HOPKINTON, Mass., December 7, 2010 -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced two new virtualization and cloud computing training and certification programs.  These new IT certification programs, now available through EMC Education Services, are the most comprehensive of their kind and will help companies achieve the benefits of virtualization, converged infrastructure and cloud computing as they evolve their corporate data centers for increased business efficiency.  At the same time, IT practitioners can advance their careers by developing crucial new skills and gaining a broader understanding of these important new paradigms in the IT industry.

The Need for Comprehensive Virtualization and Cloud Computing Training

The explosive growth of data being generated, advances in virtualization and cloud computing and the convergence of data center infrastructures are placing new and unprecedented demands on IT professionals.

Multiple server, storage, security, networking and business application technologies are converging in virtualized and cloud infrastructures, requiring a holistic approach to capturing and evolving these environments. However, many IT professionals have traditionally been trained and certified within specific technology focus areas.  According to a recent study by Enterprise Strategy Group, comprehensive IT training and certification is needed for organizations to evolve their data centers and leverage information in new ways to enable the business.

EMC Education Services has responded to the needs of the IT industry by developing the EMC Proven Professional Cloud Architect and Data Center Architect programs. Both are based on an open curriculum, providing training and certification in core concepts and principles, for a variety of technologies. The training and certification is applicable to heterogeneous environments and technologies.

EMC Cloud Architect and Data Center Architect Training and Certification

EMC Cloud Architect (EMCCA) Virtualized Infrastructure certification provides information architects, designers and consultants with the knowledge and skills to effectively converge and manage storage, servers and networking environments that are critical to building virtualized data centers and cloud infrastructures.

EMC Cloud Architect (EMCCA) IT-as-a-Service is an expert-level certification for cloud architects, designers and consultants who are EMCCA Virtualized Infrastructure certified. This program helps IT professionals evolve virtualized infrastructures into cloud-based, IT-as-a-Service environments.

EMC Data Center Architect (EMCDCA) certification enables IT professionals to deploy the foundational information infrastructure technologies that comprise both the traditional and virtualized data center. Individuals who achieve this certification can specialize in Storage Networking, Information Availability, Information Storage Security and Storage Service Management (based on ITIL best practices). Virtualization is also a fundamental component to EMCDCA training.

Key Facts:

The amount of data organizations store, manage and secure is growing exponentially. The creation of new digital information increased by a record 62 percent in one year, according to the 2010 IDC Digital Universe study. Digital information is expected to increase from 800 billion gigabytes in 2009 to 35 trillion gigabytes by 2020.

Additional IT staff training was the number one storage-related requirement for enabling server virtualization, according to a recent survey by Enterprise Strategy Group, a full-service IT analyst and business strategy firm. In the survey, 33 percent of respondents cited additional training for IT staff as a necessary step toward increasing server virtualization usage, followed by faster storage provisioning (28 percent).

In the Enterprise Strategy Group survey, the largest percentage of respondents -- 36 percent -- said the lack of virtualization skills within their security teams was a significant challenge in server virtualization usage. 

EMC Education Services offers the top training and certification program in the information storage and management industry, with over 53,000+ EMC Proven Professional certifications. More than 500 colleges and universities worldwide participate in the EMC Academic Alliance Program, with over 25,000 students enrolled, earning more than 13,000 Information Storage and Management (ISM) certifications. In 2009, the EMC Education Services team wrote and published the industry's first open and most comprehensive textbook on information infrastructure: Information Storage and Management, Storing, Managing and Protecting Digital Information. EMC has ranked in the Top 10 premier companies for 4 years by Training Magazine.

Customer and Analyst Quotes:

"IT professionals need to understand the interdependencies of the various technology domains (server, storage, network, security) when moving to a highly virtualized environment. They must be able to deliver the same or better levels of performance, availability and protection for rapidly growing amounts of information over longer periods of time. None of this is easy, and failure to address these issues can cause initiatives to stall," said Jeff Hine, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.  "Our research shows that additional IT staff training is the factor most often cited that would enable more widespread server virtualization usage. EMC is helping address the increasing need for virtualization skills and is taking it to the next critical level with the new Data Center Architect and Cloud Architect training and certifications."

"As California State University Chancellor's Office implements its cloud computing strategy, it is critical that our IT staff has a full understanding of this new cloud computing paradigm," said Berhanu Tadesse, Director of Infrastructure Services, California State University Chancellor's Office. "EMC's new cloud-focused training and certifications will be extremely valuable in enabling our IT staff to best implement and maximize our investments in cloud and virtualization technology."

EMC Quote:

"IT is undergoing a tremendous transformation.  The next great wave of technology -- including virtualization and cloud computing -- is changing how enterprises architect and consume IT services. EMC's new virtualization and cloud training and certifications provide IT professionals with the big picture and best practices to help them develop the measurable skills necessary to manage their organization's journey to the private cloud," said Howard Elias, President and Chief Operating Officer, EMC Information Infrastructure and Cloud Services. "It's imperative for us -- and the industry as a whole -- to better equip employees, partners and customers with the required training and education so they can truly tap into the operational, efficiency and cost savings benefits cloud computing is delivering today and into the future."

Availability:

EMC DCA Storage Networking and Information Availability training and certification is available now.  EMC DCA Information Storage Security and Storage Service Management and EMC CA Virtualized Infrastructure and IT-as-a-Service will be available in the first half of 2011.  To register for any of these courses now, or learn more about the new programs, go to EMC Education Services IT Certification site.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information.  Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

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Source: EMC Corporation