The SNIA Unveils New Education Continuum; Long-Range Strategy Expands Storage Networking Knowledge to End Users and the Industry.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced today it has established the SNIA Education Continuum to expand educational opportunities and options available to end users and the IT industry. The Education Continuum leverages the strengths and successes of SNIA Education, SNIA Education Provider members and the SNIA Technology Center to offer value to the storage networking community through:

-- Certification

-- Education framework

-- Technology Center Institute

-- Storage and networking tutorials and booklets

-- Dictionary of Storage Technology

-- Roadshows, workshops and conference sessions

Guiding all SNIA Education Continuum efforts is a vendor-neutral approach and the vision to advance the skills and knowledge of storage networking professionals by offering a depth and breadth of education opportunities. Continuum programs will help IT professionals, product managers and developers to better develop and deploy storage products through improved understanding of practices, technologies and standards.

Highlights of the SNIA Education Continuum include a new Storage Network Education Framework, based on Job Task Analysis (JTA) findings, that provides curricula guidance and a framework for training providers and vendors to develop and deliver courseware based on collective industry knowledge and experience.

A new SNIA Network Certification Program (SNCP) focuses on certifying storage professionals in concepts, standards, solutions and product knowledge domains with new credentials of SNIA Certified Professional, SNIA Certified Systems Engineer, SNIA Certified Systems Engineer Master and SNIA Certified Architect. A new Storage Network Foundations Exam, now available through Thomson Prometric, certifies that the successful candidate has knowledge of general storage network concepts and in the area of storage networking interoperability.

The launch of the SNIA Technology Center Institute offers a unique, multi-vendor, vendor-neutral education. SNIA-sanctioned curricula, content and instructors deliver offerings for implementers, managers and architects in a focused, "hands-on" approach at the SNIA Technology Center in Colorado Springs, CO. New course offerings begin in June 2004.

"We recognize the new challenges of storage networking professionals to be trained, and to continue their professional development in today's challenging business environment," said Sheila Childs, chair of the SNIA. "The organization is committed to offering a wide range of programs and deliverables to expand the knowledge of end users, resellers and the industry in storage and networking technologies."

Randy Kerns, senior partner at the Evaluator Group, said: "The SNIA Education Continuum provides a great step for industry participants to expand their educational opportunities and their careers. End users and customers in particular will be interested in many aspects of the Continuum as a way to gain hands-on experience with existing and emerging storage technologies in a vendor neutral setting. This will help them make more informed purchasing decisions, as well as be better equipped to get the most out of their storage infrastructure."

Marty LeFebvre, vice president, Technology Strategy at Nielsen Media Research and member of the SNIA End User Council Governing Board, added: "A recent SNIA End User Council survey identified the 'Top 10 Pain Points' for IT professionals. Accelerating education and certification of storage administrators, while also accelerating the adoption of standards and best practices, were recognized as important steps in meeting today's business needs. The programs of the SNIA Education Continuum offer a valuable foundation to learn about the variety of technologies and solutions available to better manage corporate data resources."

The SNIA Education Continuum represents the work of hundreds of SNIA members from the vendor, reseller, education provider and end user communities who have researched the needs of storage networking professionals to expand their knowledge and stay current in new technology advances. More information on the SNIA Education Continuum, the SNIA Education Committee, the SNIA Technology Center and the SNIA End User Council can be found at the SNIA Web site at http://www.snia.org.

About the SNIA

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit organization, made up of more than 300 companies and individuals spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA members share a common goal, to advance 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 information, visit the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org.