User Group Rolls Out Red Carpet For HP Faithful

Some 100,000 members of the now-defunct Interex Hewlett-Packard user group have a new home in the form of an invitation by the HP Encompass and OpenView Forum International user groups to join their organizations gratis for one year.

When Interex filed for bankruptcy in August in court for the Northern District of Calif., its membership was left scurrying for alternative user groups. Now two such groups, noting that all HP members share a common craving for education, networking and HP advocacy, are extending invitations to attend the HP Technology Forum October 17-20.

“We’re extending the red carpet to the Interex people,” said Nina Buik, an Encompass director. “For many years, Interex was a place for volunteers to network with their peers. Now they have a natural fit [with Encompass.]” She noted that the October event has been moved from New Orleans to Orlando.

Buik, who is a senior vice president at IT training firm MindIQ, said former Interex members will be welcomed at a reception at the event and efforts will be made to reach out to HP certified professionals as well as to participants in the Encompass DSP (Developers and Solutions Partner) Program. She noted that one former Interex official, Chris Koppe, now serves on the Encompass Board of directors.

Buik said Encompass has been reworking its Internet home pages to make it easier for HP users to find information.

Buik noted that the HP Technology Forum program includes sessions on Linux, HP-UX and OpenVMS. Observing that many IT users are moving to robust HP machines that are Itanium-based, she said there will be sessions aimed at assisting users move to the new generations of 64-bit machines. “A lot of people are moving to Integrity Systems,” she said.

Even systems that are no longer supported by HP will be covered by sessions at the technology forum. Buik cited the MPE operating system, originally designed for HP’s aging Apollo workstations, as well as the Alpha 64-bit processor as products that will be examined at the Orlando meeting.

One of the more interesting wrinkles to the HP user group landscape is the longevity of OpenVMS and the Alpha processor, products developed by the former Digital Equipment Corp., which was acquired by Compaq Computer, which in turn was acquired by HP. Indeed, Encompass itself has its roots in Digital’s former DECUS user group while Interex was a pure HP user organization.

OVFI, which represents users of HP OpenView Management Software, is focused on specific software technologies and related applications. OVFI and Encompass are partners with HP in the Orlando meeting.