WEBM Webmediabrands (MM)

webMethods, Inc. (Nasdaq:WEBM), a leading business integration and optimization software company, today announced the expansion of its North American regional user group community. A total of thirteen independent groups as well as a Special Interest Group for government customers have now been formed across North America. Through quarterly meetings and ongoing online discussions, these groups provide a real-world and user-driven forum for exchanging best practices, continuing education, and constructive dialogue with webMethods executives. �Our webMethods investment is a strategic one. By taking an active role in our regional chapter, I can help to ensure that we get maximum return on this investment,� said Anuj Bhatia, chapter president for the South Central region and Integration Architect, BancTec. �I would encourage the entire South Central community of webMethods users to join me in working to ensure that this serves as an unmatched forum for exchanging ideas and experiences that will help all of us to develop better solutions." Additional endorsements from the membership community include: �With today�s rapid pace of technological change, peers in the trenches are often the only authoritative source for proven advice to real-world challenges,� said David Schaefgen, chapter president, South East region and Manager, Enterprise Integration, ACH Food Companies, Inc. �This is the need that we seek to address with our expanded user group community. These groups will also play an important role in helping users stay abreast with the significant changes coming down the pike. For webMethods users, it�s important to participate as your webMethods� skills and expertise have never been more important or more valuable.� �The common bond in the webMethods user community is the large financial and technical investment each member has made in their webMethods implementation,� said Peter Matkowski, chapter president of the Mid-Atlantic region and senior technical architect, Harleysville Insurance Company. �We also share interests in technologies, such as SOA, BPM and governance, and have common questions particularly in light of recent events, including the Infravio acquisition, the recent Fabric 7.0 release, and the proposed acquisition of webMethods by Software AG. As an additional forum in which to exchange experiences and ideas among ourselves and with webMethods, these regionally-focused user groups will be of mutual benefit to all members.� �We�ve already realized many benefits from our user�s group,� stated Gary Schnettler, president and founder of the Midwest region user group, and Vice President of Enterprise Integration at Fifth Third Bank. �For example, we�ve shared our 6.5 upgrade experiences, worked together to enact Daylight Savings Time changes, and just recently conducted demos of the new webMethods Infravio X-Registry. Our group has ultimately been a great forum to share ideas and experiences that will allow each of us to get the most out of our webMethods investments.� Each independent group is chartered with facilitating the following on a regional basis: Knowledge sharing � Working to ensure that best practices are more readily shared while providing a forum for more quickly addressing user�s unique issues and questions. Education � Partnering with webMethods and other practitioners to expand access to additional training and education in the field. Networking � Facilitating greater access to a broader universe of users, who can provide referrals to qualified job candidates and experienced vendors as just one example. Advocacy � Providing regular feedback to webMethods regarding the product roadmap, customer service issues and other topics of interest. While each group will be locally managed by their independent user community, webMethods is taking an active role in ensuring each organization�s continuing success. In addition to underwriting some of the organizational costs, webMethods is making developers and product managers available to each group to provide a deeper dive on key technology issues as well as advanced insight into forthcoming technologies. �A vibrant user community, distinguished by the open exchange of new ideas and field-tested learnings, is an invaluable resource for our customers,� said Deborah Rosen, executive vice president, Worldwide Marketing and Business Development, webMethods, Inc. �This is particularly true as we continue to rollout a number of new products that further accelerate our customers� success. With direct access to both webMethods experts as well as their peers that are pioneering these technologies in the field, each group will play an important role in helping users achieve faster and more predictable implementations.� In support of the expansion, webMethods is working closely with wMUsers, the largest, independent community of webMethods users. As these regionally-based efforts complement wMUsers� current programs, the group�s existing website (www.wMUsers.com) will be used as the primary communications platform for each chapter. Specific enhancements will include regionally-moderated discussion forums, local event calendars and mailing lists. �wMUsers has fostered and encouraged a very active webMethods user community since 2001, adding over 3,000 members in the last 12 months alone,� said Mark Carlson, President, wMUsers.com. �By facilitating both online and offline knowledge sharing, these additional, regionally-based groups will enrich and strengthen the community, ensuring that it remains unmatched in the depth and breadth of webMethods knowledge that it provides.� User groups have been established in the following regions: Canada-East (covering Quebec and Ontario); Canada-West (covering British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta); Mid Atlantic (covering Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.); Midwest (covering Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, and surrounding areas); North Central (covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and surrounding areas); North East (covering Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island); Northern California (covering San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose and the Bay area, and the Pacific Northwest); Ohio Valley (covering all of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and surrounding areas); Rocky Mountain (covering Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, Utah, Kansas, and surrounding areas); South Central (covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and surrounding areas); South East (covering Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and surrounding areas); Southern California (covering Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona, and surrounding areas); and Tri-State (covering New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Local webMethods users groups have also been established internationally in the following regions: Northern Europe, Central Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Korea, Greater China, Southeast Asia and Japan. Additional information, including registration for specific groups, can be found at www.webMethods.com/Events/UserGroups. About webMethods, Inc. webMethods (Nasdaq:WEBM) provides business integration software to integrate, assemble and optimize available IT assets to drive business process productivity. webMethods delivers an innovative, enterprise-class business integration platform that incorporates proven integration technology with next generation capabilities into one interoperable set of tools that delivers a unique combination of efficiency, agility and control. webMethods combines industry leadership with a zealous commitment to customers to deliver tangible business value to more than 1,500 global customers. webMethods is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Japan. More information about the company can be found at www.webMethods.com. The webMethods name and logo are registered trademarks of, and webMethods Fabric is a trademark of, webMethods, Inc. All other marks mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.