Printeema FAQ
Q. What is eema and what does it stand for?
A. Since 1987, eema has been Europe's leading independent, trade association for e-Business, working to further e-Business technology and legislation with its European members, governmental bodies, standards organisations and e-Business initiatives.
eema was an acronym for 'European Electronic Messaging Association', but as the focus of both the association and our members changed, the full title was dropped, and the brand name has gained recognition for its work throughout Europe.
Q. What does eema do?
A. eema brings together over 135 member organisations (and over 1,500 employees of member organisations) in a neutral environment for education and networking purposes.
- enabling members of the association to compare common and contrasting views and experiences on specific areas of e-business by holding subject-specific workshops and regular teleconferences and face-to-face meetings, seminars and conferences.
- facilitating the setting-up of working groups to produce useful work in the form of reports and white papers, of interest to the member participants and to the rest of the membership.
- connecting members with the 'right' person to talk to within the membership base for solving similar 'problems', or simply develop business relationships.
Q. How can members benefit from the activities?
A. Through eema, a member can ...
- learn about the key industry issues and the work being done to address them
- discuss their experiences and needs with others in a similar situation
- make their voice heard with vendors, standards organisations, governmental bodies
- become aware of problems and solutions before they hit the member's organisation
- build a network of contacts with expertise in their area
- promote their organisation to other members
- hear about new industry trends and technologies, and expand their view of the industry.
Individuals within a member organisation quite often have very different objectives from their eema membership, and how each individual becomes involved with the association depends entirely on their own requirements.
Some individuals are actively involved in producing reports, attending workshops to exchange ideas and generally play a high-profile role within the association. This can also be by way of sponsorship of various opportunities through the year.
Some simply want to receive the results of the work carried out by others within the association, and to be kept informed about latest developments and trends in a way that suits them best.
Many take advantage of the 'networking' style of eema, using the association as a vehicle through which contact can be made and retained with other members experiencing the same issues - either at workshops, seminars, through project work, conference calls, or simply by asking us to put you in touch with someone.
Q. Who runs the association?
A. The members run the association through a Board of Directors, nominated and voted for each June at the annual conference. The Board comprises up to 16 individuals from member organisations who meet quarterly to discuss developments within eema.
The office staff (based in the UK) are instrumental in the day-to-day running of the association, as they provide the contact with the members, and are responsible for facilitating the work within the association.
Q. What subjects are covered?
A. It depends on what the membership want at any one time, and the issues that arise through the work we do.
To find out what we are currently doing and in which areas, take a look at the Areas of Focus and Examples of our Work pages on this site.
Q. How is the work funded?
A. The work produced by the association (projects, papers, seminars, tutorials and reports etc) is funded by both membership subscriptions and sponsorship revenue.
All of the information generated by eema with its members is available to members free of charge.
Q. Who becomes a member?
A. Any organisation involved in e-business (usually of a global or European nature) becomes a member, and any employee of that organisation is then able to participate in eema activities.
Each organisation assigns one main membership contact - known as the member representative
and a secondary contact - known as the second member.
Anyone within a member organisation can take advantage of eema activities, and become involved with any aspect of the association.
See the full list of eema members
Q. How do you categorize members?
A. We define the member organisations as follows:
User
an organisation implementing e-business technology, usually on a medium or large-scale, within a specific country, across Europe, or globally.
Government Bodies / Associations / Other
private or public sector non-profit bodies with an interest in e-business
Academic Institutions / Individual Academics
an institution or individual interested in any aspect of e-business across Europe.
Vendor
an organisation with a technology or service product offering in the area of e-business.
A vendor can be any size and vendor organisations can also be user organisations.
Consultant
any organisation offering a consultancy service (ie no actual technology)
Q. How can my organisation become an eema member?
A. Take a look at the membership categories and fees, select the one most applicable to you, and complete and return the membership application form securely on-line.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of membership of eema, please contact us
We look forward to welcoming you to eema!