The COMMON Americas Advisory Council, which is part of the COMMON System i users group, played a big part in the changes made to the IBM System i platform and its operating system in recent weeks, according to the group and IBM.

The users group had a say in features being introduced in the new version of i5/OS, due out next year, as well as on getting System i servers with the Power6 processor on the market.

“The members of the System i user groups were the inspiration for many of the product features and enhancements we announced today,” said Mark Shearer, the head of IBM Power-based systems, in a COMMON press release. “This is a community that knows the unique values that the System i platform provides to clients and they help IBM determine how it needs to adjust and improve to support changing technology needs.”

If COMMON did in fact affect the System i product line — and I have no reason to believe it didn’t — then that’s good news. If you want to effect change on the System i, get involved with COMMON. Get deeply involved.