Dell’s 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report Highlights Commitment to People and the Planet

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Dell’s 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report Highlights Commitment to People and the Planet

TORONTO, ONTARIO and ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, Sept. 6, 2011— Dell’s progress toward its ongoing commitments to help people realize their full potential, build more sustainable communities and to help protect the planet is described in its 2011 Corporate Responsibility report, released today.

 

Sustainability

Dell, named Newsweek’s 2010 Greenest Company in America and ranked among the Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada is proud of its sustainability record. From designing, building and shipping to using and recycling computer equipment, the company’s goal is to deliver the highest quality and most energy-efficient products with the least impact on the environment. In Dell’s most recent fiscal year laptops and desktops were designed to use 25 percent less energy than they did in 2008. The company also lowered data centre energy consumption for customers by improving server performance per watt. Dell also reduced the size of the boxes laptops and desktops are shipped by more than 11 percent.

Dell sustainability focus is concentrated on efficiently managing its own operations, developing  innovative energy efficient products and solutions for customers, shipping products with sustainable packaging materials, and providing  world class recycling options that makes it easy for its customers to be green.

 

Corporate Responsibility highlights:

·         Data centre efficiency improvements: within five-year time frame Dell server performance per watt improved 31X;

·         Laptops and desktops consume 25 percent less energy than 2008;

·         Customers have saved nearly $6 billion through Energy Smart since 2005, avoiding more than 55 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;

·         Surpassed Dell’s goal to reduce packaging volume by 10 percent

·         Increased shipments of laptops and smartphones cradled in environmentally sensitive bamboo packaging;

·         Began a pilot to ship Dell PowerEdge servers in mushroom packaging; mushroom packaging is a dense material tough enough to protect heavier products like servers and desktops and is also compostable

·         Extended free global recycling to 78 countries and facilitated equipment drop off at more than 3,700 Goodwill and Staples locations in the U.S. and Canada; and,

·         Recycled more than 150 million pounds (68 million Kgs) of end-of-life computer equipment, a 16 percent increase over the previous year. Dell is on pace to recycle 1 billion pounds (450 million Kgs) by 2014.

 

As part of its IT solutions strategy Dell is helping customers save energy by hosting their data. In doing so, Dell will consume more energy itself than it has in recent years. However, with Dell’s more energy efficient data centres, the planet can benefit as Dell applies its expertise in efficient data centre management and helps customers save energy and other resources.

 

Giving

Dell’s giving programs help close the technology gap, support youth education, entrepreneurship and digital inclusion for underserved communities around the world. Dell targets 1 percent of pre-tax profits toward programs that benefit education, health and children. The company last year made progress in its global YouthConnect program and stimulated social entrepreneurship through the Dell Social Innovation Competition.

Giving highlights:

·         YouthConnect has positively affected 2 million children globally with expansion to nine countries;

·         Dell expanded the Dell Social Innovation competition to promote social change in growing communities and committed $5 million over five years to the University of Texas at Austin to grow the program; and,

·         Dell and team members made multi-million dollar contributions for global disaster relief.

 

Diversity & Inclusion

            Dell is committed to a diverse workforce and embraces the similarities and differences of its team members. Diversity is imperative for its business and customers and part of what makes up a winning culture. Serving a global community requires Dell to have a diverse supplier network.

Diversity highlights:

·         $3 billion investment with diverse businesses;

·         Dell named one of the “Top Corporations for Multicultural Business Opportunities by DiverseBusiness.com

·         DiversityInc.’s Top 50 Companies list;

·         Recognized by the Progressive Employers of Canada for Dell’s contribution to leading progressive change in the workplace for working parents and their families

·         Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies list; and,

·         Perfect score on Corporate Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign for seventh time in a row.

 

Dell continued efforts to influence its supply chain to improve suppliers’ corporate

responsibility record, using the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition code of conduct as a basis for workplace operations and safety. Dell increased the number of supplier audits conducted as part of its program focused on workplace conditions to more than 100.

 

 

Quotes

Trisa Thompson, vice president, Corporate Responsibility: “Whether it’s through our green efforts or giving programs, our company gives back in many ways responsibly and with integrity. While we have made much progress, we have much more work to do to help people achieve their full potential and help us protect the planet.”

About DELL

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Learn more at www.dell.ca.

 

Join us for a live online Twitter chat September 14th where Dell’s Corporate Responsibility leaders answer questions about the report. Follow @Dell4Good and reference the hashtag #DellCRChat to participate.

#DellCRChat: Wednesday September 14, 2011 from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CDT

Join us at Dell World 2011 – Unlocking Innovation in a Virtual Era. Bringing together top IT visionaries, leaders and experts, Dell World attendees will learn about and share some of the most innovative strategies and techniques taking place in IT today. Learn more at www.DellWorld.com or follow #DellWorld on Twitter.

 

 

 

Contact Information

Media Contact:

Janet Fabri

Dell

416.758.3398

janet_fabri@dell.com

Fiona Cassidy

Cohn & Wolfe

647.259.3260

fiona.cassidy@cohnwolfe.ca

 

Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc.

Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

###

 

 

Trusteer Discovers 2nd Malware Variant to Go Financial and Unveils Cybercrime Prevention Platform


NEWS RELEASE

New Trusteer Cybercrime Prevention Architecture Adds Browser Exploit Removal and Fraudster Machine Fingerprinting to Arsenal

Trusteer Intelligence Center Warns that Second Non-Financial Malware has Morphed into Online Fraud Platform

BOSTON, Sep. 7, 2011 –Trusteer, the leading provider of cybercrime prevention solutions, today announced new versions of the four products which make up its Cybercrime Prevention Architecture. The new capabilities remove malicious exploits in web page content, fingerprint fraudster machines attempting to access protected web applications, protect iOS and Android mobile devices from financial malware, and provide real-time data feeds on new malware attacks. Trusteer's Intelligence Center also warned today that a second non-financial malware variant has been retrofitted with fraud capabilities and is abusing its large installed base of infected machines to attack global financial institutions.

Trusteer is still investigating this new financial malware, which it has temporarily named Shylock.  Unlike the non-financial malware Ramnit which Trusteer reported last month had turned into a fraud platform, Shylock doesn’t incorporate tactics from the infamous Zeus Trojan. It appears criminals have custom developed financial fraud capabilities for Shylock.

Shylock uses unique mechanisms not found in other financial malware toolkits, including:

- An improved method for injecting code into additional browser processes to take control of the victim's computer

- A better evasion technique to prevent malware scanners from detecting its presence

- A sophisticated watchdog service that allows it to resist removal attempts and restore operations

“As with all financial fraud toolkits, Shylock’s detection rate among anti-malware solutions and fraud detection systems is extremely low,” said Amit Klein Trusteer's CTO. “The ability of cyber criminals to develop, distribute, and operate new tools under the radar of the industry is troubling. Enterprises and individuals continue to rely on security architectures that were designed 20 years ago and have limited value in protecting their critical assets against cybercrime attacks.”

New Trusteer Cybercrime Prevention Architecture

Faced with the continually advancing sophistication of cybercrime attack methods, financial institutions and enterprises require endpoint protection against zero-day malware and phishing attacks, as well as real-time actionable intelligence they can automatically feed into layered fraud prevention and security systems. Trusteer’s Cybercrime Prevention Architecture (TCPA) and Trusteer’s Intelligence Center combine to deliver 24x7 detection and blocking of new attacks, which has included the discovery of the Shylock, Ramnit, SunSpot, and Oddjob financial malware platforms.

Trusteer today announced the following new versions the core products that make up the TCPA:

Trusteer Rapport – The leading cybercrime prevention software for PCs and Macs has been enhanced with exploit prevention capabilities which monitors webpages loaded into the browser and removes malicious content that tries to exploit vulnerabilities in the browser or its add-ons. Trusteer has also added a new rapid response cycle into Rapport which updates its entire customer base within ten minutes when a new threat is detected. Trusteer Rapport already prevents malware toolkits from installing on the computer and accessing information inside the browser. It also detects malware activity and removes the files associated with it.

Trusteer Pinpoint – This client-less login and transaction anomaly detection solution can now detect and alert customers when fraudster machines attempt to access protected web applications. Using a network of sensors deployed at multiple large financial websites, Trusteer Pinpoint is capable of fingerprinting and building a database of machines that are owned by fraudsters. This capability supplements Pinpoint's existing ability to detect when users attempt to access web applications with a machine that is infected with malware.

Trusteer Mobile – In addition to iOS, now supports Android and the upcoming iOS 5 platform. Trusteer is currently the only vendor to provide a solution that protects both iOS and Android devices against cybercrime committed using malware and phishing attacks.

Trusteer Situation Room – Trusteer’s Online Fraud Intelligence and Risk Analysis Service has been enhanced with a new interface that allows financial institutions and large enterprise to access real-time data and generate alerts on cybercriminal activity and new attack methods that target specific organizations.

“Trusteer’s leadership position in the cybercrime prevention market allows us to be exposed first to global fraud patterns and exploits. This intelligence, combined with our continuous innovation, is what keeps us ahead of cybercriminals,” said Mickey Boodaei Trusteer's CEO. “Cybercrime methods have reached a level of sophistication which now requires organizations be able to rapidly assess the threat level of each new attack and quickly respond with appropriate counter measures. Trusteer’s Cybercrime Prevention Architecture provides the protection, detection and intelligence infrastructure that allows customers to respond with speed to attacks using programmable behaviors, not blacklist approaches.”

Availability

Trusteer’s Cybercrime Prevention Architecture with the new versions of Trusteer Rapport, Trusteer Pinpoint, Trusteer Mobile and Trusteer Situation Room is available now.

About Trusteer

Trusteer is the leading provider of cybercrime prevention solutions that protect organizations against financial fraud and data breaches. Hundreds of organizations and millions of end users rely on Trusteer to protect their computers and mobile devices from online threats that are invisible to legacy security solutions.  Trusteer’s Cybercrime Prevention Architecture combines multi-layer security software and real-time threat intelligence to defeat zero-day malware and phishing attacks, and help organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements. Leading organizations such as HSBC, Santander, The Royal Bank of Scotland, SunTrust and Fifth Third are among Trusteer’s clients. For more information visit: www.trusteer.com.

D-Link Enhances Business Storage Portfolio with New ShareCenter(R) Pro Unified Storage Solutions for Small and Medium Businesses

D-Link Enhances Business Storage Portfolio with New ShareCenter® Pro Unified Storage Solutions for Small and Medium Businesses

D-Link's Flexible Network Storage Solutions Provide Superior Economic Value with Wide Array of Features, High Performance and Near Limitless Scalability in an Open Architecture

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Sept. 1, 2011 /CNW/ -- D-Link, the cost-effective, standards-based unified networking solutions provider for small business and medium enterprise IT environments, today announced the ShareCenter® Pro network storage solutions supporting concurrent NAS and iSCSI connectivity, designed for small and medium-sized business environments. With the ShareCenter Pro N-Series and S-Series models, D-Link has expanded its business storage offerings to deliver cost-effective unified storage solutions with built-in security, data protection, and disaster recovery functionality ideal for file sharing, data backup and IP video archival, to complement their existing xStack® Storage family of high performance iSCSI SAN arrays.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110706/SF30992LOGO) D-Link Delivers High-End Features and Complete Networking Solution

According to Gartner, the top storage priorities for small businesses center on data security, backup and disaster recovery. And, of the small businesses that are deploying network storage, approximately 50 percent rely on NAS solutions and 30 percent rely on iSCSI connectivity.(1) D-Link® ShareCenter Pro storage solutions offer the best of both worlds - high-end NAS features and performance often found in more costly SAN arrays, including iSCSI connectivity to support small business server applications, dual Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports, snapshots, encrypted volumes, virtual disk drive (VDD) expansion and remote backup. In addition, the ShareCenter Pro models are Windows, Mac and Linux compatible, and come with a five-year warranty (vs. the typical one-to-three year warranty) as well as an extended five-year warranty option for a total of 10 years, offering industry leading ease-of-integration and support.

Gerrit Koester, technology and facilities manager at the Filutowski Cataract & LASIK Institute in Orlando, Fla., was tasked with optimizing and managing a network infrastructure that ensured quick and easy access to over 100,000 patient records containing over two million electronic image files. "What I needed was a highly available, redundant storage solution offering easy backup and iSCSI support," said Koester.

After evaluating the D-Link ShareCenter Pro DNS-1200-05, Koester was extremely surprised by the performance the solution achieved, as well as the flexibility and affordable price. Koester said, "We should get great speeds, probably as good as USB 2.0, maybe 40 megabytes a second, give or take. We got well over a hundred, and I said, 'Wow, this is faster than some of the SANs we've evaluated. This is a phenomenal product and is truly cutting edge, but it is using existing technologies in a smart way that makes it very easy to configure, and it guarantees that it is going to be reliable."

D-Link Unified Networking Solutions

D-Link understands that small and medium-businesses have limited IT resources and staff, and provides these companies with end-to-end networking solutions to ensure interoperability, ease of integration and a single support call for troubleshooting. D-Link can offer small and medium-sized businesses scalability, reliability, performance, and lower initial and ongoing costs. Through D-Link's superior economic model, businesses can leverage these affordable networking and storage solutions in multi-vendor IT infrastructures without being locked into proprietary hardware, software or service requirements.

"Small businesses evaluating network storage often have a checklist of the latest 'must have' features, but need to realize that reliability, data protection and network interoperability are paramount," said Joseph Martins, managing director and analyst, Data Mobility Group. "The D-Link ShareCenter Pro models support non-proprietary hardware in a unified system with NAS and iSCSI support for added flexibility, ease of use and cost savings."

Disaster Recovery Via the Cloud

D-Link ShareCenter Pro N-Series and S-Series models offer disaster recovery capabilities for remote backup, either to a physical device offsite or to the Cloud using Amazon's S3 service. This is the latest in a series of D-Link technologies leveraging Cloud to bring enterprise features within reach of SMB budgets.

"D-Link is committed to meeting the storage needs of small and medium-businesses, as well as educators and government agencies, and is continually developing products to best meet the unique needs and challenges these organizations face," said Chris Gruber, director of product marketing, Storage Solutions, D-Link. "D-Link designed these unified storage products to provide secure file sharing, data backup and IP video archival capabilities, as well as disaster recovery via the cloud, combining high-level technology features in an affordable package."

ShareCenter Pro Network Storage Solutions N-Series and S-Series Features

The ShareCenter Pro N-Series includes the DNS-1100-04 and the DNS-1200-05 devices. Both models offer iSCSI connectivity, (2) GbE ports, (2) USB ports, RAID 0/1/5/6/10 support, encrypted volumes, and virtual disk drive (VDD) expansion. The DNS-1100-04 4-bay desktop offers 512MB of RAM and supports up to 12TB of raw capacity, and the DNS-1200-05 5-bay desktop offers 1GB of RAM with support up to 15TB of storage.

The ShareCenter Pro S-Series includes the DNS-1250-04 4-bay desktop, DNS-1250-06 6-bay desktop and the DNS-1550-04 4-bay 1U rackmount. Designed for optimum performance, all three models offer iSCSI connectivity, (2) GB of RAM, (2) GbE ports, (5) USB ports, RAID 0/1/5/6/10, encrypted volumes, and VDD expansion. The D-Link DNS-1250-06 offers RAID 30/50 capabilities, and the D-Link DNS-1550-04 offers dual hot-swappable power supplies for added redundancy.

Pricing & Availability

All of D-Link's network attached storage products are sold through D-Link's vast network of channel partners, including value-added resellers, solution providers and distributors. Availability and pricing information for the ShareCenter Pro N-Series is as follows:

-- D-Link DNS-1100-04 ShareCenter Pro 1100 will be available in November for $696.99* -- D-Link DNS-1200-05 ShareCenter Pro 1200 is available now for $812.99*

Availability and pricing information for the ShareCenter Pro S-Series models is as follows:

-- D-Link DNS-1250-04 ShareCenter Pro 1250 will be available in October for $1,020.99* -- D-Link DNS-1250-06 ShareCenter Pro 1250 will be available in October for $1,227.99* -- D-Link DNS-1550-04 ShareCenter Pro 1550 will be available in November for $1,549.99*

Detailed specifications for ShareCenter Pro Network Storage solutions are available at www.dlink.ca.

About D-Link

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2011, D-Link is the global leader in connectivity for home, small business, mid- to large-sized enterprise environments, and service providers. An award-winning designer, developer, and manufacturer, D-Link implements and supports unified network solutions that integrate capabilities in switching, wireless, broadband, storage, IP Surveillance, and cloud-based network management. For more information visit www.dlink.com, www.dlink.ca or connect with D-Link on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dlink) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/dlink).

ShareCenter, xStack, D-Link and the D-Link logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of D-Link Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other third-party marks mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2011.D-Link. All Rights Reserved.

*Estimated street price

(1) Gartner User Survey Analysis: Why Small-Business Storage Is a Tough Sell, February 2011

Businesses Increasingly Under Attack From Cyber-Security Threats

Businesses Increasingly Under Attack From Cyber-Security Threats

- Cyber-Criminals Targeting Mobile Devices and Social Media Sites

SAN JOSE, CA, Sept. 2, 2011 /CNW/ - SonicWALL, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent network security and data protection solutions, today issued its mid-year cyber-threat intelligence bulletin. The bulletin reveals that businesses are increasingly under attack by cyber-criminals who seek to exploit employees connecting to corporate networks via mobile devices and their rising use of social media. Growth in Android-based malware and social media scams such as click-jacking on Facebook and malicious links sent over Twitter are creating new and heightened levels of business vulnerability from data intrusion, theft and loss. Productivity and profitability are also compromised due to network and application downtime. Data for the bulletin was sourced from the SonicWALL Global Response Intelligent Defense (GRID) Network™, which gathers, analyzes and correlates billions of dynamic, real-time global cyber-threats.

Said Boris Yanovsky, SonicWALL vice president of software engineering, "Cyber-criminals are focusing their attention on penetrating corporate networks and data through mobile workflow and applications. Employees innocently surfing dating sites via a mobile device or PC, that are in fact fake sites, or clicking on offers on Facebook such as a free McDonald's meal that are click-jacking scams, can have a catastrophic impact on data security, business continuity and profitability."

Key findings of the mid-year cyber-threat intelligence bulletin include

  • Mobile-based threats have risen significantly over the last six months. While these threats are not as widespread as computer-based threats, cyber-criminals have found workarounds to attack mobile phones on any platform.
  • Android Market malware is a growing issue. With the growth of the Android Market, there has been an increase in rogue applications affecting thousands of users.
  • Security threats resulting from the use of social media continue to rise. As social media has become part of the fabric of social and work-life, constant access to sites by employees from the corporate network is creating new levels of vulnerability.
  • The U.S., Canada and Taiwan are the most heavily hit countries for worldwide threat-related traffic. A snapshot of the top 10 most heavily hit countries may be viewed here.
  • New and familiar viruses continue to infect computers and networks worldwide. Top malware threats in the first half of 2011 were fake anti-virus malware, including a new variant consisting of fake desktop utilities.
  • Phishing fraud is more sophisticated and difficult to detect. An updated list of organizations that have been spoofed over the last six months is available here.
  • Most dangerous threats over the last six months include advanced persistent threats that come in through clicked links, lie hidden for an indefinite period of time and become active at a predefined time.

Click here for the latest threats at the SonicWALL Threat Center.

About SonicWALL, Inc.

Businesses Increasingly Under Attack From Cyber-Security Threats

 

Businesses Increasingly Under Attack From Cyber-Security Threats

- Cyber-Criminals Targeting Mobile Devices and Social Media Sites

SAN JOSE, CA, Sept. 2, 2011 /CNW/ - SonicWALL, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent network security and data protection solutions, today issued its mid-year cyber-threat intelligence bulletin. The bulletin reveals that businesses are increasingly under attack by cyber-criminals who seek to exploit employees connecting to corporate networks via mobile devices and their rising use of social media. Growth in Android-based malware and social media scams such as click-jacking on Facebook and malicious links sent over Twitter are creating new and heightened levels of business vulnerability from data intrusion, theft and loss. Productivity and profitability are also compromised due to network and application downtime. Data for the bulletin was sourced from the SonicWALL Global Response Intelligent Defense (GRID) Network™, which gathers, analyzes and correlates billions of dynamic, real-time global cyber-threats.

Said Boris Yanovsky, SonicWALL vice president of software engineering, "Cyber-criminals are focusing their attention on penetrating corporate networks and data through mobile workflow and applications. Employees innocently surfing dating sites via a mobile device or PC, that are in fact fake sites, or clicking on offers on Facebook such as a free McDonald's meal that are click-jacking scams, can have a catastrophic impact on data security, business continuity and profitability."

Key findings of the mid-year cyber-threat intelligence bulletin include

  • Mobile-based threats have risen significantly over the last six months. While these threats are not as widespread as computer-based threats, cyber-criminals have found workarounds to attack mobile phones on any platform.
  • Android Market malware is a growing issue. With the growth of the Android Market, there has been an increase in rogue applications affecting thousands of users.
  • Security threats resulting from the use of social media continue to rise. As social media has become part of the fabric of social and work-life, constant access to sites by employees from the corporate network is creating new levels of vulnerability.
  • The U.S., Canada and Taiwan are the most heavily hit countries for worldwide threat-related traffic. A snapshot of the top 10 most heavily hit countries may be viewed here.
  • New and familiar viruses continue to infect computers and networks worldwide. Top malware threats in the first half of 2011 were fake anti-virus malware, including a new variant consisting of fake desktop utilities.
  • Phishing fraud is more sophisticated and difficult to detect. An updated list of organizations that have been spoofed over the last six months is available here.
  • Most dangerous threats over the last six months include advanced persistent threats that come in through clicked links, lie hidden for an indefinite period of time and become active at a predefined time.

Click here for the latest threats at the SonicWALL Threat Center.

About SonicWALL, Inc.

SonicWALL develops advanced intelligent network security and data protection solutions that adapt as organizations evolve and as threats evolve. For more information, visit http://www.sonicwall.com/.

For further information:

CONTACT: Jock Breitwieser, SonicWALL, T: +1(408)962-6165, E: jbreitwieser@SonicWALL.com ; Kristen Leon, Bond PR, T: +1(415)848-2626, E: kristen@bondprus.com

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Oracle Announces Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11

Oracle Announces Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11

Advanced Distribution Management Features Help Utilities Extend Smart Grid Initiatives to Support Renewable Resources and Electric Vehicle Recharging

Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 31, 2011

News Facts

Extending Oracle’s smart grid capabilities, Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 offers new modeling and analysis features to improve distribution-grid management for electric utilities.
The new modeling enhancements provide real-time views of grid activity to help properly align electricity generation with demand. Understanding potential outcomes under multiple possible conditions, such as storms, extreme temperatures and fluctuations in commercial and consumer usage, helps utilities improve contingency plans to maintain continuous operations through events that previously resulted in outages.
To further help grid operators, the new modeling helps:
Analyze the effects of customer loads—such as electric vehicle (EV) recharging—in different locations and identify where off-peak recharging is needed due to grid capacity constraints.
Incorporate into the grid electricity from renewable resources like solar roofs and backyard windmills, allowing utilities to use local generation to meet renewable resource targets. Using power from multiple sources helps utilities improve demand management and lessens the likelihood of disruptions.
Use stored electricity as another source of energy.
The new release further demonstrates the capabilities of advanced distribution management (ADM) that is core to Oracle Utilities Network Management System. ADM is an emerging set of outage, distribution and grid optimization functionality essential to optimal smart grid operation.

Additional Product Details

The new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) integration options are unique to Oracle Utilities Network Management System. The new integrations alleviate reliance on a particular vendor’s SCADA system, allowing utilities the option to retain their current SCADA while moving efficiently and cost effectively into the smart grid era. Oracle delivers the flexibility to change to a new SCADA system without disrupting major smart grid capabilities.
The new release helps utilities recognize more value from their smart grid investments by ensuring that all energy storage and control devices are fully incorporated into ongoing operational and forecasting analyses.
Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 provides greater flexibility in integrating geographic information systems (GIS) investments, including new support for International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) 61968 Common Information Model (CIM) standards.

Supporting Quotes

"We were pleased to take part in the validation program to help Oracle deliver an upgrade that provides meaningful business results to utilities. With advanced distribution management systems, we can improve outage information to further leverage our smart metering investments and deliver immediate value to our customers,” said Brian Chabot, manager, business systems, Pepco Holdings, Inc.
“Around the world, customers and utilities are choosing new ways to use, generate and store electricity. Incorporating these new technologies into a real-time model of the grid is vital to utilities’ ability to manage network activity. Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change,” said Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities.

Supporting Resources

About Oracle Utilities

Oracle Utilities delivers proven software applications that help utilities of all types and sizes achieve competitive advantage, business performance excellence and a lower total cost of technology ownership. Oracle Utilities integrates industry-specific customer care and billing, network management, work and asset management, mobile workforce management and meter data management applications with the capabilities of Oracle's industry-leading enterprise applications, business intelligence tools, middleware, database technologies, as well as servers and storage. The software enables customers to adapt more nimbly to market deregulation, meet ever-evolving customer demands and deliver on environmental conservation commitments. Additionally, Oracle Utilities helps utilities prepare for smart metering and smart grid initiatives that enhance efficiency and provide critical intelligence metrics that can help drive more-informed energy and water usage decisions for consumers and businesses. For more information, visit www.oracle.com/goto/utilities.

About Oracle

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com

Trademark

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Info

Caroline Yu Vespi
Oracle
+1.650.506.8920
caroline.yu@oracle.com

Janice Hazen
O’Keeffe and Company
+1.404.254.5881
jhazen@okco.com

NEC collaborating with Cisco to Build Commercial LTE Networks for Service Providers

NEC collaborating with Cisco to Build Commercial LTE Networks
for Service Providers


*** For immediate use August 30, 2011

Tokyo, August 30, 2011 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) collaborating with Cisco today, announced a strategic relationship in the construction and sale of commercial long-term evolution (LTE) networks for service providers.

NEC and Cisco will jointly provide the end-to-end equipment for building LTE networks for service providers, including NEC's wireless network equipment (eNodeB), NEC's mobile backhaul solutions and Cisco's Mobile Internet network equipment ASR5000 .

Furthermore, after extensive interoperability testing under real world and worst-case scenarios, NEC and Cisco have completed network verifications in preparation for the construction of LTE networks in a variety of environments for the delivery of a variety of mobile broadband services.

"Cisco is a recognized leader in the development of intelligent, high-performance Mobile Internet network equipment for 3G and 4G Mobile Internet networks. Our ASR 5000 mobile multimedia platform, for example, provides a smooth transition to LTE and also the most suitable migration scenario, customized for an operator's service trends and network configuration," said Ash Dahod, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Internet Group, Cisco. "Together with NEC, Cisco enables comprehensive interworking without impacting existing networks when deploying LTE."

"NEC offers a variety of wireless base stations that support cells ranging from macro cells to small cells," said Nobuyuki Yanaginuma, Associate Senior Vice President of NEC. "The company adopts new and advanced technologies, such as miniaturization using the world's highest level of amplifier efficiency, low power consumption developments, and Self-Organized Networks (SON), which enable base stations to be constructed and operated efficiently. The combination of Cisco and NEC's strengths will enable the provision of competitive LTE systems and contribute to the construction, service launch and expansion of commercial LTE networks for telecom operators."

Also, as a total system provider, NEC boast experience fully installing NTT DOCOMO's commercial LTE service, "Xi," from infrastructure to handsets. NEC has also shipped commercial wireless base stations for KDDI, and the company's global accomplishments in the area include participation in a number of LTE field trials with such leading companies as SingTel and Telefonica, cementing NEC's position as a prominent LTE solutions provider.

For more information about the Cisco service provider solutions, please visit: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns341/networking_solutions_service_provider_home.html

For more information about NEC's LTE network systems, please visit  http://www.nec.com/lte/

***



About Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at ttp://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.


About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

OCAD University Data Centre expanded by 300%

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OCAD University Data Centre expanded by 300%

Project supports institution’s growing research portfolio

   

(Toronto—September 1, 2011) In a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, OCAD University (OCAD U) opened the doors to its newly expanded and upgraded data centre, a major initiative at the university aimed at supporting the institution’s growing research portfolio. The project provided significantly increased capacity for academic and administrative computing, storage and networking capabilities. 

 

The data centre expansion increases the facility’s physical footprint by 300%, and includes fully upgraded and state-of-the-art energy efficient and redundant mechanical, cooling and electrical systems and server cabinets. 

 

“Completion of this project represents a major milestone in the advancement of the technological infrastructure that will help OCAD University realize many of its strategic objectives over the coming years,” said OCAD U President, Dr. Sara Diamond.

 

The project provides the technological requirements for research projects in the university’s specialized graduate and undergraduate programs such as the Graduate Program in Digital Futures, which has just admitted its first cohort, while providing support for a broad range of services to all students and faculty. Major collaborative research initiatives such as the Inclusive Design Research Centre and the Centre for Information Visualization and Data-Driven Design require significant compute capacity and data storage, and by completing the data centre project OCAD U can now house the essential infrastructure to enable this leading edge research. 

 

Working with Computer Room Services Corporation (www.crsc.ca) OCAD University now has a data centre designed and optimized for reliability, security and N+1 redundancy for all critical mechanical and electrical components providing capability for 99.749% availability (Tier 2) for all services and over 460 U of cabinet space for compute and storage. 

 

The OCAD University Data Center Expansion Project was made possible through the support of the Digital Media Research and Innovation Institute (DMRII) capital project, generously funded by the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, and matched by OCAD University through support to OCAD U’s Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Research Fund (MRI/ORF) and industry partners.

 

OCAD University (OCAD U): 135 Years of Imagination

OCAD University (www.ocad.ca) is Canada’s “university of the imagination.” The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

 

- 30 -

 

For more information please contact:

 

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer, OCAD University

416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

smulholland@ocad.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Mulholland  BFA
Media & Communications Officer
Marketing & Communications

T 416.977.6000 Ext. 327 (mobile: Ext. 1327)
F 416.977.6006
E smulholland@ocad.ca

Twitter: @OCADUniversity
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/OCADUniversity

OCAD UNIVERSITY
100 McCaul Street, Toronto, Canada  M5T 1W1
www.ocad.ca

 

EMC VNX Accelerates VMware View 5.0 – Boots 500 Desktops in Five Minutes; EMC Shatters Storage Performance Limits in VMware vSphere(R) Virtual and Cloud Environments

 

EMC VNX Accelerates VMware View 5.0 – Boots 500 Desktops in Five
Minutes

EMC Unified Storage Simply, Efficiently and Powerfully Helps Customers
Exploit the Benefits of Desktop Virtualization and FLASH

VMWORLD 2011 – LAS VEGAS – August 30, 2011 – Today at VMworld®
2011,EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), the number one choice of customers for
information infrastructure in VMware® virtualized
(http://canada.emc.com/products/category/virtualization.htm) and
cloud environments according to a recent Wikibon
(http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/VMware_Storage_Integration_Journey_Checkpoint)
survey, today extended its leadership with added support of EMC® VNX®
unified storage
(http://canada.emc.com/microsites/unified/unifiedstorage.htm) for
VMware View™ 5 (also announced today by VMware). The EMC VNX Family –
including EMC VNX (http://canada.emc.com/products/series/vnx-series.htm)
and EMC VNXe® (http://canada.emc.com/products/series/vnxe-series.htm)
– support VMware View deployments in businesses of any size and
scale – ranging from hundreds to thousands of desktops.

The EMC VNX Family will deliver VMware View
(http://canada.emc.com/solutions/application-environment/vmware/vmware-view-virtual-desktops.htm)
5 customers new levels of performance, efficiency, and simplicity, and
will enable customers to:

* Boost Performance during log-in storms. Early test results have shown
the ability to boot 500 VMware View 5.0 desktops on VMware vSphere® 5
over NFS to steady state – in five minutes. This is 40 per cent faster
than previous published VNX and FAST Suite results on VMware View 4.5,
and enabled by EMC VNX and the EMC FAST (Fully Automated Storage
Tiering) Suite.
* Maximize Efficiency by leveraging the EMC FAST Suite to deliver the
highest performance and capacity efficiency – automatically for VMware
View 5. EMC FAST Cache allows customers to significantly reduce the
number of drives used in a VMware View environment while providing
exceptionally fast boot time performance. Additionally, customers can
further reduce their storage space requirements in VMware View
deployments with EMC VNX deduplication capabilities.
* Simplify Management by deploying VMware View 5 with confidence
whether in FC, FCoE, iSCSI or NFS environments.

“The EMC VNX Family is designed from the ground-up to optimize
virtual environments. We’ve seen great results in early testing with
VMware View 5, and look forward to helping customers to deploy VMware
View 5 in environments ranging from hundreds to thousands of
desktops,” said Eric Herzog, Vice President, Unified Storage
Division at EMC. “Applying EMC’s unique FAST technology to a virtual
desktop infrastructure (VDI) enables customers to maximize the full
potential of their VMware View deployment. With EMC VNX, SMBs to
enterprises can benefit from the solution’s simplicity, efficiency,
performance and affordability.”

EMC Global Services Help Customers Achieve Virtual Desktop Strategy

In addition to new support of VMware View 5 with the VNX Family,
EMC’s professional services experts are delivering Desktop
Virtualization Services
(http://canada.emc.com/services/consulting/private-cloud-virtualization/expertise/virtual-desktop-infrastructure.htm)
to help customers plan, design, and implement desktop computing
environments that are secure, compliant and flexible enough to meet the
needs of their businesses. Experienced and VMware-certified experts have
all the virtualization skills required to ensure a successful
implementation, including desktop deployment, security, systems
management, and storage.

Additional Resources

* Read
(http://canada.emc.c
om/collateral/hardware/technical-documentation/h8283-view-vnx-vsphere-psg.pdf)
the EMC VMware View 4.6 Proven Solution Paper

* Read and interact with theVirtual Geek
(http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/) Blog

* Read (http://canada.emc.com/about/news/press/2011/20110817-02.htm) or
watch () to hear why EMC
customer, Alvarado School District, choseEMC VNX unified storage on its
way to achieving a 100 per cent virtualized server environment and roll
out a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to students.

* Read the VMware Storage Integration Journey Checkpoint
(http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/VMware_Storage_Integration_Journey_Checkpoint)
article from Wikibon

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 and VNX are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation
in the United States and other countries. VMware, VMware View, VMware
vSphere and VMworld are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of
VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. The use of
the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal
partnership relationship between VMware and any other company. All other
trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.


If you do not wish to receive news releases from EMC Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.

******************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMC Shatters Storage Performance Limits in VMware vSphere® Virtual and
Cloud Environments

Accelerates Customers’ Journey to the Cloud; Achieves More Than
1,000,000 IOPS and 10 GBps In VMware vSphere® 5 Environments

VMWORLD 2011 – LAS VEGAS – August 30, 2011 – EMC Corporation
(NYSE:EMC), the number one choice of customers for information
infrastructure
(http://canada.emc.com/solutions/business-need/virtualizing-information-infrastructure/index.htm)
in VMware virtual and cloud environments according to a recent Wikibon
survey
(http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/VMware_Storage_Integration_Journey_Checkpoint),
today announced that it has shattered the performance limits it
previously set for storage throughput and bandwidth in a VMware vSphere®
5 environment. With performance and scalability parameters now stretched
out even further, EMC is accelerating customers’ journey to the cloud
by removing potential performance-oriented barriers for organizations as
they virtualize their mission-critical applications.

Performance testing of an EMC® Symmetrix® VMAX® storage system with
VMware vSphere 5 achieved in excess of 1,000,000 input/output operations
per second (IOPS), which is three times the previous ceiling of 364,000
IOPS achieved by utilizing three EMC CLARiiON CX4 storage systems with
VMware vSphere 4. The Symmetrix VMAX system was configured with eight
engines and 960 disk drives. The testing showed that at peak load the
Symmetrix VMAX was able to support a VM-level response time of two
milliseconds and illustrated the ability of both VMware vSphere 5 and
the Symmetrix VMAX to leverage the scaling and performance of the latest
Intel Xeon processors and powerful Emulex Lightpulse Host Bus Adapters.
With this new storage performance level, organizations can now
confidently virtualize even
 their largest online transaction processing
(OLTP) applications, with the most stringent workloads and lowest
latency service level agreements at a lower cost while gaining greater
agility than in a traditional physical environment.

Bandwidth testing of a single EMC VNX™ unified storage system with
VMware vSphere 5 achieved a workload of 10GBps, over 3.5 times more than
the previous VMware vSphere limit which required three EMC CLARiiON CX4
arrays, illustrating the power of a VNX system. The test also highlights
the bandwidth, performance, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness of
converged storage networks – and the new VMware vSphere 5 software
FCoE initiator coupled with the Intel x520 network interface. The most
extreme bandwidth workloads including Big Data analytics, data
warehousing and media, can be virtualized on the latest technologies
from EMC and VMware and gain lower costs and greater agility than a
physical approach.

EMC offers
(http://canada.emc.com/about/news/press/2011/20110712-01.htm)
broad technology support and the industry’s most comprehensive
integration with VMware vSphere 5 and cloud infrastructure suite. The
combination of EMC’s industry-leading products, solutions and services
with VMware virtualization and cloud infrastructure technologies
accelerates the customer journey to the cloud – lowering IT costs and
improving business agility.

“VMware and EMC are committed to delivering high-performance
solutions that can easily handle the most demanding workloads,” said
Hatem Naguib, Vice President, Alliances, VMware. “EMC storage systems
are designed to take advantage of the significant performance and
bandwidth improvements in the new VMware vSphere® 5, enabling customers
to virtualize their business-critical applications with confidence.”

“The performance benchmark pushes the limits of scalability in
virtual and cloud environments. Customers can now confidently virtualize
even their most demanding mission critical applications knowing that
their investments in EMC and VMware vSphere® infrastructure will be able
to grow with them,” said EMC’s Chad Sakac, Vice President, VMware
Technical Alliance.

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, Symmetrix, VMAX, VNX, and CLARiiON are trademarks or registered
trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other trademarks used are the
property of their respective owners.

VMware and VMware vSphere are registered trademarks and/or trademarks
of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. The use
of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal
partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.


If you do not wish to receive news releases from EMC Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.

Toronto Region ICT Innovation Ecosystem Ready For R&D Investment

Toronto Region ICT Innovation Ecosystem Ready For R&D Investment  

 
   

Friday, September 02, 2011:  The Toronto Region is Canada's largest information and communications technology (ICT) cluster and one of the top four in North America according to a new report published by the Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA). Information and Communications Technology in the Toronto Region is the first in a series of regional innovation cluster reports designed to highlight the strengths of key research-intensive sectors in which the Toronto Region has a particular advantage.

“This report is the first comprehensive summary of the Toronto Region‟s ICT cluster that focuses on the three pillars that drive innovation – industry, academic and research activity. These findings identify the advantages of the Toronto Region when it comes to attracting foreign investment in ICT-related research and development,” says Patrick Draper, president and CEO, TRRA.


“The McGuinty government recognizes the importance of the digital media and ICT sector,” said Glen Murray, Minister of Research and Innovation. “By investing in and supporting both large research institutions and small start-ups, we‟re helping to ensure that our best ideas and innovations continue to flourish in Toronto and across Ontario.”

With a population of 7.4 million, the Toronto Region is the fourth largest urban centre in North America. The broad geographic area is anchored by the City of Toronto and surrounding regions of GTA, Guelph, Hamilton and Waterloo. The ICT report highlights the region‟s current strengths, including:
 Industry: At $54 billion in estimated revenue, the ICT sector is a key economic driver in the region. The sector consists of 13,000 companies (35% of the Canadian total), and the third-largest number in North America after New York and Los Angeles. There are 125,000 people employed in ICT-related jobs, the fourth-largest number in North America after New York Washington and San Francisco. The average salaries for typical ICT jobs in the Toronto Region are lower than comparable ICT clusters in North America.

 Academic: The region‟s eight universities and nine colleges offer more than 100 ICT and engineering programs and produce 8,000 graduates annually. The University of Toronto and University of Waterloo are recognized among the top universities in the world for ICT and engineering (ranked 14th and 39th respectively); their tuition costs are significantly lower than similarly ranked US universities.  Research: In the last decade, Toronto Region universities received $333 million (30% of national total) of ICT-related research funding from national granting councils. One-third (37) of the country‟s Canada Research Chairs in ICT are based in the region. The Toronto Region is one of only four regions in the world, along with Boston, Tokyo and London, to rank in the top 10 for number of ICT-related publications and citation impact. The region‟s patent output increased faster than the world average and is among the top 10 global regions (2001-2010).

Markham-based IBM Canada has a long-standing presence in the Toronto Region and recognizes the advantages the region offers in this highly-competitive global economy.

”The Toronto Region‟s large and productive concentration of research and development talent serves as a portal to global markets and institutions,” said Bruce Ross, president, IBM Canada Ltd. “This innovation investment will be critical to helping improve Canada‟s productivity and competitiveness in the 21st Century.”

With its robust industry presence, competitive cost structure, educated workforce and R&D excellence, the ICT cluster is well-positioned for future growth:
 Canada‟s privacy policy favours the growing cloud computing sector (as does the colder climate).
 Industry giant Research in Motion and numerous fast-growing start-up companies are fuelling the growth of the mobile sector.
 With exceptional talent in film, animation, visual effects and video gaming, the digital media sector can build on its reputation as „Hollywood North‟.
 Green ICT has the potential to develop innovative technology solutions to help achieve sustainable development goals and support Ontario‟s green economy.

“A tradition of innovation, a strong and diverse cluster and a fertile environment for future growth make the Toronto Region an ideal destination for R&D investment in ICT,” says Draper.