The Independent User Group for users of Sage Enterprise Software

Visit our web site at www.istug.com

Changes to Improve ISTUG
	SIGs It was agreed that the SIGs are not working as they are currently structured, though the idea of breaking into smaller groups at the main meetings is still a good approach to cover different areas of the system. In future we will break into smaller groups, members will present to these groups on topics that they feel are key and interesting to other members. It is hoped that these will be interactive sessions with short presentations, time for Q&A and a Sage presence to support the speaker and answer any of the more technical questions. The topics will be made available to Sage beforehand, and a paper detailing any questions will be put to Sage after the meeting, who will then report back any answers at the following ISTUG meeting to all present. This way members will get to hear Q&As on specific topics and they will know the topics that will be discussed at the breakout sessions. The ISTUG Technical Director will provide any required support to the presenters of the groups such as putting together presentations etc. The first 2 sessions will be led by Graham Little (distribution and warehousing) and Chris Szewc (MRP). The platform that the member runs their system on will also be identified as this could have a bearing on the presentation for other members.
	Structure of Main Meetings It was also suggested that the topics to be covered in the main part of the meeting could be an update on stock recalcs and security and passwords. Third party products will still be shown (as part of our role is to inform members of available products), but they will be allocated shorter timeslots with a room for demo’s and discussions over the lunch break. The breakout sessions could be repeated at the end of the day so that members wishing to attend both sessions could (those who didn’t could obviously leave before the second session).
	Meeting Locations / Timing The frequency and structure of meetings was discussed at length. The next meeting date clashes with Softworld, the proposed new date is 25^th Feb. It has also been proposed that we hold a 2 day event in Sep 2004, probably in the Leeds/Sheffield area. Nicole James proposed this at the AGM and the general view was that members would attend such an event. The event will be part main meeting and part awareness day. A small team of members will be established to work on the format of the day 6 to 9 months prior to the event date, to allow for good planning and marketing for the event. It was agreed that the awareness days are very useful, we need member input on what they would like covered. Please let Nicole James know of any suggestions. Meetings should be held outside of school holidays, if possible, and avoid major events such as Softworld, the weeks of bank holidays etc. Early July was proposed for a main meeting instead of June. May was suggested as the timing for a North and South Awareness Day to be held (same day repeated).
	Resellers We need to work with the resellers to promote ISTUG. A letter should be sent requesting that they add a link to the ISTUG website from their sites.

	Discussion Forums It was agreed that Sage would start to be involved in the ISTUG forums, answering questions direct to the customer (and on the web) and informing the reseller where appropriate.
3.7	Member Details Members asked if other members details could be added to the secure area of the website. It was agreed that this could not be done without prior consent of individual members – Nicole James will contact members and add details of consenting members to the website. Nicole will also be issuing current member details to all members asking for updates/changes so that the ISTUG members database can be a more useful and reliable resource.
3.8	Website It was agreed that the website needs modernising and updating. Carine Kriegenhofer will find out if the Sage web designers can assist with the redesign, NJ will work on this with Sage/current designers. There should be member quotes on the home page to attract non-member companies. There needs to be a search facility. It needs to be easy to use / find your way around. If any members have any web design / creative resource that they would be willing to “donate” to ISTUG to assist with the redesign, please let Nicole know. The new site needs to be re-launched properly, perhaps with some sort of competition as an incentive to get people to visit the site. The Discussion Forum should have a separate section for “Recent Postings” so that they can be identified easily and quickly. There should be “one click” to enter the members area. We could include basic report definitions for members to access.
3.9	ISTUG Membership Fees It was proposed that the fee structure be changed to allow for a Corporate Membership. The proposed fees are: Single Membership £350 + VAT (one named member) Double Membership £500 + VAT (2 named members) Corporate Membership £1000 + Vat (up to 5 members) There will be a reduced guest fee of £60 for member companies and a non-member company guest fee of £100 (taken as part-payment of the annual subscription if they join within 30 days of the meeting). For Corporate Membership the company will be able to list any number of names who can attend meetings so that the details can be used for mailouts and meeting invitations, but they can only have up to 5 attend each meeting. These new rates were available on the day to new members at the Sage Insight event and have been agreed at the AGM. These new rates will be available to existing members at the date of their renewal. If anyone has any queries about this, please contact Nicole.
ISTUG / Sage Relationship
	It was agreed that the relationship is key to the success of the group, however we need to be seen to be independent and this is not always easy. ISTUG need to maintain the control over the presentations at meetings, it is appreciated that Sage do not necessarily endorse all the products we have shown to the group, as it is part of our role to show members all available products.