mainframe hardware and software costs were horrific. Attendance at SHARE and GUIDE plummeted. GUIDE suffered more than SHARE in my opinion because: 1. GUIDE met three times a year, an unsustainable model. 2. GUIDE offered a program that appealed only to GUIDE insiders. 3. The industry could not support two similar user groups. 4. The government revoked the non-profit status of SHARE and GUIDE. Both appealed. During the appeal SHARE escrowed the taxes; GUIDE didn't. When the appeal failed, SHARE paid its taxes out of escrow; GUIDE paid out of pocket. It was a huge financial blow to GUIDE. SHARE and GUIDE held what was billed as a "joint conference" in the summer of 1998. In reality it was an opportunity for GUIDE people to transition to SHARE before GUIDE folded. Very few did because most had already moved over to SHARE. IBM did not abandon GUIDE. GUIDE was dead when IBM dropped support. How many IBM representatives would you send to a conference of 200-300? GUIDE's last gasp was called "GUIDE Engage". It was intended to attract executives, not technicians, and to address higher level concerns. The SHARE Board approved a "loan" of $100K to fund GUIDE Engage. GUIDE Engage failed and SHARE received a few PCs and the GUIDE domain name in return for its investment. SHARE is in good shape financially, but there are concerns. SHARE's reserve means SHARE won't suddenly go out of business, but given diminished attendance it could mean death by a thousand cuts. Times have changed to make it difficult for conferences. As an example, SHARE used to have the SHARE-POST which had hundreds of questions posted on a series of boards. People would walk by, read the postings, and provide answers or contact information. Where do they go now? IBM-MAIN. A lot of people on this forum reap the benefits of SHARE for free. It's time to consider supporting it. If you attend SHARE, bring a colleague. If you don't attend, start. If you're in Europe, the exchange rate is very favorable versus the dollar. We draw maybe a dozen people from the Far-East at each conference. SHARE doesn't seem to attract many South Americans, which is strange given that we're in the same hemisphere. There is no substitute for a face-to-face dialog. Attendance has to improve. The SHARE Board wants to attract architects and executives who will address higher level issues. It sounds suspiciously like GUIDE Engage. Bob Shannon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
