User Groups
BEA User Groups Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about starting, joining, or sponsoring a BEA User Group? Find your answers here!
Basic BEA User Group Program Information and Membership Details
Q: How many BEA User Groups are there? Where are they located?
A: There are currently 33 BEA User Groups in the US and Canada and 7 in the Asia Pacific. BEA will launch this program in Europe in mid-2005. Find a group near you.
Q: What are the benefits of becoming a User Group Member?
A: There are many benefits associated with membership in a BEA User Group. Receive special event passes and discounts, sneak-peeks of upcoming technology releases, discounts on educational courses and books, and the opportunity to join a growing base of the world-class J2EE experts and WebLogic developers. For more information, check out the full list of benefits that BEA offers.
Q: I don't have time to run a User Group, but would like to be involved in running the group in some way. How do I do that?
A: A simple way to get involved is to join one of the User Group Leadership Boards. These boards have 3-5 individuals that support the User Group Leader in planning meetings, recruiting new members, selecting speakers, and finding sponsors. The average monthly time commitment of the Leadership Board is approximately 2-3 hours. If you are interested in joining your local User Group Leadership Board, send a brief paragraph on your background to your local User Group Leader. If there is not a User Group in your area, but you would like to help recruit a leader and sit on the board, contact the BEA User Group Program Manager to get one started.
Q: What does BEA offer internationally for User Groups?
A: BEA is currently building out its international User Group Program, and will expand internationally by mid-2005. For more information, contact the
Starting and Running a BEA dev2dev User Group
Q: There isn't a group near me - how do I get one started?
A: BEA provides many resources to help start a User Group. With our "How to Start and Sustain a User Group guide" it is simple to get one started. BEA will help you with meeting locations, speakers, and other needs that you have during the incubation period, typically 2 to 3 months. For further questions, contact your local marketing manager.
Q: What are the criteria for User Group Leaders/starting a BEA User Group?
A: Individuals starting a BEA User Group should have several years of J2EE and/or other programming experience and strong knowledge of BEA technologies. It is also important that a potential User Group Leader has substantial ties to their local and regional developer communities. To find out if you are the right person to start a BEA User Group, contact your local marketing manager or your
Q: What resources and assistance does BEA offer User Group leaders?
A: BEA offers User Group Leaders assistance in starting a User Group, building a User Group Leadership Board, securing a venue, topic, and speaker for meetings, and provides some financial support for meeting costs. For more information, check out our User Group Resources page.
Q: What do I get for being a User Group Leader?
A: BEA has many benefits for User Group Leaders. Our User Group Leaders are very involved in their groups as well as the developer community - and in return, BEA provides special discounts, free event passes and educational classes, the opportunity to author or co-author books and articles, as well as other rewards. This is just a snapshot of our benefits - check out the full listing for more information.
Q: Who should be on a dev2dev User Group Leadership Board?
A: The ideal User Group Leadership Board should include an enterprise software developer or architect, a consultant or Systems Integrator, an Independent Software Vendor, a training company representative, and a BEA Systems Engineer (as appropriate). Members of the Leadership Board should have strong experience in J2EE and BEA technologies as well as enterprise software development.
Q: How can I find topics and/or speakers for my upcoming dev2dev User Group (or Java User Group) meeting?
A: BEA provides a number of resources for User Group Leaders. Once you start the planning process, the User Group Program Manager will provide you with a list of potential topics and speakers for your group. If you cannot find the topic you would like to present to your group, contact your local marketing manager or User Group Program Manager for assistance.
Q: How do I promote my BEA User Group?
A: You can promote your User Group a variety of different ways. You should be posting your meeting to your Yahoo! Groups list and adding local member names after User Group meetings. You can also post to local and regional Java User Group and/or XML User Group sites and to event listings in your area. You can also tap into the resources on your Leadership Board and your local developer community, local universities, software industry associations, J2EE training centers and more to get the word out about your upcoming meeting.
Q: Does BEA provide a public schedule of upcoming product releases (for meeting planning purposes)?
A: Your local marketing manager and the
will work with you on the meeting planning process, and, when possible, will provide you with information on upcoming product and technology releases.
Speaking and Sponsorship Opportunities and Procedures
Q: What is BEA's policy if other companies want to sponsor my User Group?
A: Many of BEA's partners and customers are interested in sponsoring User Groups. If someone contacts you and wants to sponsor your User Group at the national level, please contact your
for more information. Local sponsorship is the responsibility of the User Group Leader and the local marketing manager.
Q: My company is interested in sponsoring BEA dev2dev User Groups - How do I plug in? What are sponsorship package costs and benefits?
A: For more information on sponsorship, contact the
Q: I'd like to speak at an upcoming BEA dev2dev User Group meeting (in my area) - How can I do that?
A: If you are interested in speaking at a BEA dev2dev User Group, contact the local User Group Leader. Be prepared with your background as well as a potential topic and the reason why it would be interesting to developers. All presentations are required to be specific technical presentations focused on interests of the Java community. Demonstrations of the technology or technology application are required for most presentations.
Information for Independent Java User Groups, Industry Associations, and Special Interest Groups
Q: I am the leader of an independent Java User Group (or industry organization/Special Interest Group). Can BEA provide me with a speaker for my event?
A: BEA provides speakers and presentations for independently run Java User Groups and industry organizations. Contact your local marketing manager for potential speakers in your area. Be prepared with a topic idea, presentation date, and technical expectations prior to contacting us.
Q: Does BEA offer any benefits or support for Java User Groups (or XML User Groups?)
A: BEA provides support to local Java and other developer User Groups that range from financial support to BEA speakers and other resources. Please contact your local marketing manager or User Group Program Manager.
Have more questions? Please contact the
for more details.
