THE OPEN GROUP MEMBERSHIP
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The Open Group provides a neutral platform for buyers and suppliers of IT systems to work together on best practices, get early access to new ideas, technologies and standards, network with each other, and influence future direction. Benefits of MembershipThe Open Group provides a neutral platform for buyers and suppliers of IT systems to meet others with similar issues and problems, and work together to solve them. Members can participate in work of Forums and/or work areas of their interest, influence the direction of work, and deliverables, and have access to detailed documentation on new and emerging technologies before they are delivered to the market. Each Forum is led by a Forum Director, a specialist whose knowledge of the subject and access to the vendor and user community is available to all members. Members pay a reduced rate at The Open Group's conferences, which provide members with an opportunity to network with their peers. The Open Group's regional chapters provide an additional opportunity for members to meet with members from the same area. Remote members can work with The Open Group and other members by participating in our regular webcasts and teleconferences. Members have access to the "member" sections of The Open Group's web site. These sections provide access to all specifications, best practice guides, and other publications from The Open Group, together with an extensive library of relevant working papers and documents. The Open Group also maintains a searchable Standards Information Base (SIB) comprising more than 300 different standards that can be researched and accessed as needed. Over half of the publications available for instant download from The Open Group website are free to members, but not to non-members. Benefits to IT SuppliersVendors can collaborate on emerging new standards in a vendor-neutral forum that The Open Group provides, and work with The Open Group to demonstrate their compliance with those standards. Vendors also benefit from having access to major IT buyers. The combined purchasing power of the IT buyers that are members of The Open Group accounts for $50 billion each year. That currently represents about 25% of the total IT purchasing power worldwide. Benefits to IT BuyersCustomers can influence the development of suppliers' products so that those products address real customer requirements and are able to work together. By participating in The Open Group's work areas, buyers can facilitate the development of standards and certification programs, and ultimately benefit from delivering interoperability projects faster and at lower cost. Large organizations benefit from the breadth of topics offered by The Open Group and access to the innovations provided by smaller, faster moving organizations on both the buyer and supplier side. Small organizations and individual departments in large organizations benefit from the focus of The Open Group's work areas and forums; they gain an awareness of complementary technologies and access to larger buyer and supplier organizations. Types of MembershipsAll members of The Open Group may join either the Customer Council or the Supplier Council, and participate in capturing, and addressing emerging requirements, establishing policies and sharing best practices. All members may also participate in Birds of Feather groups (BOFs), which are short-lived groups established to examine potential new work areas ForumsIn addition, based on the membership option they selected, all members are entitled to take part in the work of one or more Forums and their work areas. The Basic Option includes membership in The Open Group and in one Forum. Other options are available, and our Membership Director will be happy to discuss the best choice for your organization. Here is a list of the Forums that are available:
South African Architecture Forum Members
Exploration Mining Metals and Minerals Vertical Members
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