SNIA and Training Providers Team up on Certification Process for Storage Professionals with New SNCP Curriculum; Six Training Providers Validate Curriculum to Ensure Content Aligns with SNIA Certifications.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced a new program that ensures a standardized, SNIA-validated curriculum across a variety of training providers that will better prepare storage professionals to become certified in the SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP). The first six vendors to participate are Infinity I/O U.S., Infinity I/O Ltd UK, The Institute for Software Advancement, Knowledge Transfer, Royer Systems Integration, Inc. and TSI Learning. The worldwide SNCP Curriculum Program establishes a quality benchmark that allows training providers to validate their courseware against the objectives of the SNIA SNCP, the storage industry's only vendor-neutral storage networking certification program.

"This new program will help ease the challenges of navigating the complex world of certification and training offerings for storage professionals," said Ralph Luchs, director of education for the SNIA. "Having already issued more than 1,000 certifications worldwide, we're confident this new program will help even more storage professionals reach their certification goals. Additionally, this will extend the reach of the SNIA SNCP by identifying new and existing training providers who can reach storage professionals worldwide with increasingly targeted training."

The new SNCP Curriculum Program provides a formal mechanism by which training vendors can validate compliance with SNIA SNCP objectives for their training courses. Vendor training courses are tested to be compliant with one or more of the SNIA's four credentials, including the SNIA Sales Qualification (SQSP), SNIA Storage Foundations (SCP), SNIA Storage Administration/Management (SCSE) and SNIA Storage Architect (SCA).

Adam Stone of George Washington University added, "I am an avid supporter of SNIA's Storage Networking Certification Program and plan to continue to further my skills, and ultimately my career, by gaining professional certifications. The big difference for me is that I now have a way of evaluating the many storage educational courses available and better understand that those validated by the SNIA are the ones in which I should invest my time."

Training providers who wish to participate in the curriculum program can make a formal application and submit their courseware for evaluation by independent consultants who will validate that learning objectives required for the SNIA Certification exams are met. All training providers whose courseware has been validated to meet SNIA SNCP objectives will be listed on the SNIA Web site and will be entitled to market their courseware as SNCP Curriculum, validated by the SNIA. Additionally, training provider companies who license courseware from companies already participating in the SNCP Curriculum Program can register their use of the validated courseware with the SNIA as well.

For more information on the new SNCP Curriculum Program, please visit www.snia.org/education.

About the SNIA

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of more than 460 member companies and close to 7,000 active individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share the common goal of advancing the adoption of storage networks as complete and trusted solutions. To this end, the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For additional information, visit the SNIA Web site at http://www.snia.org.