WD Reports Impact on HDD Production Due to Severe Flooding in Thailand

WD Reports Impact on HDD Production Due to Severe Flooding in Thailand

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today announced that production of hard drives in its facilities close to Bangkok, Thailand

, will be constrained in the current quarter due to the severe flooding in Thailand. The flooding is causing problems with the region's infrastructure, including transportation and utilities, and has resulted in the inundation of some supplier facilities and employee homes. The company is gratified to report that its approximately 37,000 Thailand-based employees are deemed safe at this time.

The company is working with its suppliers to maximize throughput and availability of parts in order to best meet the needs of its customers.

In the quarter ending July 1, 2011, WD shipped approximately 54 million hard drives from its facilities in Thailand and Malaysia, with approximately 60 percent coming from its Thailand sites. The company's Thailand operations source much of its supply of components from local suppliers.

While WD's facilities in Thailand are operational, production has been suspended on a temporary basis to protect its employees and its facilities and equipment against water ingress. The company indicated that conditions associated with the continued flooding are evolving quickly and the extent of the impact on its operations in Thailand cannot yet be fully determined. The company will provide further updates on the situation, including on its investment community conference call on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.

About WD

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and home entertainment products.

WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD® brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Website (www.westerndigital.com)to access a variety of financial and investor information.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the impact of flooding in Thailand on WD's and its suppliers' operations. The foregoing forward-looking statements are based on WD's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including: the impact of continued uncertainty and volatility in global economic conditions; supply and demand conditions in the hard drive industry; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; uncertainties related to the development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; business conditions and growth in the various hard drive markets; pricing trends and fluctuations in average selling prices; changes in the availability and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components that WD does not make internally; and other risks and uncertainties listed in WD's recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC August 12, 2011, to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000711/WDCLOGO)

SOURCE Western Digital Corp.

Dell Ups the Ante on Helping Customers Unlock Innovation for the Virtual Era - from the Desktop to the Data Center to the Cloud

Image003

Dell Ups the Ante on Helping Customers Unlock Innovation for the Virtual Era - from the Desktop to the Data Center to the Cloud

 

·         Dell is uniquely positioned and firmly committed to help customers navigate a broad range of IT needs from the desktop to the data center; continues to deliver on $1B solutions investment commitment from earlier this year

·         Data center solutions expand with additions to Dell’s Virtual Integrated Systems Architecture to help customers drive enterprise efficiency;  new Dell Storage updates

·         Dell delivers on investments in cloud computing infrastructure and services, with new data centers opening in the United Kingdom and United States

·         New intellectual property  added from Force10 Networks, extended global roll-out of KACE Systems Management Appliances and further integration of Ocarina and Compellent assets

 

Dell positioned to address desktop-to-data center, demonstrates momentum against $1B solutions investment #DellWorld http://dell.to/odU99B

 

DELL WORLD 2011, Austin, Texas, Oct. 12, 2011 – On the cusp of Dell World 2011, Dell today announced continued customer and partner momentum for its enterprise and end-point solutions, as well as a broad array of new products and services designed to help customers unlock innovation. Organizations today face new and unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities defined by the Virtual Era, which has accelerated the move to dynamic data center environments and cloud computing architectures.  Dell is one of the only companies in the world that can help customers navigate this broad range of IT needs – from the end-point to the data center – and deliver the right solutions to meet  businesses’ IT requirements today and with confidence for the future.

 

“Earlier this year we announced a $1 billion investment commitment to customers, extending the company’s global reach into data center, mobile and cloud environments,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell.  “Now, more than ever, these investments are delivering value to customers who demand an end-to-end solutions provider to unlock innovation across their organizations. We’re committed to continuing to listen to our customers and deliver solutions that truly address the problems they are trying to solve each day.”

 

Dell helps customers free critical IT dollars from maintenance to innovation by offering open, capable and affordable solutions that provide CIOs with the flexibility to invest in technologies that address today’s business needs and deliver the peace of mind to accommodate tomorrow’s unknown requirements.  Today’s series of announcements builds on the $1 billion investment commitment Dell made to its customers earlier this year and extends the company’s reach into data center and cloud environments.

 

Delivering Data Center Innovation

IT organizations are under immense pressure to improve flexibility and scalability of their data centers and ensure employees can access the applications and information they need, no matter location, time or device.   Dell has an industry-leading position in data center technologies – the #1 worldwide position in iSCSI SAN storage[1], for the first half of 2011, Dell was #1 in x86 server shipments in North America[2] and the addition of award-winning Dell Force10 networking capabilities – and today’s series of announcements extends this position.  Dell is also a leader in data center energy efficiency and recently announced that within a five-year time frame, server performance per watt improved 31X on its PowerEdge servers.

 

Virtual Integrated System Architecture

Dell is unveiling new product enhancements to its Virtual Integrated System (VIS) Architecture to help customers drive enterprise efficiency.   VIS extends the benefits of virtualization by reducing the tools, tasks and time required for daily data center activities, automating and increasing the efficiency of an organization’s entire IT infrastructure.  And since it’s built on an open architecture, VIS works with a customer’s existing hardware and software investments.  New products available today include:

 

·         Integrating Acquired Technology into Dell vStart Configurations  - Dell vStart is a virtualization solution which allows customers to easily build out virtual infrastructures. The solutions are pre-sized, pre-racked, pre-wired and pre-tested to ease deployment concerns. vStart offerings come in specific configurations that allow organizations to choose the size of their virtualization instance.  Dell today announced that Dell Compellent storage and Dell Force10 networking capabilities will be made available in vStart configurations in 2012.

·         Dell Advanced Infrastructure Manager (AIM) Integration - Dell has certified its Dell AIM technology to work with Microsoft System Center Orchestrator and BMC Atrium Orchestrator, in addition to its current support for VMware ESX servers and VMware vCenter Server.

·         VIS Creator - Dell today released a new version of VIS Creator which enables businesses to provision extra compute resource from public cloud facilities.  VIS Creator’s delivery and management capabilities now extend to physical workloads and its governance capacity to the cloud, giving enterprises the same control over their public cloud resources as they do for the private cloud.

 

New Dell Storage Compression and De-Duplication Technology

As the amount of data maintained by organizations continues to rise at unprecedented rates, Dell remains focused on delivering technologies that enable easier management of data while increasing efficiency and lowering the total cost for storage. New compression and de-duplication capabilities, obtained through the Ocarina Networks acquisition, play significant roles in Dell’s Fluid Data Architecture and enable customers to better manage and archive meaningful amounts of data with potential cost savings.  Dell today announced availability of its first compression capabilities for the Dell DX Object Storage Platform with additional compression and de-duplication solutions for backup and recovery storage expected early next year:  

 

·         Dell DX6000G Storage Compression Node - New data storage compression capabilities help customers drastically reduce data file sizes and the footprint of archival and cloud infrastructure storage. Utilizing industry-leading technology from the Ocarina Networks acquisition, Dell can provide new levels of data size reduction on its DX Object Storage Platform, compressing stored data up to 90 percent depending on file types[3]. With new DX Storage Compression Software, customers can free up space at local and remote sites to significantly reduce their budget for storing infrequently accessed data. The Dell DX6000G Storage Compression Node will be available Oct. 18.

 

Dell Data Centers Deliver Real Business Value; Solution Centers Enable Customer Innovation  

Dell is making substantial investments in its cloud computing infrastructure and services to help customers more quickly realize the benefits of and deploy private, public and hybrid cloud environments.  Dell is introducing:

·         New Data Centers – Dell announced the opening of two data centers to deliver on its promise of cloud computing.  Dell announced the opening of its first data center in London where Unified Clinical Archiving will be one of the first vertical solutions supported by the data center.  In addition, the company will open a Quincy, WA, facility in the United States which is anticipated to become one of the world’s most efficient and environmentally responsible data centers by utilizing Dell’s extensive knowledge of large-scale data center build-outs captured through its Data Center Solutions (DCS) business.   

·         Since April 2011, Dell has opened nine Solution Centers in all three major geographies, with three more to follow in the next six months.  Demand for meetings at the Solutions Centers has exceeded expectations and customers and partners are already realizing efficiency gains through accessibility to Dell expertise.

 

Dell Extends Commitment to End User Computing

The Client business represents Dell’s heritage and the company is more committed than ever to investing and supporting customers’ diverse computing needs.  IDC expects worldwide total commercial PC shipments to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% through 2015[4].  Dell understands customers’ desires to match trends such as consumerization and desktop virtualization with the current realities of endpoint security and management.  To answer these needs, Dell delivers solutions that span technology usage and interaction, tailored services and an overall experience that combines professional tools with consumer appeal.  Dell is uniquely positioned to address these concerns and help customers maximize productivity for end users without sacrificing the control, efficiency and security IT manager’s need.  Dell introduced a series of new solutions and services including:

 

·         Dell Desktop Virtualization - Dell announced the availability of Virtual Desktop as-a-Service, the cloud-based delivery model for the Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DDVS) portfolio. The new solution brings enterprise computing to nearly any end-user computing device, anytime, anywhere a network is available -- improving employee productivity, while reducing IT management complexity.  Virtual Desktop as-a-Service is operated and maintained via the Dell Cloud from highly secure Dell data centers.  IT organizations can enjoy the benefits of a fully managed virtual desktop without sacrificing control and security.  New employee and contractor desktops can be quickly provisioned or de-provisioned using new or existing clients to become productive sooner.

 

·         Dell Data Protection | EncryptionEnd-user devices present one of the greatest data security obstacles to organizations looking for ways to decrease risk associated with lost, stolen or compromised devices and external media.  To address these concerns, Dell today added new offerings to its Dell Data Protection | Encryption portfolio that provide organizations with simple, comprehensive and flexible encryption solutions. The new encryption protection features include Full Volume Encryption with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 3 certification for customers who require military-grade security, one of the highest certifications commercially available for full disk encryption solutions, and Microsoft BitLocker Manager. These solutions round out the portfolio that also includes detachable storage protection with External Media Edition and intelligent system drive protection for Microsoft Windows with Data-Centric Encryption.

 

·         Dell KACE Global Expansion – Dell is expanding the availability of its rapidly growing line of Dell KACE Systems Management Appliances in EMEA and APJ.  Dell KACE’s comprehensive and affordable systems management solutions have rapidly gained market share in North America and English-speaking countries around the world.  Dell is now making the easy-to-use appliances available in select countries overseas in German, French, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. Designed to save IT administrators time and money, the appliances help ensure organizations can easily deploy and manage remote client systems globally.  

 

Channel Momentum

As a global solutions provider with more than 40,000 services professionals and more than 95,000 commercial channel partners, Dell offers flexible engagement models for delivering end-to-end technology solutions.  As part of this growing momentum, Dell today announced that Dell Force10 networking will be added to its channel network by the end of October.  Dell Force10 availability complements the addition of Compellent and KACE capabilities already available and creates a significant advantage for resellers looking for a long-term strategic partner.  Dell has recently strengthened its Dell PartnerDirect program to provide increased rewards for certification and training, including new rebates for Premier partners, expanded deal registration terms, financial incentives, and marketing and technical assistance.

 

 

Quotes:

“Through organic investments and strategic acquisitions, Dell has dramatically reshaped itself to be a true enterprise solutions and services organization from the end-point to the data center,” said Matt Eastwood, group vice president and GM, IDC. “The company has taken consistent and pragmatic steps to help customers solve data center, mobility and cloud computing challenges with a modern architecture. This will serve Dell and its customers well as they look for innovative new technology approaches to drive competitive advantage over the long term.”

 

Additional Information:

·         Dell World

·         Dell World on Twitter (Dell World hashtag #DellWorld)

·         Dell Virtual Integrated System

·         Dell vStart

 

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit www.dell.com.

 

 

Contact Information

 

Media Contacts:

 

Jim Hahn

Dell Inc.

512-723-4401

jim_hahn@dell.com

 

Industry Analyst Contact:

Frank Smith

Dell Inc.

512-761-2809

Frank_smith@dell.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Robert Williams

Dell Inc.

512-728-7570

robert_williams@dell.com







 

 

 



[1] IDC Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker, Q2 2011

[2] IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, Q2 2011

 

[3] Based on 2011 internal Dell testing performed on the DX6000G SNC with Microsoft Office files, email, video, audio, images and Web content.

 

[4] IDC's WW Quarterly PC Tracker Q2 2011

  NEWS 

Iomega Announces Compatibility with Symantec Backup Exec for Iomega StorCenter Network Storage Devices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Iomega Announces Compatibility with Symantec Backup Exec for Iomega
StorCenter Network Storage Devices

Compatibility with Symantec Makes Server Backup a Breeze for SMBs Using
Award-Winning Iomega Desktop and Rackmount NAS

SAN DIEGO – October 13, 2011 – Iomega Corporation, an EMC company
(NYSE:EMC (http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=emc)) and a leading innovator in
data storage solutions for small and medium businesses (SMBs),today
announced compatibility for the Iomega® StorCenter™ ix and px series of
network storage products with Symantec Backup Exec 2010 as well as
Hardware Compatibility Listing (HCL) status for compatible products.

“With Symantec as one of the leaders in data protection, Iomega is
demonstrating our commitment and leadership to small and medium
businesses with compatible, reliable and cost-effective network storage
for Symantec backup and recovery,” said Jonathan Huberman, President
of the Iomega Corporation.

Amit Walia, Vice President of Product Management for Backup Exec,
Symantec, said, “It's extremely important to Symantec to have the
leading SMB storage providers qualified with Backup Exec. The Iomega
partnership means that our customers have more choices for
industry-leading network storage targets in their backup
deployments.”

With HCL listing, Iomega StorCenter network storage products are
identified as compatible disk targets for Backup Exec software. Iomega
products can be connected to Backup Exec via CIFS or iSCSI protocols,
and have been tested as Basic B2D (Backup-to-Disk) targets and validated
with Symantec Granular Restore (GRT) technology.

Iomega StorCenter Network Storage Devices

Iomega network storage products include the double-drive desktop Iomega®
StorCenter™ ix2-200 Cloud Edition NAS unit, which ships with up to 6TB*
of networked storage capacity; the four-drive desktop Iomega® StorCenter™
ix4-200d Cloud Edition, with up to 12TB of storage capacity; and the new
four- and six-drive desktop Iomega® StorCenter™ px4-300d and px6-300d
models, available in diskless configurations, partially populated and up
to 18TB of storage, including SSD capabilities for high I/O performance.
There are also rackmount StorCenter ix and px series models that offer
up to 36TB of storage capacity.

All of Iomega’s StorCenter NAS devices utilize the acclaimed EMC
LifeLine™ software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment that
incorporates EMC’s world class storage and security technologies
typically available only for enterprise-level customers.

For more information on Iomega's complete line of StorCenter network
storage models, please go to www.iomega.com.

Iomega StorCenter NAS devices carry a three-year warranty with
registration.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation
headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage
solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The
Company has sold more than 425 million digital storage drives and disks
since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega’s product portfolio
includes industry leading network attached storage products for small
and medium businesses and distributed enterprises; one of the
industry’s broadest selections of direct-attached portable and
desktop external hard drives; and multimedia drives that makes it easy
to move video, pictures and other files from the computer room to the
livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega’s digital storage products
and network storage solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com.
Resellers can visit Iomega at www.iomega.com/ioclub.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service
providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service.
Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through
innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to clou
d
computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze
their most valuable asset – information – in a more agile, trusted
and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at
www.EMC.com.

EMC Canada (www.EMC2.ca), headquartered in Toronto with nine offices
from coast to coast, is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

- 30 -

For more information contact:
Mike Martin/Michelle Chang
StrategicAmpersand
416-961-5595
mike@stratamp.com
michelle@stratamp.com


NOTE: This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined
under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a
result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i)
adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or
reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to
protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing
the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions
and investments and the challenges and costs of integration,
restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in
VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of
VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to
pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and
varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the
volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component
and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new
products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product
offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient,
excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the
ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii)
fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and
other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in
EMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC
disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements
after the date of this release.


* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.


Copyright© 2011 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega and
StorCenter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries. EMC and LifeLine are
trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation. Symantec and the
Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec
Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

EMC Accelerates Partner Success with New Programs and Channel-Only Products

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMC Accelerates Partner Success with New Programs and Channel-Only
Products

New EMC Data Domain DD160 Available Exclusively Through EMC Velocity
Partners

News Summary:

* The EMC® Data Domain® DD160 deduplication storage system joins the
EMC VNXe® unified storage system as a channel-only product, expanding
the mid-market opportunity for partners.
* The EMC VNXe now supports flash drives, has more memory, increased
capacity and new industry certifications.
* New programs for EMC Velocity™ partners give customers easier access
to products and enable faster, easier training for the EMC partner
community.

Full Story:

HOPKINTON, MA – October 13, 2011 – EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC)
today announced the availability of the new EMC Data Domain DD160
(http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h6807-datadomain-dd160-ds.pdf)
deduplication storage system exclusively through the channel;
enhancements to the award-winning
(http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2011/20111006-01.htm) channel-only
EMC VNXe unified storage
(http://www.emc.com/microsites/unified/unifiedstorage.htm) technologies;
and new programs for Velocity
(http://www.emc.com/campaign/global/velocity/velocity-program.htm)
partners that are designed to drive market expansion.

Product News:

* Data Domain DD160: Effective immediately, the DD160 will be sold
through EMC’s Velocity Solution Provider Partners or Authorized
Resellers. Starting at just US$10,000, the DD160 offers Data Domain
system efficiency and scale to small enterprise data centres and remote
offices.
* The EMC VNXe now provides:
- More efficiency with new support of 100 GB flash drives on the
VNXe3300, and new DC-powered models of the VNXe3300 that are certified
to meet NEBS Level 3 requirements.
- More simplicity for Microsoft environments with a new EMC Storage
Integrator for application-aware storage provisioning for Windows and
SharePoint. Additionally, EMC is enabling companies to scale as business
needs grow by adding memory to the VNXe3100, which now offers 8 GB of
system memory per controller.

New Programs for Velocity Partners:

* VNXe “Try & Buy” Program enables qualified partners to deliver
VNXe products to customers at no risk and no cost for 45 days. The
program enables them to experience first-hand the advantages of
automated, application-ready storage with solution-focused software that
allows them to easily manage, provision and protect their information.

* VNXe “Quick Ship” Program helps partners accelerate
time-to-delivery with six pre-configured VNXe solutions to ship globally
within two days after order placement. Each configuration includes the
base operating software and VNXe Unisphere, iSCSI, CIFA, NFS, File
Deduplication, Snapshots, Thin Provisioning, and the VNXe Total
Protection Suite.

* “U Sell U Earn” Training Incentive Program provides partners
selling training services with the opportunity to earn free VNX
readiness training for themselves. This offers partners a cost-effective
way todifferentiate themselves in the marketplace and increase
profitability.

Today’s announcement follows a string of channel-related accolades,
including the VNXe winning the CRN Technology Innovator Award for
Storage, and in August 2011, CRN naming EMC “Company of the Year” in
three ARC award
(http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2011/20110812-01.htm) categories -
SMB Network Storage, Enterprise Network Storage, and Backup & Recovery
Software. This was EMC's first-ever inclusion and recognition in the SMB
Network Storage category, a direct result of the Januarylaunch
(http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2011/20110118-05.htm) of the VNXe
and successful channel-centric go-to-market strategy for it.

Partner Quotes

John Hardwick, President, nXio (http://www.nxio.net/)
“nXio believes that the products, technologies and services of big
business should be available to
the independent business owner, so
we‘re pleased that EMC is enabling partners who sell to
non-enterprise customers to address the SMB unified storage demand with
their industry-leading and award-winning VNXe technology. Since the VNXe
was announced earlier this year, we’ve received a lot of positive
feedback from our customers. Not only has EMC provided us with
innovative, industry-leading technology, they’ve also made it easier
than ever for us as a partner to get trained on the product, decreasing
ramp up investment and time to profit.”

Howard Goldberg, Vice President of the North American Storage Practice
for Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions (http://ecs.arrow.com/), a
business segment of Arrow Electronics Inc. (http://www.arrow.com/)
“Next-generation backup and recovery products present an opportunity
for solution providers to expand their offering to current and future
accounts. Midmarket customers in particular are seeking backup redesign
support similar to Data Domain high-end systems for large enterprises.
EMC solution providers are now armed with an industry-leading backup and
recovery product line at competitive price points that make sense for
midmarket companies.”

EMC Executive Quote

Fred Kohout, Vice President, EMC Global Channel Marketing
“The best just got better. EMC has the best partners in the industry,
and we are committed to finding new ways to enable them to take more
market share and increase profitability with industry-leading products,
programs and enterprise-class support. By designating the EMC DD160 and
VNXe as channel-led products, EMC is working with its partner community
to open up new market opportunities.

Additional Resources:

* Learn more about partnering with EMC
(http://www.emc.com/partners/index.htm)
* Learn more about VNXe
(http://www.emc.com/storage/vnx/vnxe-series.htm) unified storage
* Learn more about the Data Domain DD160
(http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h6807-datadomain-dd160-ds.pdf)
* Join the @EMCChannel (http://twitter.com/#!/EMCchannel) conversation
on Twitter.
* Connect with EMC via Twitter (http://emc.im/pv0ODN), Facebook
(http://emc.im/oV8wDa), YouTube (http://emc.im/njvQnq), LinkedIn
(http://emc.im/p7PAo4 ) and ECN (http://emc.im/bd2nk1)

Availability

The Data Domain DD160, VNXe and Velocity program enhancements are
available today worldwide.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service
providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service.
Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through
innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud
computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze
their most valuable asset – information – in a more agile, trusted
and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at
www.EMC.com.

EMC Canada (www.EMC2.ca), headquartered in Toronto with nine offices
from coast to coast, is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

- 30 -

For more information contact:
Mike Martin/Michelle Chang
StrategicAmpersand
416-961-5595
mike@stratamp.com
michelle@stratamp.com


EMC, Data Domain, and VNXe are registered trademarks and Velocity is a
trademark of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries.
All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective
owners.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under
the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain
risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in
general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in
information technology spending; (iii) the relative and varying rates of
product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of
product and services revenues; (iv) competitive factors, including but
not
 limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v)
component and product quality and availability; (vi) fluctuations in
VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of
VMware stock; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of
customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and
market change; (viii) risks associated with managing the growth of our
business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments
and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving
anticipated synergies; (ix) the ability to attract and retain highly
qualified employees; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory;
(xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xii) threats and other
disruptions to our secure data centres or networks; (xiii) our ability
to protect our proprietary technology; (xiv) war or acts of terrorism;
and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed
previously and from time to time in EMC’s filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to
update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this
release.

Server Cloud Canada chooses HP Converged Infrastructure

Image001

 

Hosting Company Chooses HP
to Deliver Private Clouds to Customers

Server Cloud Canada selects HP Converged Infrastructure over competing offerings

 

 

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 13, 2011 HP today announced that hosting company Server Cloud Canada has selected HP Converged Infrastructure technology, enabling the company to implement a private cloud for more reliable IT service delivery and improved customer service.

Hosting companies such as Server Cloud Canada face major challenges to support their customers’ thriving businesses. Rising infrastructure costs, demanding application needs and overall capacity constraints weigh heavily on these companies. To overcome obstacles while exceeding client expectations, Server Cloud Canada needed a cost-effective, scalable and reliable infrastructure that could bring new customers online in minutes versus days.

After exploring options from Dell, Cisco and IBM, Server Cloud Canada chose HP CloudSystem Matrix as the foundation to deliver private clouds to customers. HP CloudSystem Matrix enables Server Cloud Canada to simplify the creation of a private cloud with one-touch, self-service provisioning of infrastructure.

With the ability to deliver resources faster, Server Cloud Canada can better respond to customers’ fluctuating business demands and critical IT requirements.

Additionally, Server Cloud Canada reduced its power savings by almost 60 percent with HP CloudSystem Matrix, eliminating the need for an additional power source that the company estimated would have cost approximately $200,000 to install.

“We wanted a solution where each component installed was best in its class,” said Kevin Moniz, chief technology officer, Server Cloud Canada. “HP had a complete product top to bottom, where we could say it’s tried, true and tested. No competitor could match that, and we believe this gives us a competitive advantage.”

Another reason Server Cloud Canada selected HP CloudSystem Matrix was for HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 10Gb Ethernet Modules. HP Virtual Connect reduced the switches and cards needed by 80 percent, while moving the company from 48 cables to only one.

Additionally, Server Cloud Canada implemented HP P4000 LeftHand Storage Systems, as well as HP 6600 switch series with 10GbE support, replacing Cisco Catalyst switches resulting in better network performance.

HP Converged Infrastructure is a key foundation of an Instant-On Enterprise. In a world of continuous connectivity, the Instant-On Enterprise embeds technology in everything it does to serve customers, employees, partners and citizens with whatever they need, instantly.

HP’s premier client event, HP DISCOVER, takes place Nov. 29 - Dec. 1 in Vienna, Austria. The event showcases how organizations can get started on their Instant-On Enterprise journeys. 

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

 

 

 

HP Helps Organizations Worldwide Use Applications to Fuel Their Instant-On Enterprises

HP Helps Organizations Worldwide Use Applications to Fuel Their Instant-On Enterprises

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 11, 2011

HP Enterprise Services today announced clients across multiple industries and government agencies have selected the company to help drive innovation by delivering application flexibility.

Research conducted on behalf of HP found that 75 percent of enterprises consider it more important to add new value and be innovative in the applications delivered to meet the needs of the business compared to two years ago.(1) However, most enterprises struggle with maintaining unresponsive, rigid applications, which can consume up to 70 percent of IT budgets, leaving few resources to invest in innovation.

HP helps clients address these challenges and become more innovative through applications transformation, which is key to delivering an Instant-On Enterprise that embeds technology in everything it does to serve customers.

Enabling innovation with HP Applications Services

Enterprise clients and government agencies use HP Applications Services to transform their applications to enhance the customer experience, ensure regulatory compliance and add new functionality. Ongoing, effective management of an applications portfolio helps clients realize the full benefits of their transformation activities.

US Airways recently signed two separate five-year agreements for applications management and data center hosting services. HP will continue to host and maintain the airline’s flight operating system as well as provide managed mainframe hosting for applications. Both are significant components in synchronizing business operations following US Airways’ merger with America West, also a long-term HP client. Following the merger, HP led the integration of the two airlines’ reservations systems.

The Agriculture Restructuring and Modernization Agency (ARMA) in Poland recently signed a one-year agreement for additional applications services, including maintenance, modification and release into production.

HP built and maintains a system for ARMA to help distribute European Union funds to farmers in Poland. HP is helping the agency upgrade the system to meet current laws, build new modules and add new functionality. HP has maintained other applications as well as provided data center services for the past 10 years.

“With more than 1 million beneficiaries, we need a reliable system with controls that help us ensure accurate distribution of funds,” said Waldemar Tuszyński, chief information officer, Poland Agriculture Agency for Restructuring and Modernization. “HP’s applications expertise helped us build the system and now maintain it so we can focus on meeting the needs of our beneficiaries.”

Through a five-year agreement, HP will provide applications management services for the Single Family Acquired Asset Management System (SAMS), an automated computer system used to maintain day-to-day operations associated with the more than 65,000 single-family properties maintained by or acquired via the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than 75,000 properties are sold annually via the SAMS system.

Under the new agreement, HP will continue providing its system and knowledge of HUD’s business, so HUD can implement program and regulatory change as well as continue its existing business programs with minimal interruption. The agreement also includes an option to modernize the existing system.

HP also recently announced Applications Services agreements with Avista, Healthways, Australian Taxation Office and Dollar Thrifty.

“Enterprises that transform their applications have more flexibility to respond to and meet customer or citizen demands, innovate, deliver growth and enhance product value,” said Kathy Garcia, senior vice president, Applications Services, HP Enterprise Services. “By combining our deep applications expertise, broad portfolio, diversity of people and global reach, HP helps clients align applications to support business and government demands.”

HP offers applications consulting, development, testing, integration, outsourcing and management, including industry-specific solutions. More information about HP Applications Services is available at www.hp.com/enterprise/applications.

Learn more about how organizations can get started on an Instant-On Enterprise journey at HP’s premier client event, HP DISCOVER, Nov. 29 - Dec. 1 in Vienna, Austria.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Microsoft Expands Data Platform With SQL Server 2012, New Investments for Managing Any Data, Any Size, Anywhere

News Press Release
Microsoft Expands Data Platform With SQL Server 2012, New Investments for Managing Any Data, Any Size, Anywhere
New technologies will give businesses a universal platform for data management, access and collaboration.

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 12, 2011 — Kicking off PASS Summit 2011, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Ted Kummert addressed an audience of more than 5,000 technology professionals to discuss how Microsoft Corp. is evolving its data platform to respond to customer needs. Kummert described how SQL Server 2012, formerly code-named “Denali,” addresses the growing challenges of data and device proliferation by enabling customers to rapidly unlock and extend business insights, both in traditional datacenters and through public and private clouds. Extending on this foundation, Kummert also announced new investments to help customers manage “big data,” including an Apache Hadoop-based distribution for Windows Server and Windows Azure and a strategic partnership with Hortonworks Inc.

“The next frontier is all about uniting the power of the cloud with the power of data to gain insights that simply weren’t possible even just a few years ago,” Kummert said. “Microsoft is committed to making this possible for every organization, and it begins with SQL Server 2012.”

Any Data, Any Size, Anywhere

For more than a decade, Microsoft has been helping customers unlock business insights in data of all sizes and types, beginning with Analysis Services in SQL Server 7.0 and continuing with new SQL Server 2012 capabilities. Furthering this commitment, Microsoft will be working with the Hadoop ecosystem, including core contributors from Hortonworks, to deliver Hadoop-based distributions for Windows Server and Windows Azure that works with industry-leading business intelligence (BI) tools, including Microsoft PowerPivot. A Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Hadoop-based service for Windows Azure will be available by the end of 2011, and a CTP of the Hadoop-based service for Windows Server will follow in 2012. Microsoft will work closely with the Hadoop community and propose contributions back to the Apache Software Foundation and the Hadoop project.

“Over 80 percent of new data being generated is from unstructured sources,” said Eric Baldeschwieler, CEO, Hortonworks. “We are excited to work with Microsoft to help make Apache Hadoop a compelling platform for storing and processing data. Hortonworks welcomes Microsoft to the Hadoop ecosystem and looks forward to lending our deep domain expertise to help accelerate the delivery of Microsoft’s Apache Hadoop-based solution for Windows Server and service for Windows Azure.”

The company also made available final versions of the Hadoop Connectors for SQL Server and Parallel Data Warehouse. Customers can use these connectors to integrate Hadoop with their existing SQL Server environments to better manage data across all types and forms. More information on the connectors can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27584.

Immersive Experiences Virtually Wherever You Are

With the proliferation of devices in the work place, Kummert provided a look at how Microsoft will evolve its BI offerings with highly interactive and immersive data visualization experiences. He demonstrated Power View, formerly Project “Crescent,” on a variety of devices and showcased how these new capabilities will give users interactive, touch-based experiences with data virtually wherever they are. Power View “touch” capabilities will be available by the end of 2012.

Connecting With the World’s Data

Today Kummert also demonstrated Microsoft code-name “Data Explorer,” a prototype that provides a way for customers to easily discover, enrich and share data to gain competitive advantage in today’s business climate. When combined with Windows Azure MarketPlace, now available in 26 worldwide markets, Data Explorer will help customers realize their data’s full potential. Customers are encouraged to begin testing and to provide feedback when CTPs are made available in the SQL Azure Labs later this year at http://www.SQLAzureLabs.com.

It Starts Today

SQL Server 2012 delivers a powerful new set of capabilities for mission-critical workloads, business intelligence and hybrid IT across traditional datacenters and private and public clouds. Features such as Power View (formerly Project “Crescent,”) and SQL Server Data Tools (formerly “Juneau”) expand the self-service BI capabilities delivered with PowerPivot, and provide an integrated development environment for SQL Server developers. The new ColumnStore Index delivers over 10x data warehouse performance gains. Due out in the first half of 2012, SQL Server 2012 is in the final production stages, with hundreds of customers going into production in CTP3, including Edgenet Inc., Sanofi Pasteur SA, Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA, Pilot Travel Centers LLC and Great Western Bank.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

IBM STUDY: Digital Era Transforming CMO's Agenda, Revealing Gap In Readiness ...

10/11/2011 7:17 AM ET
IBM STUDY: Digital Era Transforming CMO's Agenda, Revealing Gap In Readiness; Most chief marketers admit they are not sufficiently plugged into real-time conversations about their brands / CMOs struggling to prove the return on marketing investments

ARMONK, N.Y. -- A new IBM (NYSE: IBM) study of more than 1,700 chief marketing officers from 64 countries and 19 industries reveals that the majority of the world's top marketing executives recognize a critical and permanent shift occurring in the way they engage with their customers, but question whether their marketing organizations are prepared to manage the change.

At the same time, the research shows that the measures used to evaluate marketing are changing. Nearly two-thirds of CMOs think return on marketing investment will be the primary measure of the marketing function's effectiveness by 2015. But even among the most successful enterprises, half of all CMOs feel insufficiently prepared to provide hard numbers.

And most of these executives -- responsible for the integrated marketing of their organization's products, services and brand reputations -- say they lack significant influence in key areas such as product development, pricing and selection of sales channels.

The IBM study found that while 82 percent of CMOs say they plan to increase their use of social media over the next three to five years, only 26 percent are currently tracking blogs, 42 percent are tracking third party reviews and 48 percent are tracking consumer reviews to help shape their marketing strategies.

"The inflection point created by social media represents a permanent change in the nature of customer relationships," said Carolyn Heller Baird, CRM research lead for the IBM Institute for Business Value and the global director of the study. "Approximately 90 percent of all the real-time information being created today is unstructured data. CMOs who successfully harness this new source of insight will be in a strong position to increase revenues, reinvent their customer relationships and build new brand value."

Customers are sharing their experiences widely online, giving them more control and influence over brands. This shift in the balance of power from organizations to their customers requires new marketing approaches, tools and skills in order to stay competitive. CMOs are aware of this changing landscape, but are struggling to respond. More than 50 percent of CMOs think they are underprepared to manage key market forces -- from social media to greater customer collaboration and influence -- indicating that they will have to make fundamental changes to traditional methods of brand and product marketing.

Baird likened marketers who underestimate the impact of social media to those who were slow to view the Internet as a new and powerful platform for commerce. Like the rise of e-business more than a decade ago, the radical embrace of social media by all customer demographic categories represents an opportunity for marketers to drive increased revenue, brand value and to reinvent the nature of the relationship between enterprises and the buyers of their offerings. Marketers who establish a culture receptive to deriving insight from social media will be far better prepared to anticipate future shifts in markets and technology.

While they identify customer intimacy as a top priority, and recognize the impact of real-time data supplementing traditional methods of channel marketing and gathering market feedback, most CMOs say they remain mired in 20th century approaches. Eighty-percent or more of the CMOs surveyed are still focusing primarily on traditional sources of information such as market research and competitive benchmarking, and 68 percent rely on sales campaign analysis to make strategic decisions.

Managing the Four Challenges

Collectively, the study findings point to four key challenges that CMOs everywhere are confronting: the explosion of data, social media, channel and device choices and shifting demographics will be pervasive, universal game changers for their marketing organizations over the next three to five years. But a large majority of CMOs feel unprepared to manage their impact.

Data explosion: Every day we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data -- so much that 90 percent of the world's data today has been created in the last two years alone. The increasing volume, variety and velocity of data available from new digital sources like social networks, in addition to traditional sources such as sales data and market research, tops the list of CMO challenges. The difficulty is how to analyze these vast quantities of data to extract the meaningful insights, and use them effectively to improve products, services and the customer experience.

Social platforms: Social media enables anyone to become a publisher, broadcaster and critic. Facebook has more than 750 million active users, with the average user posting 90 pieces of content a month. Twitter users send about 140 million tweets a day. And YouTube's 490 million users upload more video content in a 60-day period than the three major U.S. television networks created in 60 years. Marketers are using social platforms to communicate -- with 56 percent of CMOs viewing social media as a key engagement channel -- but they still struggle with capturing valuable customer insight from the unstructured data that customers and potential customers produce.

Channel and device choices: The growing number of new marketing channels and devices, from smart phones to tablets, is quickly becoming a priority for CMOs. Mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate of 39 percent from 2011 to 2016. Meanwhile, the tablet market is expected to reach nearly 70 million units worldwide by the end of this year, growing to 294 million units by 2015.

Shifting demographics: New global markets and the influx of younger generations with different patterns of information access and consumption are changing the face of the marketplace. In India, as one example, the middle class is expected to soar from roughly 5 percent of the population to more than 40 percent in the next two decades. Marketers who have historically focused on affluent Indian consumers must adapt their strategies to market to this emerging middle class. In the United States, marketing executives must respond to the aging baby boomer generation and growing Hispanic population.

Lack of Influence

Today's CMOs have to cover more ground than ever before. They have to manage more data from disparate sources, understand and engage with more empowered customers, adopt and adapt to more sophisticated tools and technologies -- while being more financially accountable to their organizations.

In fact, 63 percent of CMOs believe return on investment (ROI) on marketing spend will be the most important measure of their success by 2015. However, only 44 percent feel fully prepared to be held accountable for marketing ROI.

Most CMOs have not traditionally been expected to provide hard financial evidence of their ROI. But given the current economic volatility and pressure to be profitable, organizations can no longer afford to write a blank check for their marketing initiatives. CMOs recognize they now need to quantify the value they bring to the business, be it from investing in advertising, new technologies or any other activity.

This increasing emphasis on ROI also reflects the scrutiny the marketing function is currently attracting, itself a reflection of the function's growing prominence. Today's CMOs are in much the same position as chief financial officers (CFOs) were a decade ago, when the CFO's role was evolving from guardian of the purse strings to strategic business adviser.

If CMOs are to be held responsible for the marketing returns they deliver, they must also have significant influence over all "Four Ps": promotion, products, place and price. The study found that this is often not the case.

CMOs say they exert a strong influence over promotional activities such as advertising, external communications and social media initiatives. But, in general, they play a smaller role in shaping the other three Ps. Less than half of the CMOs surveyed have much sway over key parts of the pricing process, and less than half have much impact on new product development or channel selection.

To meet these new challenges, CMOs must boost their own digital, technological and financial proficiency -- but many seem surprisingly reticent in this respect. When asked which attributes they will need to be personally successful over the next three to five years, only 28 percent said technological competence, 25 percent said social media expertise and 16 percent said financial acumen.

About the Global CMO Study

The 2011 IBM Global Chief Marketing Officer Study is IBM's first study of CMOs -- and the fifteenth in the ongoing series of C-suite Studies developed by the IBM Institute for Business Value. Between February and June 2011, IBM met face to face with 1,734 CMOs in 19 industries and 64 countries to better understand their goals and the challenges they confront. The respondents came from a wide variety of organizations, ranging from 48 of the top 100 brands listed in the 2010 Interbrand rankings to enterprises with a primarily local profile.

For access to the full 2011 IBM Global CMO Study, visit http://ibm.com/cmostudy .

To join the conversation on the 2011 IBM Global CMO Study, follow @IBMIBV and #IBMCMOStudy on Twitter, or join us on LinkedIn

Contact(s) information

Kate McElwee

UK External Relations

+44 (0)7725 201076

kate.mcelwee@uk.ibm.com

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

Mobile computing and social media top the list of future technology investment for Canada's private companies: PwC

Mobile computing and social media top the list of future technology investment for Canada's private companies: PwC

TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2011 /CNW/ - Canadian private companies are optimistic about growth opportunities and are investing in mobile computing and social media to help them achieve their growth aspirations, according to findings from a PwC survey.

According to the survey, the top five areas of technology investment over the next 1-3 years are:

  • 43% - mobile computing
  • 42% - social media/networking
  • 34% - next-generation data management & analytics
  • 33% - information security
  • 21% - cloud computing

"Having come out of the other side of the recession stronger, private companies realized they had to keep improving in order to keep thriving in this new unstable environment," says Tahir Ayub, Canadian leader of PwC's Private Company Services practice. "The big difference in the past few years is that private companies now realize that you have to invest in leading edge technology to advance your business, despite slower economic times."

The study shows that the top objectives for investing in technology over the next 12 months are:

  • Make business processes more efficient/effective - 57%
  • Attract new customers - 50%
  • Drive growth and competitiveness - 47%
  • Reduce enterprise costs - 44%

"Because of today's rapid rate of change, companies need to innovate at a faster pace to keep up with the changing demands in the market, globalization and enhanced customer expectations," says Philip Grosch, national leader, technology consulting, PwC.  "As the speed of change accelerates, the ability to be flexible as an organization to support that change in a cost-effective fashion becomes pretty critical."

One area where private companies can increase their competitiveness is in the area of cloud computing.  Twenty-one percent of respondents said they would be investing in cloud computing over the next one to three years.

"Traditionally complex applications such as CRM, finance, or HR applications have been an expensive undertaking that only large organizations could afford. Now they are available to companies on a subscription basis, which means very little, if any upfront capital investment.  That changes the game for a lot of private companies," says Grosch.

Forward-thinking companies are exploring avenues to use mobile technology to create better ways of servicing their customers. They are capitalizing on the power of mobile capabilities to build multichannel relationships with them.

"This is becoming a fairly understood and evolved marketplace, but there is still a lot of growth to come," says Grosch. "The piece of mobile computing that hasn't evolved as much, but is now evolving very quickly, is how to drive efficiency within your enterprise using social media. And this is where the power of mobile and tablet technology is starting to have significant implications."

Although most organizations today have customer-facing social media strategies, innovative companies are increasingly interested in using social media to create an internal community that gives everyone within the organization access to its collective knowledge.

"Mobile computing is the new standard for business and those private companies that haven't adopted the technology risk missing out on having a fully-productive, efficient workforce and the ability to attract and retain new talent coming into the workforce: the digital natives," says Aayaz Pira, vice president, technology consulting, PwC. "These people have grown up with mobile technology and fully expect to be able to access and use it at work. If you want to attract talent that is motivated and wants to deliver on your core business objectives, you have to support those objectives with new technology that allows people to be effective."

In the report, Pira offers some best practices for companies to consider when creating a mobile strategy:

  • When going mobile, there has to be a balance between an internal and external focus.
  • Be an early-adopter.
  • Don't go big bang. Start small and build.
  • Don't get tied to any one technology.
  • Involve the end users up front.
  • Know your end-goal.  Process improvement has to translate to increased sales and revenue, improved quality, better controlled costs or improved employee or customer engagement.

Note to Editors: PwC changed its name from PricewaterhouseCoopers to PwC in the fall of 2010. "PwC" is written in text with a capital "P" and capital "C." Only when you use the PwC logo is the name represented in lower case.

Follow PwC on Twitter at @PwC_Canada_LLP and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pwccanada.

"PwC" refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.

For further information:
David Rowney
Tel.: 416 365 8858
Email: david.rowney@ca.pwc.com
 
OR:
 
Kiran Chauhan
Tel.: 416 947 8983
Email: kiran.chauhan@ca.pwc.com

Canadian Broadcaster Works with Dimension Data for Complete Network Refresh

12.10.2011  
 
Business Wire · 

Canadian Broadcaster Works with Dimension Data for Complete Network Refresh

Accessible Media implements a best-practices IT infrastructure that supports the unique requirements of a broadcasting environment and the limited resources of a non-profit

Dimension Data, a $4.7 billion global IT services and solutions provider, announced that it has implemented a new, end-to-end IT infrastructure environment for Canadian broadcaster Accessible Media, Inc. (AMI). The deployment improved a wide range of AMI''s broadcast and internal business operations, spanning network performance, availability, security and remote and wireless access. By leveraging best practices across the entire project, it also increased AMI''s IT efficiency, reducing day-to-day troubleshooting and laying an infrastructure foundation that supports future expansion.

AMI is a not-for-profit company that makes media accessible to all Canadians. It delivers broadcast media – including VoicePrint, the world''s largest broadcast reading service, and The Accessible Channel TACtv, the federally-mandated "must-carry" service – to more than five million Canadians with vision, hearing, learning and mobility impairments. As part of a new office build on a tight time schedule, AMI was looking to overhaul its IT infrastructure, linking Toronto and Hamilton locations as well as remote offices, and streamlining and updating its existing IT equipment and network.

First, AMI required a network that could support the needs of both its broadcasting business and internal operations, transferring high volumes of data – including high-definition video – while also providing corporate-level security. The existing network also needed a complete rebuild to streamline services and incorporate best practices. Finally, as a non-profit with limited resources, AMI needed not only a cost-effective solution but one that delivered significant overall value from end to end.

"Based on experience with previous projects, we chose Dimension Data because of its ability to successfully deliver a total solution, from planning and implementing the technology refresh to ensuring a strategy that would support growth over time – for both geographic expansion and new technology capabilities, such as VoIP," said Fil Magnoli, director of IT at AMI. "Additionally, Dimension Data paid close attention to our cost constraints, explicitly developing a strategy to deliver maximum value within our tight, non-profit budget."

Dimension Data delivered a stackable, Cisco-based core network to ensure growth and high availability. The remote offices, which were previously unconnected, were linked to the Toronto-Hamilton hub. A new system of virtual LANs (VLANs) and subnets was deployed to intelligently segment users to optimize network performance. Dimension Data also developed an improved security infrastructure to deliver the required levels of protection. In addition, a new VPN system was implemented enabling remote workers using a variety of different devices to access network resources as appropriate. A mobility strategy based on a thorough technical and business assessment of current and future requirements was formulated.

"Enterprises today are seeking to maximize the value of IT implementations. Going beyond the need for simple hardware solutions, our clients are looking for a dedicated services partner that can provide a holistic assessment of IT requirements and execute on those needs while putting in place a flexible foundation for future growth," said Wendy Lucas, area vice president at Dimension Data Canada. "With our extensive portfolio of service offerings, deep business and technology expertise, combined with our global reach, Dimension Data is uniquely positioned to support these demands."

About Accessible Media Inc.

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is a not-for-profit multimedia organization operating two broadcast services, VoicePrint and The Accessible Channel – TACtv, and a companion website (ami.ca). AMI serves more than five million Canadians who are blind, deaf, vision, hearing or mobility impaired, learning disabled, print-restricted or learning English as a second language by making print, broadcast and online media accessible. www.ami.ca

About Dimension Data

Founded in 1983, Dimension Data plc is an ICT services and solutions provider that uses its technology expertise, global service delivery capability, and entrepreneurial spirit to accelerate the business ambitions of its clients. Dimension Data is a member of the NTT Group. www.dimensiondata.com