President Bernie O’Connor selected as IBM’s Data Server Professional of the Year
President Bernie O’Connor was recently honored as IBM’s Data Server Professional of the Year, an extremely prestigious distinction earned as a result of his professional achievements as well as his volunteer accomplishments affiliated with IDUG. IBM announced this award on October 15 in Las Vegas as part of IBM Information on Demand Live 2007.
Among the criteria used for this award, Mr. O’Connor was specifically cited for his role in advocating and implementing WMX and WMX On Demand at his workplace, Anixter, Inc. Headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, Anixter is the world’s leading distributor of communications products, electrical and electronic wire and cable. Working with another organization, Click Commerce, Anixter successfully implemented a state-of-the-art solution to complex challenges of supply-chain networks. Key components of this solution deployment were DB2 and WebSphere.
O’Connor’s volunteer contributions to the DB2 user community also played a role in his selection as Data Management Professional of the Year. As a member – and now president - of IDUG’s Board of Directors, he was instrumental in several major initiatives benefiting DB2 users, including:
- Driving IDUG’s strategy to design and offer programs that promote the effective utilization of the DB2 product family
- Overseeing a significant market research and brand revitalization campaign aimed at growing IDUG audiences and extending IDUG program use
- Working in close partnership with IBM’s development labs in Silicon Valley and Toronto to create a DB2 Development Podcast Series
- Enhancing the synergistic relationship between IDUG and IBM research, sales and marketing, development in an effort to fulfill IDUG’s mission
In addition to his efforts on behalf of IDUG, O’Connor was a founding member of the Midwest Database Users Group, an organization that continues to be one of the most vital Regional User Group’s in existence.
Mr. O’Connor hopes this recognition will yield future benefits by way of inspiring others to advocate for DB2 and consider serving their professional peers in a volunteer capacity. “IDUG and the DB2 community have given me so much personally and professionally,” he said recently. “I’m grateful for this award and that IBM deemed me a worthy recipient on account of my contributions to Anixter’s and IDUG’s success. I hope this distinction will encourage others to seek out ways to leverage their knowledge, experience and effort to benefit fellow DB2 users.”
As one of the major beneficiaries of Bernie’s community contributions, IDUG members and our partners know very well how deserving this recognition is. Please join us in congratulating him on this most impressive achievement.
Paragraphs from the President
So much good happens within IDUG because of volunteers. And, so much good happens for the volunteers and their companies. From a personal perspective, I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made, the technical knowledge I’ve learned, the chances I’ve had to contribute, and the wonderful opportunities I’ve had to grow in management roles, including line responsibility for a major conference and, now, helping set an agenda for our IDUG organization.
If you’re considering volunteering, your company may ask what benefit the company receives. Here’s a great reflection on exactly that topic from Don Jastrebski of In3 Consulting. Don works with firms to identify leaders, and motivate teams and entire organizations. In Human Resource terms, Don works with EE – Employee Engagement:
How do you stay engaged in what you’re doing? IT professionals and their employers benefit from employees who are excited by and loyal to their profession. This loyalty is generally a win/win proposition for both the IT professional and the company. As the IT professional pursues his or her passion, both the individual and the company benefit.
Engagement reflects an emotional bond with one’s work & workplace.
Business units in the top half of employee engagement (compared with those in the bottom half) show on the average:
- 86% higher success rate on customer metrics.
- 70% higher success in lowering turnover.
- 70% higher success rate in productivity.
- 44% higher success rate in profitability.
- 78% higher success rate in safety figures.
From: Follow This Path, Coffman & Gonzalez-Molina,
© 2002 The Gallup Organization, pp. 127-128
Individuals who are engaged are likely to be:
- More satisfied
- More motivated
- More committed
- Have less burnout
- Have higher morale
- And are less likely to leave their job
From: “Workplace Engagement”, Brooks & Jastrebski
© 2005, Unpublished Research Paper
How does one get engaged so that both the professional and the organization can enjoy the fruit of the professional’s labor? The answer by now should be obvious—participate in IDUG, where you learn the latest techniques, talk to the top vendors and consultants, and actively engage with your own peers. Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes, and IDUG will do that for you.
Both you and your company benefit from volunteering with IDUG. Consider helping plan IDUG Conferences and Events, writing for the IDUG Solutions Journal, joining the Web Team, contributing articles to the Technical Library and tips to eTips, answering questions on DB2-L, mentoring newbies, and the many other opportunities to both help others and help yourself and your company. Consider volunteering with IDUG.
You know why: it’s good for you, it’s good for your company, and it’s good for the DB2 Community. From Conferences and Events, to Premier and Basic Membership, to the IDUG Learning Center, DB2-L, Solutions Journal and more, IDUG continues to provide you, the DB2 Professional, with a community for networking, and with the technical knowledge to effectively utilize DB2!
All the best,
Bernie O’Connor
President, IDUG – International DB2 Users Group
IDUG News
Introducing IDUG Online Learning
Enjoy IDUG education from your desktop with a free trial offering
IDUG’s brand new Online Learning Center is up-and-running. This leading-edge Web resource features more than 220 technical sessions recorded at IDUG 2007- North American this past spring. Delivered via streaming media, Learning Center offerings feature original speaker audio synchronized to presentation slides, giving users a virtual classroom experience that can be started, paused, and replayed at their convenience. Be sure to visit the Online Learning Center over the next few weeks when content from the recent IDUG 2007 – Europe conference will be added to the library.
To mark the launch of the Center, IDUG is making the Best User Presentation from IDUG 2007 – North America available free-of-charge on a trial basis. Please enjoy DB2 for z/OS: John Deere’s Early Ship Pilot Experience, by presenter Bryan Paulsen, courtesy of IDUG. For more details about IDUG’s Online Learning Center, visit the Learning Center’s homepage.
DB2 9 Deep Compression Challenge – Europe Winners Announced
IDUG is pleased to congratulate the second – and final - round of sweepstakes winners of the DB2 9 Deep Compression Challenge, sponsored by IBM.
The winners were announced 5 November at the opening session of IDUG 2007 – Europe in Athens, Greece.
Grand Prize Winners (win a complimentary registration to an IDUG event of choice in 2008):
- Ron Brown from Standard Life
- Australia DBA Team from First Data
Runner Up Winners (win a complimentary one-year Premier Membership in IDUG):
- Joachim Mueller from Douglas Informatik & Service GmbH
- Nicolae Manu from Allianz Group-AGF Belgium
- Uri Lifshitz from Hapoalim Bank
- Eva Adamik from sIT-Solutions
Participants from all around the world were invited to submit their experience with the Deep Compression or use an estimator to reveal how much they could benefit from using the popular feature of DB2 9 for Linux/UNIX/Windows. By any measure, the campaign was a success and IDUG thanks all who participated.
With the revelation of the final round of winners, the Deep Compression Challenge is officially complete. For your reference, the Deep Compression Challenge overview, estimator tools and other resources are still available on the Compression Challenge Web site. Click here to visit the Compression Challenge Web site and to see what the powerful combination of Deep Compression and DB2 can do for you!
Visit the Data Studio Zone and Get Your Free Copy of Data Studio Today
By now you've likely heard the buzz about IBM Data Studio, an integrated database development and management environment supporting Informix Dynamic Servers and DB2 on all platforms throughout the data lifecycle. Data Studio offers both free and chargeable packaging. IBM has created a Data Studio Zone on developer Works where you can read up on the latest features, join the discussion forum and download a copy today.
The core features of the free download include:
- Using the Eclipse environment for seamless SQL and Java development and debugging
Building and testing database objects, integrated query for SQL and XQuery, and database logic with visual tools
- Creating and publishing data as SOAP or RESTfull Web services without programming
- Managing data with extract, load, browse, and edit capabilities, and update utility statistics; setting security control on user privileges and access
- Introduction of pure Query technology, a high-performance Java data access platform, and its associated tools for simplified data access programming to query in-memory object collections and databases using far less code
IBM Data Studio bridges the gap between relational data and Java providing an integrated environment for design, develop, deploy, and manage your data-driven applications without switching tools. It:
Increases productivity for all roles throughout the data lifecycle
- Slash development time up to 50% with an integrated data management environment
- Promote collaboration across roles to optimize data server and application performance
- Simplifies and speeds development of new skills
- Learn once, use with all supported data servers
- Extensible with Eclipse plug-ins to customize the environment for each team member
- Accelerates data as a service for Service Oriented Architecture
- Develop and publish data as a Web service without programming
- Info 2.0 Ready - support for Web 2.0 protocols and format
Don't do the same old thing. Why wait when you can increase database development productivity and reduce on-going maintenance costs today. Try IBM Data Studio now!
IDUG Event Update
IDUG 2007 - Europe, 5-9 November, Athens Greece
IDUG Thanks You!
IDUG would like to thank all those able to join us at IDUG 2007 - Europe! More than 600 members of the worldwide DB2 user community gathered together for IDUG 2007 - Europe, 5-9 November at the Hilton Athens in Greece. The gathered community enjoyed an exceptional week of education, learning, solution sharing and peer networking. For complete details on this year’s conference read out 2007 Conference Wrap-up report on IDUG – Europe’s web site.
Mark Your Diary!
Save the date for IDUG 2008 - Europe, 13-17 October 2008 at the Hilton Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland! Check our web site often over the coming months as updated information about IDUG 2008 - Europe becomes available.
IDUG 2008 - Australasia, 5-7 March, Sydney, Australia
IDUG 2008 – Australasia is now a three day event! Become part of the IDUG Experience and attend the premier conference for DB2 users in the Asia Pacific region, 5-7 March, 2008. Registration and housing information will be available shortly, so stay tuned for more information!
IDUG 2008 - North America, May 18-22, Dallas, Texas
Become part of the IDUG Experience and join us for IDUG 2008 - North America. May 18-22, 2008 in Dallas, Texas, will be your opportunity to network and learn from peers and industry experts through more than 150 hours of technical sessions.
Take advantage of the special discounts available to you and register today! Visit IDUG – North America’s Web site to learn more and to become part of the IDUG Experience.
IDUG 2008 - India, 21-23 August, Bangalore, India
IDUG will host the second annual IDUG India Forum, 21-23 August 2008 in Bangalore, India. As details are finalized, information will be available at www.idug.org/india.