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Is it time to Resurrect Sun User Groups?
SunWorld article November 1, 1997:- SUG sinks into bankruptcy

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Where have all the Sun User Groups Gone?

When we first published this directory in 1992, Sun User Groups were at the height of their powers. They published magazines. They ran events. They really mattered. Since then, they have mostly gone bust or collapsed from user apathy. So most of the information which used to be listed on this page has become obsolete.

Why did they disappear? There are several possible reasons...
  • the web provided pretty much the same kind of information about Sun products and support issues, which were previously the remit of user groups. There was no need to pay money to belong to a user group, when other sources of SPARC info could provide this information quicker, and free.
  • Sun found that focus groups were a much more effective way of getting feedback from users, and so scaled down its financial support for user groups which mainly consisted of a skewed sample of academics and other people who were not representative of the business and commercial users in the fastest growing strategic markets for SPARC.
  • the Sun compatible market became so large, that there was no longer a need for unfocused users groups, which tried to do everything (often badly). SPARC products were everywhere, and if you needed specialised training or independent repair and maintenance services, there were plenty of commercial organizations out there which could help you.
  • Sun User Group's were typically run by committes which might take as much as 6 months to make simple decisions which a commercial company would get done in 5 minutes. When your overheads are being paid by someone else, and there's no pressure to get things done, the organization just becomes a talking shop... and the web has millions of those, which don't ask Sun for a handout...
  • Nowadays manufacturers and resellers can use much more sophisticated techniques based on CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and training. They can do this from their own web sites, and they don't need intermediaries to interfere with the communication process.
Am I right? Am I being fair? If you know of any live Sun User Groups, just let me know. During the last 6 years, this offer has been open on this special user group page, which hardly ever got visited by anyone. So I've zapped all the dead links, and I think that proves my point...
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