TPC Invitation to Join |
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Reasons For Becoming A TPC Member |
Before you consider becoming a TPC member, you should know who the TPC members are and what are the costs and responsibilities of membership.
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| Who are the TPC members? |
While the majority of TPC members are computer system companies, the TPC also has several software (database and operating system) company members. In addition, the TPC membership also includes system integrators and market research firms. There are approximately 40 members worldwide.
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| Two Different Types of TPC Members |
The TPC offers a full membership for a yearly fee of $15000 and an associate membership for a yearly fee of $1500. The associate memberships are reserved for non-profit organizations as well as market research and press organizations.
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| Responsibilities of TPC Members |
Besides following the TPC policies, there are few clear responsibilities or obligations that come with being a TPC member. Your company can participate actively or not, depending on your resources and goals. Since the TPC is basically run by TPC member volunteers, the TPC naturally encourages member companies to participate actively by sending representatives to our General Council meetings (we meet 5 times a year in various locations) and by attending periodic teleconferences.
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| II. The Reasons for Joining the TPC--For Commercial Organizations |
Marketing leverage. The TPC benchmarking process creates a level playing field where your company can compete with all the major players in the industry. A good TPC result can dramatically improve your competitive stance. While you don't have to be a TPC member to run TPC benchmarks (anyone can run them), you improve your ability to produce a good result if you are aware of how all your competitors are running their TPC benchmarks. This information is contained in the TPC's Full Disclosure Reports submitted for every TPC benchmark. Again, TPC Full Disclosure Reports are available for a fee to everyone, but TPC members receive these reports automatically and at no cost. In summary, if your company is competing in the transaction processing market, you can hardly be an effective competitor by standing on the sidelines.
Timely access to detailed competitive data. The TPC's membership is a who's who of commercial computing. With a TPC membership, you have access to the TPC's internal Web site, which contain all the Full Disclosure Reports and day-to-day rulings of the TPC organization which affect how you run and market your TPC results. This data provides all the detailed performance and pricing information on your competitors' new systems. If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you better know what they're up to.
Product Improvement. An often overlooked benefit to participation in the TPC process is how TPC benchmarks help companies improve their products. TPC benchmarks model the basic types of operations that a typical transaction processing system might use, and thus have a wide-range of applicability to your customer's environments. In addition, TPC benchmarks are designed to put systems under maximum stress. An analogy can be drawn between computer and software companies and car companies here. Companies participate in TPC benchmarking for the same reasons car companies participate in Indy Car or Formula 1 racing. Many of the new components and technologies applied to producing the fastest Formula 1 car are incorporated into consumer car design. Over and over again TPC members have reported that this TPC testing process has enabled them to produce more robust, higher performing products.
Influence in the TPC benchmarking development process. Given the TPC's tremendous influence on the competitive arena, it's just common sense that your company should have an active voice in deciding which benchmarks the TPC should develop and how the current set of benchmarks should evolve. TPC member participation also provides your company with detailed, advanced knowledge of upcoming changes to the TPC benchmarking process. Again, these changes can have a profound impact on how the market perceives your product and its performance. Your company can't afford to plan its future product designs without some knowledge about how these products will be measured.
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| III. The Reasons for Joining the TPC--For Market Research Firms and End-User Organizations. |
When it comes to TPC benchmarking data, there are producers (commercial computer system and software companies) and consumers. If you're a frequent consumer of TPC benchmarking data, you should consider joining the TPC as an associate member (cost is $1500 per year). Frequent consumers of TPC data fall into two general categories: market research firms and major end-user or system integration companies.
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| Market Research Firms. |
Your organization is responsible for understanding and making recommendations on various competing TPC performance claims. As an associate member, you have full access to all TPC data and internal communications, and therefore you will be in a much better position to help your clients understand the significance of TPC-related marketing claims.
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| Major End-user Organization. |
Your company regularly purchases millions of dollars of commercial computing and software products, and you regularly evaluate TPC benchmarking data to make your purchasing decisions. Again, as an associate member, you have complete access to all TPC data, which will assist you in your evaluation process. In addition, as mentioned previously, the TPC's Full Disclosure Reports contain a wealth of valuable performance and tuning data which can help you to tune and improve the performance of these products in your environment.
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