Charles Kelly
Charles Kelly is the president and founder of
the NT*Pro in Washington, D.C. (www.ntpro.
org).
The world's first Windows NT-based
group, NT*Pro was launched in October 1993 by
Microsoft President and CEO Bill Gates. The
group currently has over 9,000 members and
covers all Microsoft BackOffice products and 32-
bit development.
As a regional director for the Microsoft
Developer Days program, Charles Kelly has been
associated with Microsoft's developer programs
for several years on many different levels.
He has been a key player at various summit meetings,
has served on numerous Microsoft advisory
councils, and has been and continues to be an
integral part of the product-planning cycle for
many Microsoft Internet and development tools.
Charles was a member of the 1996 and 1997
Microsoft Tech Ed Advisory Committees.
Since 1990 he has worked as a computer
systems analyst at the National Science
Foundation (www.nsf.gov).
In his spare time, Charles writes a regular column
titled "On The Job" for Government Computer News
(www.gcn.com) and occasionally writes fea-
ture articles for Windows NT Magazine.
Q & A
Q: What inspired you to start the very
first Windows NT user group?
A: It seemed like the thing to do. By that I
mean that my vision of where the computer
industry was going seemed to be in synch with
where I saw Windows NT going. To be honest,
I'm not sure many other people, if any, shared
that vision in 1993. Windows NT hadn't even
been released at that time; it was still "vapor-
ware."
One person who did share my vision and
even matched my enthusiasm was a friend
named Bob Fulton, who worked as a Microsoft
Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) in the
Washington, D.C., Microsoft office. "Wow!" I
thought. "Here's someone else who believes in
this wacky idea." All it took was one other per-
son to validate the idea in my mind. I was deter-
mined that this NT user group would take off in
a big way.
Our group started as the Advanced Systems
User Group. I suppose this was our way of
expressing our vision that Windows NT would
finally meet the unfulfilled promises of the UNIX
operating systems.
As the group grew and evolved, we decided
to change our name to more accurately reflect
how we actually operated and how our members saw
the group. We selected the Association of Windows NT
Systems Professionals as our new name, and NT*Pro as
our acronym.
Q: Was it difficult getting folks to attend
the first few meetings, and if so, how did
you manage to attract members initially?
A: It turned out to be amazingly easy to
attract people. Simply, we lined up a blockbuster
speaker, and we did a targeted invite mailing to
computer professionals in the D.C. Metro area.
The rest is history.
Bob and I were able to convince one more
person who shared our vision and enthusiasm
to speak at our first meeting in October 1993
-- Microsoft Chairman & CEO Bill Gates.
We also had much assistance from Alan Horowitz,
who was the Microsoft Federal Marketing
Manager, in arranging the speaker.
About 800 people showed up in
Georgetown's Four Seasons Hotel on a rainy
Sunday afternoon to hear Microsoft Chairman
and CEO Bill Gates talk about Windows NT.
Gates was really pumped up by the fact that we
had such a large turnout and, in my opinion,
gave one of the best talks I've seen him give.
The good news was that the end result of
this meeting was almost 800 members on the
first day/meeting. The bad news was that we
had to follow in Bill Gates' huge shadow.
Being very competitive people, we rose to
the challenge. We asked ourselves, "What do
technical computer professionals want?" The
answer we always came back to was that they
wanted a technical resource, a place where they
could share the latest technical advances (and
the resulting opportunities) with their peer
group. We found those people and we managed to
give them what they were looking for.
Q: What is NT*Pro's mission?
A: We provide a special support, educational and
technical forum for corporate computer professionals,
government computer professionals, solution providers,
computer consultants, developers and other computer
professionals with an interest in advanced computing
systems, advanced networking, a wide range of development
issues, and advanced client/server computing.
Q: Are there specialty areas within NT*Pro?
A: Yes, those areas evolved as the group, and NT*Pro
itself, evolved. We actually view these areas as
separate user groups that function under the NT*Pro u
mbrella. We currently have seven such areas that happen
to map across the Microsoft BackOffice and development
tools product lines. We have the following eight groups:
. NT*Pro Windows NT Server User Group
. Capital Area SQL Server User Group
. Exchange User Group
. Systems Management Server User Group
. SNA Server User Group
. Advanced Internet Information Server User Group
. Mid-Atlantic Visual C++ User Group
. Internet Developers User Group
We also are starting another new group
that will be focused on Enterprise Development
and Microsoft Transaction Server.
Finally, and perhaps the one group that I'm
most proud of, we have worked in conjunction
with Dr. Roy Beasley of Howard University to
build a very successful MCSE Certification
Program.
Dr. B. worked with NT*Pro to start a
Windows NT study group. The focus of this
study group was to help get members ready to
take the MCSE exams. From this humble beginning,
Dr. B. has built a full-fledged Authorized
Academic Training Partner with an ever-increasing
number of fully certified alumni. In fact, the
first MCSE to graduate from this program, Mark
Wheatley, can now be seen online answering
tech questions on Windows Sources Magazine's
"Expert NT Answers Forum."
Roy's ultimate goal is to morph this particular
rogram into a Distance Learning Lab, allowing
interested people from around the world to gain
certification skills via special educational
programs across the Internet. We are very proud
to be associated with the Howard University effort.
We have provided promotion and encouragement. Dr. B.
and his team have done all the work!
Q: How many members does your Association of Windows NT
Systems Professionals now have?
A: As of mid-April 1997, when this interview is taking
place, we have just passed the 9,000 member mark. Over
the last 18 months we have averaged over 400 new members
each month.
We are not content to rest, though. We are currently
planning several ambitious programs that we feel will
bring many additional benefits to our new and existing members.
Q: What takes place at a typical NT*Pro User Group meeting?
A: Each of the eight individual groups holds
its own monthly meeting. The structure of each
of those monthly meetings is typically the same.
Meetings generally open with a 15-minute session by
the group leader reviewing new issues
and products and beta news and information.
This is followed by a 30- to 45-minute technical
question-and-answer session.
After everyone has had the opportunity to get their
questions answered, a one-hour (or longer) presentation
takes place.
Our presentations are generally of a technical/educational
nature rather than product demonstrations, though we
occasionally have product demos. The typical monthly
meetings will draw an audience of 50-150 people.
Every three months we have a quarterly general meeting.
There is generally a theme for these quarterly meetings
and a featured name speaker.
The last quarterly meeting prior to this interview featured
Microsoft Group Vice President Jeff Raikes.
These meetings typically draw an audience of 750-1,400 and
often feature an exhibition area with 15-20 vendor displays
or a job fair with an equal number of companies exhibiting.
Q: How does a person join NT*Pro and what are the benefits
of becoming a member of your group?
A: Joining is very easy. The only requirements are that
you be a computer professional (no hobbyists, please!)
and that you completely fill out the registration form.
Regular membership is free! We do plan on starting a Members Plus
program during 1997. There will be a nominal fee to join
the Members Plus program, but there will be eight to ten
specific benefits available only to those members. One of
those benefits, planned as of this interview, will be automatic
acceptance into the official Microsoft Beta Program, featuring
monthly CDs with the latest MS betas.
Q: What role did you play in the creation of the Worldwide Association of NT
User Groups?
A: The Worldwide Association of NT User
Groups (WANTUG) was created by the leaders of
NT-based user groups from around the world.
In a sense, all of us together created WANTUG. The
real impetus came when Mark Kapczynski, of the
Los Angeles Windows NT User Group, distributed
e-mail to all the existing leaders in April
1996.
The result was that Mark arranged a face-
to-face meeting for all group leaders interested
in forming a national NT user group.
Jeff Silha of SOFTBANK Forums (SOFTBANK Expos at the
time) facilitated and funded the meeting in Chicago
in June 1966 on the Sunday prior to Spring Comdex.
World-Wide Association of NT User Groups
The World-Wide Association of NT User Groups, was
established to help coordinate the activities
of the various NT User Groups located
throughout the world. Rather than continuously
"reinventing the wheel" and creating redundant
member services for Windows NT professionals,
the group set out to synchronize all NT User
group initiatives. User groups enabled greater
efficiency of operations, as well as communications f
or members located around the globe. Only Windows
NT User Groups are allowed membership in WANTUG. The
association does not permit individual Windows NT
professionals to become members at this time.
Although WANTUG does not charge a fee for membership
at this time, it will soon begin instituting fees
to help cover the costs of administering the association
in the near future.
The World-Wide Association of NT User
Groups was founded to help its constituent mem-
bers (local NT user groups from around the
world) focus their efforts to become a more cohe-
sive force in the Windows NT information tech-
nology field.
Mark Kapczynski is one of the founders of
the Worldwide Association of NT User Groups,
along with Charles Kelly, Marjorie James and
Dennis Martin. He agreed to be interviewed for
this book regarding the groups activities.
Q: What is your exact role at WANTUG?
A: WANTUG was an idea that I had several
years ago. The whole idea was that I was doing
things in my local user group and people across
the country were doing things, and we started
chatting and discovered that we had the same
kinds of common goals.
The local user groups
were all competing with each other for
resources from various companies, and none of
the groups was big enough to approach
Microsoft or Compaq. They couldn't say that
they wanted to strike a deal with these compa-
nies for speakers, etc.
The groups were being
viewed separately, as 80 groups with 1,000 peo-
ple, instead of as one whole entity.
The idea was to form WANTUG to represent all the user
groups and be able to go into Microsoft or
Compaq corporate and say that we have a
channel of user groups that think this is an
issue. The other main idea was to basically have
something that local user groups could feel that
they were part of on a national or international
level. So, for example, if we tied it to a conven-
tion like we did last year, the Windows NT
Internet Show, they felt like they were part of a
bigger thing. So they weren't just going to the
continued
Q: Is WANTUG structured as a typical
association?
A: We are trying to figure that out. We want
to make sure that we develop a good relationship
with Microsoft and Compaq. We are trying
to figure out what the right model is. We are
struggling with the dues issue. Do we want to
charge local user groups for our services? This
would force them to somehow raise the money
locally. Part of the issue is that we don't want to
just go ahead and spend all this time and effort
and then just give everything away. There's no
value. So we are still trying to figure that out. We
are looking to leadership at Microsoft and some
other groups to help us figure that out.
Q: How is WANTUG associated with Microsoft?
A: We have a great working relationship
with Steve Ballmer, who is a great supporter.
I contacted him last year and he was really
excited. He met with our core executive group
last year at the NT Internet Show and then
invited us to come up to corporate and talk with
him. We were able to soundboard ideas off him.
He committed to fund our organization and
provide us with some sponsorship money.
We are working with the folks in the SP channel at
Microsoft as well as some of the product
groups to help integrate user groups into their
marketing strategy, e.g., NT 5 is coming out; let's
start planning the user group tour.
Q: How much communication takes
place between NT user groups throughout
the world?
A: We do have online chats to support the
international folks. We have found that most
individuals read in English and can communicate
that way. Speaking is a little more difficult.
When we spoke with individuals in Japan we
had to have translators. The Web site helps;
getting those people involved, those will
become issues that we will have to overcome. It
also means that they will need to help us with
translations.
Q: Does it charge its member local
NT user groups a fee to join? If not, do
you intend to charge member groups
eventually?
A: I would say that there is going to be
some charge to the local user groups for the
services. The amount is still to be determined.
As I said, there is a value question; by paying for
it you expect something in return.
Windows NT Professional Associations
Some of the Windows NT professional associations found today have their roots in
user groups. They started out as small user groups only to grow in size to become
trade associations. These professional associations offer many of the same benefits
as user groups but are more professional in their approach to member support.
Professional associations are typically more sophisticated than user groups
and can draw larger talent such as dignitaries of industry because of their clout
and budget. The officers and staff of nonprofit associations are often well-connected
individuals who dedicate their professional lives to their respective industries.
They are often experts in their particular industry and know how to plan and
hold regional conferences, draw leaders of industry to special events, and educate
members in topics in their field.
Association of Windows NT Systems Professionals
The very first Windows NT user group and now a professional association, the
Association for Windows NT Systems Professionals or NT*Pro, shown in Figure
12-3, is the premiere technical resource for Windows NT Professionals. Located in
Washington, D.C.'s outskirts, the group meets once a month, including all six of
its related SIGs, to help not only Windows NT experts, but also Exchange
Specialists, Visual C++ programmers, Internet Webmasters, SQL Server
Specialists and SNA engineers learn about the latest developments in their field.
For those who can't make it to their monthly meetings and seminars, NT Pro
boasts one the most comprehensive Web sites for Microsoft professionals in the
world. Much of the information discussed at the meetings and/or seminars is
available on their Web site in one form or another (such as PowerPoint presentations,
minutes of the meetings, and other technical notes). Feel free to download any of
this information from the NT*Pro Web site once its been posted.
For more information on becoming a member of NT*Pro e-mail Charles
Kelly at ckelly@msn.com.
The one, the only, uh, what's his name?
Jerry Schneider, Peter Norton, Charlie
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One of 8 "original" Regional Directors.
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