Can there be an iManifest EMEA?

My Midrange Meddle is still trying to drum up support for an iManifest-type group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) similar to the one that System i ISVs and resellers put together in Japan.

The idea of such a group is to get ISVs and resellers to rally around the IBM midrange platform. The iManifest in Japan currently has more than 70 System i vendors.

The slogan for the group is a take off a famous quote by John F. Kennedy, and it goes like this: “Ask not what IBM can do for you, ask what you can do for the IBM i community.” The folks at IBM, though not involved with the group, are supporting it, and even former IBMers like Frank Soltis are behind the effort.

The success of the impromptu group in Japan raised questions about whether the American System i community can get something similar off the ground. Though iSociety is still around, it hasn’t lived up to its original expectations.