HTNG Forums

What is a Forum?

Forums and workgroups are the two building blocks of the HTNG organization, through which members interact (learn about workgroups here).

A forum is a meeting place, where HTNG members with similar interests:

Meet face-to-face to learn and to share information on topics of general interest
Coordinate efforts across workgroups to maximize reuse and minimize duplication of effort
Make personal contacts with potential buyers, sellers, and partners
Work together to market the results of workgroup efforts to benefit both the participating vendors, and those who have implemented the resulting solutions
Address issues that require cross-workgroup coordination

HTNG currently has two forums, and all workgroups are assigned to one or the other.

The Infrastructure & Device Forum addresses infrastructure, device, and hardware issues, including wired and wireless networking, guest-room entertainment, telephony, building automation systems, and other applications where the bulk of the cost relates to physical devices or networking.
The Software Forum addresses software applications, with a primary focus is on architecture and interoperability, including messages to support and extend existing applications by providing simple connectivity to, and interoperation with, other applications.

How Do Forums Differ from Workgroups?

Workgroups and forums exist for very different reasons: workgroups do the work, while forums provide the meeting place for coordination, cross-pollination, learning, and marketing - allowing all the workgroups to come together at a single time and location so that travel time and cost are minimized.

This table highlights the general differences. However, each forum and workgroup is unique, so some exceptions exist.

Activity	Forums	Workgroups
Design and (through vendors) deliver products to the marketplace to address hotels' business problems	No	Yes
Document solutions as open standards	No	Yes
Tele/web conference meetings	Infrequent	Weekly or biweekly during active phases
Face-to-face meetings	1-4 times per year	Only in conjunction with forum meetings
Sets general policies for issues applying to all workgroups, such as certification, documentation standards, etc.	Yes	No
Personal interaction with other members to help form customer, supplier, partner relationships	Face-to-face	Telephone and email only
Oversees marketing initiatives such as case studies, demos, certification	Yes	No
Eligibility for Participation	Open to all HTNG members. Membership in one or both forums is included with all HTNG memberships.	Generally open to members of the forum in which the workgroup is organized; some workgroups may require votes or restrict the timing of new members

Looking for a Workgroup?

If you are looking for information about one of HTNG's currently active workgroup efforts that belongs to either the Infrastructure & Device or the Software Forum (as well as some prospective efforts), visit our Workgroups Page. There, you will find details about each workgroups, including status, a brief description, and links to individual wiki pages on our connectivity Wiki.

Things Have Changed

If you haven't visited our site recently, or if you are noticing some of the changes made to HTNG's organizational structure this year, please review a copy of this memo sent to HTNG membership on 1 October 2009. Also, visit the HTNG Forum/Workgroup Restructuring Information page of our wiki for more details.