Technology firms have been successful in harnessing user groups as a medium to expand their IT developer base in India, examples being Nokia, SAP and Microsoft. Now, independent user groups for specific technologies have started to emerge.

All India Oracle Users Group (AIOUG) is a less-than-a-year-old user group that is looking to build and expand the country’s first independent group of techies working on Oracle technology. AIOUG has signed up over thousand members so far and is looking at a multiple-fold increase in next 2-3 years.

AIOUG president Murali Vallath said that the non-profit organisation was started by like-minded users to share what the Oracle users have learnt from using Oracle technology over the years with fellow users who have similar interest.

At present, it’s a country-specific initiative but the organisation plans to have state-specific or regional charters in future. Members can sign on as individuals, corporations that use Oracle technology, vendors providing the technology, students and universities.

Incidently, India is home to over 4 lakh Oracle technology professionals, the second-largest Oracle development community worldwide. A majority of them are a part of OTN.

Apart from providing information sharing and knowledge base to members, the group is also looking to get new Oracle products and technologies faster to developers here. AIOUG is also approaching universities and colleges to create awareness and share knowledge.