Technology Center Operates as the Global Hub for Industry-wide Standards Development, Interoperability Testing and IT Professional Training
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (February 10, 2010) - The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced the opening of a new Technology Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.. The new facility, which will have more than 8,600 square feet of data center, computer lab, office, classroom and meeting space, has relocated to the LSI Corporation campus in ArrowsWest after nine years at the HP complex in Colorado Springs Technology Park. Having hosted approximately 4,000 computer engineers, technicians and IT professionals who have participated in more than 500 technical standards development, interoperability testing, and education activities, the SNIA Technology Center has been and will continue to be the home of the Association's industry-wide technical innovation and professional education.
"We are very proud of the industry milestones and accomplishments our Technology Center has enabled and want to thank HP for their partnership, leadership, generosity and support over the last nine years," said Wayne M. Adams, Chair of the SNIA. "As we enter 2010, the $60B storage industry continues to evolve and the new SNIA Technology Center will serve our core mission to advance data management and storage networks. We enthusiastically retained Colorado Springs as the ideal location for our Technology Center due to its deep regional talent pool and strong technical, business, government and educational communities. We look forward to continuing to bring the worldwide storage and data management industry together in this LSI Corporation facility."
"Colorado Springs is delighted to be home to SNIA and the new SNIA Technology Center," commented Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera. "The region's technology base is a major component of our local economy. SNIA's presence and its global reach goes a long way in highlighting the significance of this sector in the Pikes Peak Region."
The new SNIA Technology Center will serve as the Association's virtual and in-person "sandbox" for the industry to advance data management and networked storage programs utilizing a modern facility and infrastructure. Several of the technology programs housed at the facility address energy efficiency, storage management, standards conformance, data archiving and cloud computing. Additionally, the SNIA will deliver scheduled and on-demand specialized educational programs while continuing to host Colorado Front Range professional IT society meetings and has space available for strategic IT and standards projects.
Vic Mahadevan, vice president of marketing and product management, Engenio® Storage Group, LSI Corporation, added, "LSI is excited about the opportunity to host the new SNIA Technology Center at our state-of-the-art facility in Colorado Springs. As a SNIA member since its inception and a long-standing holder of a seat on the board of directors, we have observed the value that a collaborative, vendor-agnostic technology center has delivered to the industry and we look forward to being a key contributor to the SNIA's continued efforts to advance storage networking solutions."
For the past nine years, HP's facilities have housed the SNIA Technology Center in which SNIA along with its partners and organization members have delivered programs including international IT standards and best practices aimed at storage security, environmental efficiency, interoperability and software development. The Technology Center's training and educational programs have transferred career-specific knowledge and technical skills to thousands of professionals who manage data center storage operations and develop storage products and technologies. The robust infrastructure was generously augmented throughout the years with several HP technology donations along with contributions from many other SNIA member companies.
ADDITIONAL SNIA TECHNOLOGY CENTER ACTIVITIES:
Green Storage: The new facility will continue to be the base camp for the Association's green storage efforts, building on its work with the ENERGY STAR program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European "Code of Conduct." As part of the Association's work to embrace green innovation, the SNIA has decreased the carbon footprint of the Technology Center by deploying virtualization technologies which have decreased the actual footprint of the data center space as well as eliminating the need to ship and transport computer hardware to a number of dispersed industry events around the world.
Storage Security: Contributing industry guidelines and industry-leading direction in areas such as eDiscovery and a "Guide to Data-at-Rest" work done at the center addressing concerns around data privacy, integrity, availability and liability. Technical work supporting this are regularly conducted at the SNIA Technology Center.
Solid State Storage: The Technology Center will be the home for vendor-neutral performance testing and benchmarking of the quickly evolving and growing solid state "flash" storage marketplace once this service is requested by the industry.
Standards and Technical Development: Industry-wide standards and technical development and testing focused on a variety of areas from interoperability to data and information management.
For more information on the new SNIA Technology Center or to inquire about hosting an event or activity at the facility, please visit www.snia.org/techcenter.
About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not-for-profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA's mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. 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 www.snia.org.
