International Informix Users Group
| Company type | Non-profit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, User group |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Carlton Doe, Walt Hultgren, Lester Knutsen, Malcolm Weallans, Cathy Kipp |
Area served | International |
Key people | Cindy Lichtenauer (President), Stuart Litel (IBM Representative) |
| Products | Newsletter, forums, conferences, IIUG.tv channel |
Number of employees | 0 (volunteer board) |
| Parent | IBM (as liaison and Informix owner) |
| Website | www |
The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is a non-profit entity formed in 1995 with the purpose of supporting and educating individuals who utilize Informix technologies and products.
Membership has consistently been complimentary, with membership numbers exceeding 28,000 as of 2007.
History
Established in 1995 by five founders—Carlton Doe, Walt Hultgren, Lester Knutsen, Malcolm Weallans, and Cathy Kipp—IIUG has maintained its status as a non-profit organization through at least 2013.
Services
Members benefit from a variety of offerings including a monthly newsletter, employment listings, and Special Interest Group (SIG) discussion forums.
News
One of the primary member benefits is the monthly publication The Insider, which has seen editorial contributions from distinguished figures such as Fred (Federico) Hubbard, Jean Georges Perrin, Gary Ben-Israel, and David Fraser.
Forum
Traditionally, IIUG facilitated SIG forums on subjects like Informix-4GL and Informix Dynamic Server. Since 2019, community engagement has shifted to the IBM Communities platform. Nevertheless, all legacy forum materials remain accessible and searchable on the IIUG website.
TV
IIUG has also introduced its own television channel available at http://www.iiug.tv.
Conference
Beginning in 2008, IIUG has organized an annual conference for users, typically held in late April. The 2014 conference occurred in Miami, Florida, spanning April 27 through May 1.
Management
The organization is overseen by a board comprising ten elected volunteer members alongside one IBM liaison, underscoring IBM’s proprietorship of the Informix product suite.
Current Board of Directors
For the 2019-2020 term, the board members include:
- Cindy Lichtenauer (President), United States
- Stuart Litel (IBM Representative), United States
- Gary Ben-Israel, National Institute for Testing and Evaluation, Israel
- Rhonda Hackenburg, PACLE, United States
- Art Kagel, ASK Database Management, United States
- Vicente Salvador, Deister, Spain
- Ognjen Orel, University of Zagreb, Croatia
- David Link, West Corp., United States
- Eric Vercelletto, Begooden-IT Consulting, France
Past Board Members
A range of professionals from the industry have served on IIUG’s leadership team over time, including:
- Tom Beebe, Advanced DataTools Corp., United States
- Khaled Bentebal, ConsultIX, France
- Miguel Carbone, MC IT Solutions, Brazil
- Chetan Chaturvedi, IBM Representative
- Sergio Ferreira, MoreData, Portugal
- Walt Hultgren (Past President), United States
- Lester Knutsen, Advanced DataTools Corp., United States
- Stuart Litel (Past President)
- Al Martin, IBM
- Jean Georges Perrin, France
- Kate Tomchick, Home Depot, United States
- Neil Truby, United Kingdom
- Bruce Weed, IBM
This varied leadership roster highlights IIUG’s international presence as well as its strong collaboration with IBM and Informix users globally.
References