EMC, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, and NIIT, Asia’s largest IT trainer, today announced a global alliance to address the emerging knowledge gap in the global storage technology and develop a resource base of trained and certified information storage professionals. Through this strategic partnership, NIIT and EMC will offer advanced level of education and certification on storage technologies in India and 31 other countries worldwide, where NIIT has its network of education centres. This will be the first such global alliance signed by EMC.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by Tom Clancy, Vice President, Education Services and Productivity, EMC Corporation and G. Raghavan, President, NIIT’s Individual Learning Business, in the presence of Vijay K. Thadani, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT and Manoj Chugh, Country Manager, EMC India and SAARC.

Under this initiative, EMC and NIIT will offer product-agnostic storage technology training and certification to NIIT students and professionals, globally. EMC will offer the latest tools, technical resources and open curricula on emerging storage technologies while NIIT will leverage its rich expertise and inherent strength in Instructional Design and Education Delivery, through its large network of Education centres across the globe.

Commenting on the relevance of the program Tom Clancy, Vice President, Education Services and Productivity, EMC Corporation, said, “Information storage and management is among the top concern areas for organizations globally. Rapid information growth; multiple storage technologies and solutions; and regulatory compliance pressures have further increased storage complexity. As a leader in information infrastructure technology, EMC is committed to help the industry and academia bridge the emerging storage technology knowledge gap. Our partnership with NIIT will help make a significant impact in building a technically superior workforce, both within the academic community, as well as among IT professionals.”

According to a recent IDC study titled ‘The Expanding Digital Universe: A Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2010’, information will grow at a CAGR of 57% between 2006 and 2010 and in non-Japan Asia Pacific markets it will grow 30 to 40% faster than the mature economies.* As per industry estimates, the booming information market is expected to create a demand of 1 million new storage professionals by 2012 globally.

Speaking at the press conference, NIIT CEO Vijay K. Thadani, said, “Excellence in Information and Storage Management is very crucial in supporting the growing IT industry. NIIT’s global partnership with EMC will enable prepare thousands of professionals to fulfil the ever increasing demand for talent in this area, worldwide”.

Commenting on the India significance of this partnership, Manoj Chugh, Country Manager, EMC India and SAARC, said, “India is among the fastest growth markets for information storage in Asia Pacific but skills shortage could negatively impact the growth. This partnership will help create a proficient storage workforce to meet the growing needs of our customers, partners and industry at large. Additionally a specialization in this emerging discipline will provide a competitive edge to technology professionals both in the Indian and global markets.”

Initially, NIIT will offer the new storage program under its ‘Edgeineers Series’ aimed at engineering students and working professionals. The courses will be mapped to international certifications in this field—EMCSTA, EMCST and EMCSTe. These courses will also be incorporated into NIIT’s career programs such as NetworkLABS, in due course. In India, the programs will be made available at 50 NIIT centres, in the first phase. The programs will also be available in 31 other countries where NIIT has its network of education centres.

As a part of the partnership, NIIT and EMC will soon undertake a joint exercise to educate technology professionals, IT career aspirants and industry at large on the benefits of new skill sets. The storage curriculum offered will be product agnostic and will enable learners to work in a heterogeneous, multi-vendor IT and storage technology environment.

* The full study is available for download at http://www.emc.com/about/destination/digital_universe/index.jsp?hpid=1

Background Note for Editors

Global Scenario: According to an IDC study titled ‘The Expanding Digital Universe: A Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2010’, information will grow at a CAGR of 57% between 2006 and 2010 and the growth in non-Japan APAC will be 30 to 40% faster than the mature economies.

Storage Manpower trends: As per industry estimates the booming information market is expected to create a demand of 1 million new storage professionals by 2012. According to an IDC paper titled Storage complexity: Addressing the Storage Skills Gap Organizations that have until recently supported only 250 TB of storage capacity are now managing 500 TB of storage capacity, with only a small increase in their staff size. The role of storage professionals is becoming far more complex including a need to understand a wide array of technologies, vendor solutions and compliance techniques. Storage professionals who are spending a significant portion of their work hours on networking, management, or support activities need to gain relevant skills. Other IT professionals also need to have the requisite storage knowledge due to the emerging industry requirements.

Highlights of the EMC-NIIT alliance:

• First of its kind global alliance to bring specialised product agnostic training programs in information storage and management.

• Uniquely positioned as the largest institutional tie-up, the programs will be rolled out across NIIT education centres, worldwide, starting with 50 centres in India in the first phase.

• Programs will be offered in 31 other countries where NIIT has its network of education centres.

• In addition, NIIT will be EMC’s global partner in its academic initiatives.