Two of Australia's leading peer groups for CIOs and senior IT executives are merging in an agreement announced today by IDG Communications and research firm IDC.

Effective immediately, IDC's Information Technology Experience Program (InTEP) in Australia will become part of IDG's CIO Executive Council.

All InTEP members will continue to receive the current benefits of their memberships however this will now be provided by the CIO Executive Council.

InTEP-Plus members will also receive the additional full benefits of the CIO Executive Council members, most notably inclusion in the industry-leading resources of the international Council.

Current members of the CIO Executive Council will also receive the additional benefits of the InTEP -Plus program, including regular CIO research from IDC, which is now an analyst partner of the CIO Executive Council.

Council general manager, Linda Kennedy, said this is a significant move forward for the CIO Executive Council.

"By combining the benefits of both programs, we are dramatically increasing our offerings to members of both the Executive Council and InTEP -Plus," Kennedy said. "We are broadening the base of our local peer network, making the group more diverse and richer in peer-to-peer insights."

IDC managing director, Graeme Muller, said IDC is pleased to offer members of its existing InTEP program the opportunity to access greater resources by becoming part of the CIO Executive Council. Additionally, as the analyst partner, he said IDC will continue to provide custom research to existing members and now, to members of the CIO Executive Council.

Members of both organisations will be briefed on the merger in meetings to be held later this month.

The CIO Executive Council is an international organisation which enables members to be more successful by facilitating the sharing of knowledge and creating content and programs around issue crucial to advancement of CIOs and the ICT sector.

With over 500 members in Australia, North America and Europe, the Council offer its member the unique ability to speak with a collective voice on local and regional issues coupled with access to a powerful, vendor free, global community of senior IT executives willing to share sector specific experiences and knowledge.

The Council gives CIOs a united voice on technology matters and enables them to act as trusted, unbiased resources to one another while strengthening their businesses and collectively advancing the CIO profession.

InTep was established over 10 years ago to provide like-minded individuals with a forum to network, share proven practices and experiences in the management and implementation of information technology.

InTEP focuses on new areas of information technology as well as encouraging members to share experiences with emerging systems design and deployment methodologies.

- with Sandra Rossi