VMware User Group

Closed Community: Runner-up

Campaign: VMUG Online Workspaces

The VMware User Group is a global organization with a local focus. With more than 75,000 members spread across 200 chapters, the task of creating an online community that would deliver a consistent experience worldwide but with a local accent was daunting. The independent group surveyed its membership extensively to create a framework and brought in an SaaS provider to create a network of more than 200 unique workspaces with simple access settings based on member profiles.

VMUG's attention to advance research paid off last April with the near-flawless launch of more than 200 simultaneous workspaces. More than 18,000 members joined in the first seven months, contributing 200 blog posts and 1,200 forum submissions. More important for VMUG, local chapters can speak to the issues of their constituencies in the language of their choice without losing the advantage of the global platform.