Only a couple of years ago, COMMON held its biggest event twice a year. Now, the user group offers its main event [2] once a year and is spreading out smaller events around the U.S. at other times. This month, COMMON unveiled a new educational conference project called COMMON Directions, and it's a new addition to the "COMMON…Customized" education model.

COMMON says this new conference will feature two days of i5/OS education, offer a wide range of educational sessions, and include a small tabletop-style Expo of solution providers. The first COMMON Directions conference will take place in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, September 25, and Friday, September 26, 2008.

"2007 was a year of significant change for COMMON and by most measures, a very successful year of change," notes Randy Dufault, president of COMMON. "We made the changes because our members asked us, but by no means are we done. COMMON Directions is the next step in building up the educational programs that our members told us will fit well with their busy schedules."

Here's a roundup of COMMON's key educational offerings:

• COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition -- COMMON's premier educational event, five days long, annually in the spring, includes more than 500 educational sessions, the largest i5/OS-focused Expo of solution providers, and the largest i5/OS-related solutions center in the Exposition.
• COMMON Focus -- COMMON's annual workshop conference event, featuring three days of intense, focused education and an Expo area of tabletop exhibitors.
• COMMON Directions -- COMMON's two-day conference event, featuring a wide range of educational sessions and a small Expo.
• Seminars -- One-day workshops that combine lecture and live demonstration on leading-edge topics, offered in a number of cities across North America, often offered in partnership with Local User Groups.
• Webcasts -- One-hour long webcasts on hot topics and conducted by industry-
  leading experts.

• Webinars – Webinars are a series of live, web-based seminars delivered over multiple weeks.

For more on the new COMMON Directions, check out http://www.common.org/directions [3].