Forum and Initiative Membership Opportunities

Cloud Storage Initiative

The mission of the SNIA Cloud Storage Initiative (CSI) is to foster the growth and success of the market for what is generally referred to as cloud storage and more generally the use of data storage resources and services in the Cloud.

The CSI will also engage in cross-industry collaboration activities with relevant industry associations and standards development groups to further develop and promote all facets of Cloud services and standards along with Cloud Storage (e.g. compute, security, best practices).

The CSI will adopt and support work items of the Cloud Storage TWG including:
• Providing external advocacy and support of the Cloud Storage TWG
• Elevating the collaboration and underwriting of certain technical resources for the Cloud Storage TWG
• Performing interoperability plug-fests (cloud fests) as necessary in support of standards development.

Data Protection Capacity and Optimization Committee

The SNIA Data Protection and Capacity Optimization (DPCO) Committee was created to foster the growth and success of the market for data protection and capacity optimization technologies.

Data protection means assurance that data is usable and accessible for authorized purposes only, with acceptable performance, and in compliance with applicable requirements. Capacity optimization refers to methods which reduce the consumption of space require to store a data set and its scope and is not limited to secondary storage.

The goals of the DPCO are:
• Educate the vendor and user communities about data protection and efficient data storage technologies
• Perform market outreach that highlights the benefits of relevant technologies and document implementation considerations and best practices
• Advocacy and support of technical work associated with data protection and capacity optimization

Ethernet Storage Forum

The SNIA Ethernet Storage Forum (ESF) is a marketing organization within the SNIA focused on driving the broad adoption of Ethernet-connected storage networking solutions by:
• Providing an industry focus on Ethernet-connected storage networking technologies and solutions
• Creating vendor neutral education material for IT professionals
• Driving market awareness and positioning of the various Ethernet storage technologies
• Providing industry experts and thought leadership on Ethernet-connected storage networking technologies
• Leveraging SNIA and industry events, activities, and end-user outreach programs around the globe

The ESF has created Special Interest Groups (SIGs), each focused on a specific technology whose goals are to create and maintain a marketing plan related to their area of focus, create content, and provide subject-matter experts to promote and market their technology. Today, the Ethernet Storage Forum has two Special Interest Groups: the iSCSI SIG and the NFS SIG.

Green Storage Initiative

SNIA’s Green Storage Initiative (GSI) is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and conservation in all networked storage technologies in an effort to minimize the environmental impact of data storage operations.

Working collaboratively, the GSI and the Green TWG (Technical Work Group) are focused on:
• Delivering green storage metrics
• Providing technical recommendations regarding benchmarks for analyzing the impact of storage on the environment
• Educating about the importance of power conservation in shared storage environments
• Formulating and publicizing best practices for energy-efficient storage networking
• Promoting storage-centric applications that reduce the storage footprint and associated power requirements

Solid State Storage Initiative

The SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative (SSSI) fosters the growth and success of solid state storage in commercial and consumer environments.

The SSSI focuses on:
• Providing authoritative information on solid state storage
• Educating the vendor and user communities about solid state storage
• Performing market outreach that accurately highlights the advantages of solid state storage
• Guiding and pursuing standards for solid state storage
• Collaborating with other industry associations related to the success of solid state storage
• Enabling worldwide adoption of solid state storage

Storage Management Initiative

The Storage Management Initiative (SMI) oversees and drives the development of a standardized
and interoperable storage management interface known as the Storage Management Initiative
Specification (SMI-S)

The Initiative’s standards promote:
• End user storage management solutions that are implementable, deployable and verifiable
• Vendor solutions that create return on investment for the entire industry
• Interoperability, communication, and best practices in the storage network
• Cost-effective approaches that consider maturation and vendor development variation

Storage Security Industry Forum

The SNIA Storage Security Industry Forum (SSIF) is a consortium of storage professionals, security
professionals, security practitioners, and academics.

The SSIF is focused on:
• Providing data and information security expertise
• Contributing to a better understanding of information assurance and how it applies in IT operations
• Influencing the design, use, and management of storage technology to better protect and secure information

Auditors, educators, and IT practitioners implementing security practices throughout the world are encouraged to engage the SSIF and participate in education and outreach activities.