Provo Headquater

An Introduction to the Technology Transfer Partners

We would like to extend an invitation to all staff working within academic institutions such as schools, colleges and universities around the world to join the well established Technology Transfer Partners (TTP) group. Membership in the group is totally free of charge.

Background

The TTP is an international group of individuals from schools, colleges, and universities that use OpenText technology in their IT implementations. The TTP was started in the mid-1980s with three universities whose goal was to share their networking experiences among themselves, and with the company, in order to leverage the knowledge of their diverse computing environments and give feedback to product teams. It has now grown to be a comprehensive group of thousands of experienced education customers who share information with each other, the software developers and groups within the company. TTP members have considerable input into the company software development processes.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to connect, form, and extend bonds between members of our global technology community to foster honest, informed conversations in order to promote high quality computing environments that advance the goals of academic institutions.

The Primary Goals of the TTP are to

  • Network among peers to foster mutually beneficial work relationships.
  • Share successes and failures so others can learn from those experiences.
  • Exchange technical information and best practices between members for mutual benefit.
  • Mentor other members through the discussion lists, the TTP events, white papers, success stories, and articles for the TTP website.
  • Provide honest feedback to software development teams on products and their futures.
  • Help the TTP partners understand the academic community.
  • Provide honest feedback to partner businesses to meet the requirements of academia in licensing programs, marketing, technical support, etc.
  • Educate partner businesses on the requirements of academia in licensing programs, technical support, etc.

Membership and Confidentiality

TTP discussions are generally of either a highly technical or very strategic nature and membership would, therefore, be of particular interest to senior IT staff as well as very technical staff. Management staff (e.g. CIO level) who plan strategy can find the group useful to help determine the trends within similar organizations.

Discussions and questions on the TTP mailing list cover a wide range of topics of interest to the community. Members are urged to share information on the list, not just monitor messages. The group benefits from members who contribute and help others learn from that.

Joining the TTP requires filling out the registration form and digitally signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Once approved an applicant will be added to the group and be able to access the variety of resources and meetings of the TTP. Candidness and confidentiality are important so that all parties can discuss a variety of often sensitive issues without public exposure. The NDA requires such information and resources not be conveyed beyond the member’s own institution except to other TTP members. Within the institution TTP information and resources should be handled with due care and professional discretion so that the institution as a whole may benefit. . This also means asking colleagues to adhere to these same rules of confidentiality. Other TTP sites follow these rules to protect your offerings to the group. For full benefit it is recommended that interested colleagues also apply for TTP membership. If a member exceeds these rules of good conduct then the NDA obligation may come into force and membership in the TTP may be terminated.

TTP Ambassadors

The TTP Ambassadors are people around the world who run their own group or community that can benefit from links to the TTP. This could be anything from a regional GroupWise User Group to a regular meeting where local college computer staff get together to discuss issues of general interest to the group.

Regional Annual Conference

The primary annual conference is a five day event consisting of formal presentations and workshops – most of which are highly technical – as well as round-table discussions, training and informal opportunities to network, solve problems and improve products. Much of the material presented is made available under NDA – which covers the whole event. This conference normally takes place in Provo in July each year. Secondary annual conferences are held in Europe around Easter time and in Asia/Pacific just before Christmas.

Additional regional events are planned throughout the year. Members may attend any of the TTP meetings but are encouraged to support their regional event in order to be able to network with more of their colleagues and similarly structured organizations.

Other Benefits

The main benefit of belonging to the group is the membership of the community and the self-help resource that this can provide. As a member of the TTP you will have access to restricted areas of the TTP web pages intended solely for the partner community including product and learning collateral.

How do I join the TTP?

Click on the Join Us link and complete the form, linking yourself with an institution currently on the list or add your site if it is not on the list. Please don’t forget to complete the profile information as this can be very useful for other sites to find people who are using similar technologies.

Once you have submitted the application form it will be forwarded for approval. Under normal circumstances, you will be added to the group within 48 hours and sent an appropriate welcome email.

Questions

People who join the TTP find it extremely useful and we hope you will take this opportunity to join up today. If you have any questions concerning the group or the processes involved please e-mail us at info@thettp.org