Well, it’s not often I say it, but in this case they deserve it. You may have noticed relative quietness in the ILUG scheme of things. Don’t associate little public activity with little activity. In the background sessions were being chosen, agenda’s set, surprises planned and more. But this year, there was a serious problem. Cash.
When I started ILUG first 6 years ago, it was relatively easy to fund the event. There were no other events like it and as it is not-for-profit it was relatively cheap to run/sponsor. Since then, the old line of “There are no Lotus events” changed to “Which events shall we go to”, and in turn, which events will be sponsor.
There is a set budget to be met to ensure that ILUG doesn’t risk losing money. Every LUG wants to run around the same time of year, and getting enough sponsors to sign up early so we are not terrified of debt is tough. Previous platinum sponsors have elected not to go down the LUG road this year.
I went to IBM with this issue. We said we cannot run the risk.
They agreed and committed to platinum sponsorship. This year, more then any year I can safely say if IBM didn’t agree to sponsor, ILUG would not of happened. Of course this now means that you guys will be pummeled with great speakers, sponsors and content in November. Looking at the registration list I can already see that 300 people like that idea.
Special thanks to Ed Brill, Kada Sigl, Darren Adams and Christine Stevens for taking many calls and emails.