SNIA to Deliver Most Extensive Educational Program Ever at Storage Networking World Spring 2006; Tutorials, Hands-on Labs and Certification Testing Lead the Premier Storage Networking Training Opportunities.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced it will deliver its full suite of educational offerings in what will be the largest storage educational opportunity ever offered during the upcoming Storage Networking World (SNW) Spring 2006 in San Diego, Calif.

At the conference, the SNIA will deliver:

--25% more tutorials than 2005 with 44 planned

--Double the number of Storage Networking Hands-On Lab sessions

--All four SNIA Storage Networking Certification tests.

"At SNW Spring, the SNIA will highlight our commitment to education by offering professionals the opportunity to learn through our tutorials, apply their learnings in Hands-On Labs, and certify their skills, all during a single event," said Ralph Luchs, Education Director for the SNIA. "Having trained more than 11,000 professionals worldwide since the SNIA's inception, this event is a testament to our ongoing commitment to deliver the best educational opportunities to the widest array of professionals at every point in their career."

Jackson Shea, Storage Administration Technical Lead for The Regence Group, a leading health care services organization, added, "I attended last year's SNW conference, and the tutorials, certification opportunities and growing number of Hands-on-Labs are a key motivation for my return this year and in the years to come. These educational offerings provide an excellent opportunity to stay current with the constantly evolving storage industry and leading edge solutions. The knowledge I gain helps better my career and justify my continued attendance at SNW."

Learn: SNIA Tutorials

At SNW Spring, the SNIA will once again offer its SNIA Tutorials program, aimed at presenting technical and business (IT) issues in a vendor neutral format to professionals at all levels, ranging from IT or business managers to software/hardware developers.

The SNIA Tutorials, all of which are refreshed or newly developed specifically for this conference, fall into six key technology and solution tracks: Storage, Security, Data Management, Virtualization/Grid, Storage Management and Networking Technologies.

Apply: SNIA Hands-on-Labs

The SNIA Hands-On Lab Program at SNW Spring provides professionals from a variety of technical backgrounds the ability to apply their knowledge and skills. Open to SNW end user attendees only, the SNIA Hands-On Lab offers a unique agenda designed to introduce exciting new technologies in a form that will raise skill levels through one-on-one discussion and "Hands-On" experience.

Two new focus areas -- Storage Management and Zero to SAN in 120 Minutes -- have been added to this end user-praised program. The SNIA Hands-On Lab Program at SNW Spring will be offered April 4 through 6 and will focus on four key areas: IP Storage, Storage Virtualization, Storage Management, and Zero to SAN in 120 Minutes.

Verify: SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program 

Rounding out the educational opportunities at SNW Spring, the SNIA will be delivering on-site testing for all certifications available through the association's Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP).

The SNIA SNCP provides a strong foundation of vendor independent, systems-level credentials that integrate with and complement individual vendor certifications. Through evolving and enhancing the SNCP, the SNIA is establishing a uniform, international standard by which individual's knowledge and skill sets can be judged.

The certifications available at SNW Spring will include the SNIA Certified Professional (SCP), SNIA Certified Systems Engineer (SCSE), SNIA Certified Architect (SCA) and, for the first time, several of the third-party vendor certifications included in the SNIA Storage Networking Expert program. In addition, the Certification Testing center will also offer the SNIA Qualified Sales Professional (SQSP) exam. For each of these certifications and qualifications, students will be able to participate in free Certification Preparation sessions at various times throughout SNW. Finally, a Certification "Study Hall" will be offered on Wednesday afternoon, where students can ask questions directly of the Certification Instructors.

For more information on these and other SNIA Education opportunities, 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.