SAN JOSE, Calif. — June 22, 2009 — NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today announced the addition of a new, high-density network storage system to its award-winning family of ReadyNAS® products for Small- to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). The ReadyNAS 3200 is a 2U 12-bay unified storage platform that provides up to 24 terabytes in a single system.

The easy-to-use system offers high-end features such as redundant power supplies and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports at an SMB price point, enabling growing businesses to securely share, store and protect business-critical network data. With support for up to 24 TB of capacity, making it ideal for online server consolidation or backup, the ReadyNAS 3200 solves common SMB storage problems in the most efficient manner to date. Server virtualization, file sharing, disk-based backup and building first-time iSCSI SANs are natural solutions for the ReadyNAS 3200.

“With the ReadyNAS 3200, we’ve expanded the capacity and performance of rack-mount solutions in the award-winning ReadyNAS storage line to a much wider spectrum of SMB sizes,” said Drew Meyer, director of Storage Marketing for NETGEAR’s Network Storage Business Unit. “NETGEAR’s recognized leadership position in the SMB storage market makes us a trustworthy and reliable choice for end users and channel partners alike. With the ReadyNAS 3200, we are augmenting our line of storage solutions that provide the high-end features of other, more expensive rack-mount products with the ease-of-use and price point that match the resources of a growing SMB.”

The ReadyNAS 3200 combines the award-winning features of the other ReadyNAS for Business products, including the recently launched ReadyNAS 2100 1U rack-mount and the ReadyNAS Pro and NVX desktop systems, with a massive capacity platform for sharing, storing and protecting SMB data (see press releases at http://www.netgear.com/About/PressReleases/en-US/2...1.aspx, and http://www.netgear.com/About/PressReleases/en-US/2009/20090406.aspx). Featuring 12 bays that enable up to 24 terabytes of NAS and iSCSI SAN capacity, the ReadyNAS 3200 easily supports up to 250 users. Standard features such as Continuous Data Protection (CDP) software for automatic client backup functionality and the ReadyNAS Remote™ drag-and-drop remote file sharing utility mean easy and effective remote site data management for harried IT managers. And the embedded ReadyNAS Vault™ service delivers an optional cloud-based backup and disaster recovery services for as little as $.25/GB/month.

“IT managers at small businesses often face storage demands large enough to require enterprise-scale solutions, but can also lack the resources to acquire or support enterprise-grade complexity,” said David Reinsel, group vice president of storage and semiconductors at IDC. “The ReadyNAS line offers a unique combination of simplicity and flexibility with the protective redundancy and high-performance feature set typically found on more expensive models. The high density and rack-mount form factor of the ReadyNAS 3200 should have strong appeal to midsize organizations seeking an affordable solution.”

The ReadyNAS 3200 leverages the highly efficient ReadyNAS RAIDiator™ operating system. The RAIDiator operating system supports the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), enabling native Mac® files to be used without restrictions or limitations, as well as Time Machine® in Mac OS X Leopard. The ReadyNAS 3200 also offers support for file services (NAS) and application services (iSCSI) for Windows®, UNIX®/Linux and Mac systems.

The ReadyNAS 3200 can come equipped with 6TB, 12TB and 24TB of storage capacity. The solution is available immediately from CDW and can be purchased from NETGEAR’s other PowerShift Partners as of late July, at an estimated U.S. street price starting at $4,999. ReadyNAS Vault is included as a 30-day trial of pre-paid and annual capacity plans. ReadyNAS systems come with full 24/7 technical support and an industry-leading five-year warranty. More information for the entire ReadyNAS product line can be viewed at http://www.readynas.com.

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 10, 2009 - HP today launched the HP Extreme Scale-Out (ExSO) portfolio designed to deliver a new magnitude of cost and resource savings for businesses involved in Web 2.0, cloud and high-performance computing.

Companies with “scale-out” business models such as these, which operate with thousands of servers, are pushing the limits of current technology solutions. The HP ExSO portfolio, which includes a new lightweight, super-efficient, modular systems architecture and spans data center solutions, services and support, helps these customers reduce costs, improve facility efficiency and dramatically accelerate time to market on a massive scale. The portfolio enables these customers to save more than $152.8 million in reduced capital expenditures and $13.7 million in energy costs.⁽¹⁾

At the core of the HP ExSO portfolio is the HP ProLiant SL server family, which uses a “skinless” systems architecture that replaces the traditional chassis and rack form factors with an extremely lightweight rail and tray design. As a result, customers can dramatically reduce capital, facilities and shipping costs while using a fraction of the space normally required in a data center. Additionally, its ultra-efficient, modular design enables customers to quickly and easily build solutions that meet extreme scale-out workload requirements.

With the HP ProLiant SL portfolio, customers can cut acquisition costs by 10 percent and power draw by 28 percent, while doubling their compute density.⁽²⁾

“Customers with scale-out business models need solutions that make every dollar, watt and square foot in the data center count,” said Christine Reischl, senior vice president and general manager, Industry Standard Servers, HP. “The HP ProLiant SL offers pioneering customers like these the most significant design innovation since the blade form factor, allowing them to achieve an economy of scale never before possible.”

Purpose-built server infrastructure for extreme scale

The HP ProLiant SL server family offers a breakthrough in server architecture designed specifically for extreme-scale environments. The solution offers customers the following benefits:

• Exceptional energy savings – consolidated power and cooling infrastructure and unique air flow design uses 28 percent less power per server than traditional rack-based servers. This can result in a savings of $4.1 million a year in energy costs.⁽²⁾ Overall, the system uses 52,000 fewer megawatts per year, which is enough energy savings to power more than 4,600 average U.S. households for a year.⁽³⁾
• Ultra-lightweight design – reductions in the metal used in the ProLiant SL servers decrease weight by 31 percent.⁽⁴⁾ This dramatically reduces shipping costs, data center floor support requirements and overall facility construction costs. It also eliminates 838.5 tons of server hardware, or the equivalent of nearly four and a half Boeing 747 jets, from a scale-out data center.⁽⁵⁾
• Modular configurations – provide rapid installation and deployment through swappable “compute trays.” The new compute architecture delivers double the density⁽⁶⁾ with up to 672 processor cores and 10 terabytes of capacity per 42U rack. Built on industry standards, the servers allow customers to easily mix and match storage and compute components to meet the requirements of their applications.
• Reduced cost-to-scale – volume packaging significantly reduces acquisition costs for customers who require thousands of server nodes. This adds up to a total savings in capital expenditure of $14.5 million in a scale-out data center.⁽⁷⁾

“Businesses built on extreme scale-out environments, such as cloud, Web 2.0 and HPC, operate at maximum transaction volume and low margins,” said Michelle Bailey, research vice president, IDC. “These customers have very distinct and unique data center requirements, specifically around energy efficiency, cost and time to market. The introduction of technology solutions such as the ExSO portfolio from HP are specifically addressing customer requirements for optimizing capitol expenditures while lowering ongoing operating costs. As a result, these solutions are helping to redefine data center economics.”

Delivering the intelligent ExSO data center

To further maximize cost savings for scale-out environments, customers need tools that provide a higher level of visibility into and control of facilities operations. The HP Data Center Environmental Edge solution offers a complete visual mapping of environmental variables so customers can quickly identify and take action on data center inefficiencies. This results in an additional energy cost savings of up to $2.4 million per year and a return on investment within 12 months.⁽⁸⁾

HP Data Center Environmental Edge uses a system of wireless sensors placed throughout a data center to monitor a variety of variables, such as temperature, humidity, air pressure and power utilization. The system provides real-time visualization of environmental variables so administrators can perform root cause analysis to eliminate excess operational costs.

Specialized engagement, delivery model and services

Additional new services for ExSO environments provide customers with a customized engagement experience through their entire technology lifecycle. Packaged ExSO services include scheduled on-site repair options, on-site seed inventory of parts and installation services specifically designed for environments that support thousands of servers. These services can be customized to match customer needs.

In addition, the company’s leasing and lifecycle asset management services subsidiary, HP Financial Services, helps customers expand or renew their IT infrastructures with the entire line of ExSO offerings through flexible leasing and financing solutions.

HP’s existing scale-out computing portfolio includes the HP ProLiant DL1000 Multi Node servers, introduced on June 2, the HP POD (Performance Optimized Datacenter), HP StorageWorks 9100 Extreme Data Storage System and the HP ProLiant 2×220c double-density blade server introduced last year.

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/extremescaleout.

Version: 1.0

This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for June 2009.

With the release of the bulletins for June 2009, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued June 4, 2009. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification.

For information about how to receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft security bulletins are issued, visit Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.

Microsoft is hosting a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on June 10, 2009, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the June Security Bulletin Webcast. After this date, this webcast is available on-demand. For more information, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Summaries and Webcasts.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin...n.mspx

SOMERS, N.Y. - 21 May 2009: IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced that it is delivering new solid-state offerings across its hardware platforms using new smart data management software to enable customers to dramatically improve response times on Solid State Drives (SSDs), while also helping to reduce costs. Based on IBM’s testing, the new offerings can improve performance by up to 800%, while also reducing the physical footprint of the amount of storage needed by approximately 80%, and energy consumption by up to 90%.

Solid-state drives uses Flash technology, similar to that used in MP3 players, but on a more advanced and larger scale. As it has no moving parts, or spinning disks, such as used in traditional storage, solid-state storage technology can conduct up to 20,000 transfers per second compared to one hard drive disk at approximately 200 data transfers per second. IBM is unveiling a more targeted approach than other solid state drive hardware vendors to implement flash technology by leveraging and integrating IBM’s hardware, software and research expertise.

IBM’s solid-state lineup includes a suite of enhanced software tools that enable customers to migrate, monitor and dynamically place data on SSDs to maximize value. For example, smart data placement through IBM Data Facility Storage Management Subsystem (DFSMS) provides for targeted data placement on SSDs in an IBM zSeries and DS8000 environment. In another example for Power systems, IBM’s most recent product line to incorporate SSDs, IBM provides SSD Data Balancer software tools that allow a system administrator to move frequently accessed, or hot data, to SSDs, while moving cold data to traditional hard drives. This approach recognizes that most customers will have a hybrid environment using both SSDs and traditional disks.

This capability is vital to information-intensive industries, enabling faster credit checks, real-time financial analytics and enhanced fraud detection with a dramatic improved performance by up to 800% on IBM’s DB2 database software. IBM today also announced an expansion of solid-state drives to include Power systems, joining IBM’s System x servers, as well as its System Storage DS8000 devices, as offering SSDs.

Using the new technology, IBM can help clients manage and analyze critical business information dramatically faster while reducing costs:

• A banking institution running on the System Storage DS8000, DB2 for zOS and SAP, can improve their business performance by more than 30% and reduced their physical storage footprint by 60% and thereby reducing their energy consumption by more than 70%. Improved performance and reduced costs in energy can shift the focus on the company’s information and generating a new of intelligence to anticipate new customers’ demands.
• Airline reservation, ticketing or stock trading systems depend heavily on ultra fast online transaction processing (OLTP) to respond quickly to their customers. The data transfer wait time for SSDs was reduced by 3x compared to HHDs, which is critical to help support peak periods experienced by companies that conduct the majority of their business online.

  IBM Expands SSDs on Power

  IBM today announced its newest product line to support solid state with new energy-efficient solid state drives for its Power Systems servers, offering faster I/O response rates than traditional disk drives to help clients optimize cost, performance and energy savings. Unlike traditional hard disk drives which are often run at 50 percent or less of their storage capacity to help maintain consistent performance, SSDs on Power can be run much closer to 100 percent storage capacity and still provide excellent performance. The new drives will be supported on all POWER6 systems, from Blades to enterprise servers.

  New Solid State Offerings on System x

  In 2007, IBM’s BladeCenter family of x86 servers became the first blades in the industry with SSD options with availability of two 15.8GB, two-watt drives that offer low-power requirements and high reliability. The dual-drive version offers disk-mirroring capability in the space of a single 2.5-inch HDD bay. IBM is now adding to its System x lineup of diskless drive options with new SATA-style SSDs. BladeCenter was updated with new 2.1 watt, 50GB SSD in a 2.5-inch disk package. A 50GB drive, designed for higher I/O performance, is available in either a 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch form factor for blades and System x rack and tower servers. The SSDs support Windows, Linux, and ESX Server, VMware’s hypervisor.

  SSD on the System Storage DS8000

  Solid-state drives on its System Storage DS8000 can help customers decrease back-end drive response times significantly, which is critical in offering solid state drive benefits for distinct application workloads. Since solid-state drives have no moving parts, they consume less energy to operate than spinning drives, helping customers better control data center costs. This combination is critical for organization looking to manage their storage environment more effectively by matching specific application needs with the appropriate storage tier. IBM also invested in integrating DS8000 with servers and system software to maximize the performance benefit of SSDs. The integrated solution will enable customers to optimize the hybrid environment with SSDs and HDDs.

  For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com/storage.

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 12, 2009 - HP today announced a first-of-its-kind server-based solution designed to dramatically speed business transactions within the SAP NetWeaver® Process Integration (SAP NetWeaver PI) technology.

By speeding the mapping of XML messages sized from 7 to 15 megabytes, the new HP XML Accelerator can be a key element of success for retailers, manufacturers and other enterprises in high-transaction industries. For customers such as these, the rapid processing of business transactions is critical to driving supply-chain efficiencies and improving customer satisfaction.

As the industry’s only server-based XML accelerator designed to support SAP® solution-based landscapes, the new HP Extensible Markup Language (XML) Accelerator for use with SAP NetWeaver PI creates a more efficient, high-performance business process. It does this by significantly speeding up the execution of mapping programs within SAP NetWeaver PI, and, as a result, the latency is reduced, driving faster business value.

For example, the HP XML Accelerator can help large transportation companies from slowing their conveyer belts as it allows the associated data collection to keep up with the activities. The solution also can speed customer activation for telecommunications providers. The improvements in both scenarios are accomplished by the faster processing of XML transactions associated with business processes.

The HP solution lowers technology costs from the data center to the supply chain by delivering up to a 700 percent improvement in latency, or the length of time it takes to process a single XML message.
It also provides up to a 400 percent increase in throughput, or the volume of messages processed.

This improved, predictable performance allows customers to better handle high volume and large messages. As a result, new high-value SAP solution-based projects can be implemented quickly to increase efficiencies.

For example, food and beverage companies can deploy new applications such as smart vending machines, Internet-enabled vending units that can save the companies money on servicing their machines by reducing costs associated with fuel, repairs, inventory and transportation. Alternatively, utility companies can handle the increased XML traffic from smart metering, which improves efficiency and service by reading meters several times a day rather than once a month.

“SAP customers initiating new business processes or applications require accelerated deployment of SAP NetWeaver PI,” said Ralf Lindenlaub, senior director, SAP NetWeaver Platform Services, Center of Excellence, SAP AG. “Working closely with HP, we’ve found that the HP XML Accelerator for use with SAP NetWeaver PI enhances business process communication.”

The HP XML Accelerator includes an HP ProLiant DL580 server running SuSE Linux integrated with a LSI™ Networking Tarari® Content Processor, a dedicated XML acceleration technology. Management software and tools to configure the XML landscape are included to increase the velocity of information communicated between the SAP application and other applications. Built-in HP runtime mapper and HP XML converter software modules automate the XML communications process.

More information on the HP XML Accelerator for use with SAP NetWeaver PI is available atwww.hp.com/go/SAP/xmlaccelerator.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. » 5/7/2009 » Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) today announced new advanced certifications targeted at engineers and architects specializing in advanced virtualization solutions. A hot growth area, virtualization technologies help enterprises become more agile, reduce costs and deliver optimal service levels. The updated certifications are Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE) for Virtualization and Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) for Virtualization.

As enterprises continue to build out their virtualization strategies, they are requiring IT professionals at all levels to have top skills to support this growth. According to a recent article in Virtualization Review, Dice.com reported that the number of jobs for general virtualization skills advertised from January 2008 through the first week of November 2008 increased by 37 percent, when during the same period the total job count was down 12 percent.  The new certifications from Citrix are more relevant than ever and will allow qualified professionals to validate their skill sets, which is especially important in today’s competitive job market. The current CCEA and CCIA have been recognized year after year as top-earning IT certifications, and recently earned two spots in Foote Partners’ debut Hot List of top certified skills.

The new CCEE and CCIA expand on the foundation of administrator-level certifications already built to provide IT professionals looking to develop their career in virtualization with a clear certification path.

“While developing the content and requirements for the new CCEE and CCIA certifications, we took great care in ensuring they reflected today’s environment and job roles by doing a lot of listening,” said Julieann Scalisi, managing director of Worldwide Education for Citrix. “First, we needed to ensure that we understood what was most important in terms of the skills needed to be successful.  Then, we built the testing of those skills into the certification requirements for each track in a way that was true to the job role and all of its challenges. It was also important to us that we recognize the skills of our existing base of advanced certificants, and make it easier for them to update their certifications. As expected, when we shared our new update plans with our advanced certificants, we received extremely positive reactions.”

Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE) for Virtualization
The CCEE offers seasoned IT professionals the opportunity to develop and validate their operational planning skills with their tactical design expertise and integration know-how. In addition to proving that candidates have mastered the skills required of engineers in virtualized environments, the CCEE for Virtualization also represents breadth and depth of knowledge in its different component technologies, and its requirements are consistent with that concept. Engineers who are new to Citrix certification (i.e. do not possess a legacy Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator or CCEA certification) must pass a total of five exams: three Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) entry level exams focused on application, desktop and server virtualization; one advanced application virtualization exam; and one final exam covering integration of end-to-end virtualization solutions.  

Although the final CCEE for Virtualization exam will be available at the end of September 2009, CCEE candidates can begin working towards their certification now by preparing for and taking the other required administrator-level exams which are already available.

Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) for Virtualization
The CCIA track allows IT professionals to hone real world skills, and the CCIA for Virtualization tests a range of skills used to design strategic approaches to virtualization. One integral element of being a successful CCIA is possessing the proper experience, and as such a level of real-world experience is recommended for candidates who choose to pursue this certification. Along with the proper recommended experience, in order to obtain a CCIA for Virtualization candidates must first obtain the CCEE for Virtualization certification, and then pass one final exam. The final CCIA exam will follow the release of the final CCEE exam, a key pre-requisite, with availability in Q4 2009.

Update paths, rewards for currently certified individuals
New to its certification structure, Citrix Education also announced update paths for currently certified CCEA and CCIA professionals. Individuals with these certifications do not have to pass the required Administrator-level exams.  In order to update to the CCEE, existing CCEAs need only pass the final CCEE for Virtualization exam,  whereas existing CCIA certificants will need to pass both the final CCEE and CCIA for Virtualization exams. The significant reduction in requirements recognizes that this group of individuals have proven they have the necessary administrator-level skills through previous certification.  

Due to the ever-changing IT landscape and continued product enhancements, these update options will be available for a limited time only for those holding current advanced certifications.  Upon general availability of the new CCEE and CCIA exams in Q4 2009, the date of expiration for multiple legacy CCEA and CCIA certifications will be announced.  Those who take advantage of the update path before their legacy certification expires will benefit from the time and cost savings of only taking 1-2 exams, while those who let their certifications expire without updating will be required to start from the beginning, taking all 5-6 required exams.  

In the interest of further meeting the needs of Citrix certified professionals, Citrix Education is also delivering new benefits and rewards for those who possess current Citrix certification(s).  Earlier this week at Citrix Synergy 2009, certified individuals received special recognition, discounts on registration, admittance to invitation-only events and more.

About Citrix Education
Citrix Education provides Citrix customers and partners with official training and certification programs on Citrix products, technology and best practices. Its robust training curriculum includes instructor-led, virtual instructor-led, and self-paced online courses, as well as virtual practice labs.  Industry-recognized Citrix certifications enable IT professionals at every level to prove in-demand skills necessary to build, maintain and maximize Citrix environments. For more information, go tohttp://www.citrixeducation.com.

Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for download. Feel free to grab it from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Brandon LeBlanc announced the availability of Windows Vista SP2 on the official Windows Blog:

Today we are announcing the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards. 

As we have mentioned before, here are some of the key benefits of Windows Vista SP2:

• Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
• Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology
• Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
• Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
• Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

And since it comes with a single installer for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, SP2 will be easy for IT Pros to manage, deploy, and support. For a complete overview of the changes introduced in SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, check out thenotable changes document on TechNet.

Business customers with Windows Vista will find that the transition from Windows Vista to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7. If your Windows Vista SP1 deployment is already underway we recommend you continue with SP1 as planned. Then you can deploy SP2 using your systems management infrastructure.  If you are in the early stages of deployment or still planning Windows Vista deployment our best advice is that you plan on testing and deploying Windows Vista SP2. For more, I suggest reading this blog post from Gavriella Schuster in regards to guidance on Windows deployments.

We expect Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 to be publicly available in Q2 2009.

As a quick reminder, Windows Vista SP1 Service Pack Blocker Tool is being removed today, as we announced back in January. For customers who previously had the blocker tool in place, Windows Vista SP1 will now be offered to them via Windows Update.

REDMOND, Wash. — April 28, 2009 — As part of its efforts to continually improve its products and make them more useful for customers, Microsoft periodically releases update packages known as “service packs.” Service packs deliver product updates and selected enhancements, without the complete overhaul of releasing a new version.

Today the availability of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the 2007 Microsoft Office system was announced. The service pack includes major performance enhancements for Office applications, most notably Microsoft Office Outlook, as well as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. One big benefit is SP2’s boost to interoperability — with this release, Office supports additional built-in file formats such as PDF and ODF.

PressPass talked with Jane Liles, group program manager, Office Sustained Engineering, to discuss what customers can expect from Service Pack 2, how the improvements will provide added value, and how Microsoft is increasing its commitment to interoperability.

PressPass: Why should someone download this service pack for Office 2007?

Liles: This release builds on customer feedback and offers enhanced stability for Outlook, calendaring reliability, and many more improvements to applications that run on both PCs and servers. Microsoft has also been working hard to build interoperability into its products across the board, and so Office now also includes additional file-format support, which makes it much easier for customers to work with different file formats in the same application.

PressPass: What are the main improvements that customers will notice with SP2?

Liles: Users should notice the improved performance and stability of Outlook, better charting functionality in Excel, and more control over the appearance of SmartArt graphics.

On the server side, IT professionals will notice several enhancements to the security and performance of SharePoint Server 2007, including support for read-only content databases, improvements to forms-based authentication, and an STSADM command-line utility that enables administrators to scan sites that use the variations feature for errors. SharePoint Server will also feature better support for newer versions of the Firefox browser.

Also, having a wider array of file-format choices should really benefit customers. With SP2, Office 2007 now has built-in support for Open XML, ODF and PDF, along with the dozen or so other formats that were already supported in Office 2007.

PressPass: Why did Microsoft put so much effort into supporting those other formats?

Liles: Our customers have complex needs that no single vendor can address, so we need to be collaborative with the rest of the industry and make our products as interoperable as possible. At Microsoft, our approach includes open protocols, APIs, published documentation about our implementation of document-format standards, and built-in support for the widest set of document formats in the industry. This approach allows customers to choose the best document format for the job at hand.

In addition to the support for additional file formats, SP2 also includes the Open XML Format External File Converter. This allows developers to make any third-party document format a first-class citizen in Office. This means Office will support most government-preferred formats, and can easily be made to support any others that come along.

PressPass: There has been a beta of SP2 available for a while now. What kind of feedback did you get from beta customers?

Liles: Well, first I should call out that the beta was invaluable in helping us produce this service pack. Betas give us a chance to test our engineering work with real customers to ensure we’re hitting the mark. This was the largest beta we’ve done to date for an Office service pack, with thousands of beta testers from over 60 countries spanning a variety of company sizes. So the beta gave us a unique opportunity to ensure that our changes address real customer needs, especially for key products like Outlook. Our beta testers also provided us with some excellent feedback that resulted in real improvements to the service pack code and documentation.

PressPass: People spend a lot of time with Outlook specifically. What have you done to improve that experience?

Liles: Outlook is where a large percentage of our users spend the majority of their work time. It’s critical that the application provide the experience that they expect and need to get their work done. Outlook 2007 SP2 is 26 percent faster than its predecessor on a set of common e-mail tasks and is even faster, 35 percent, with larger mailboxes. Users will experience considerable responsiveness and speed improvements on common, day-to-day operations like launching, synchronizing and searching. We were excited to be able to act on as much of the customer feedback as we did.

PressPass: Where can customers get the SP2 and additional information?

Liles: Customers can download SP2 right away. In addition, Microsoft will release SP2 via Microsoft Update’s automatic update mechanism no sooner than three months from now, and with at least 30 days notice, which aligns with our prior established policy.

BERLIN, April 20, 2009 - HP today unveiled new solutions within its Adaptive Infrastructure (AI) portfolio that fundamentally change the way technology is used to deliver business services, while also reducing overall infrastructure costs and data center complexity.⁽¹⁾

HP BladeSystem Matrix (Matrix) is the industry’s first converged software, server, storage and networking platform that automates service delivery for the data center. HP Matrix Orchestration Environment provides a unified management interface to rapidly design, deploy and optimize the application infrastructure.

Together, these offerings create an integrated pool of resources that operate in both physical and virtual environments, creating the first truly business-ready infrastructure.

This powerful combination dramatically simplifies complex infrastructure tasks such as disaster recovery, capacity planning, consolidation and provisioning. As a result, companies can save nearly 80 percent in operational costs and realize payback in as little as eight months, with a potential return on investment in three years of over 300 percent.⁽²⁾

Through a self-service portal, Matrix provides chief information officers with a push button approach to accelerating the provisioning of the infrastructure for applications. It also dynamically assigns resources to meet the needs of the business in minutes versus weeks or months. Resources are assigned to requests as needed, and then returned to the pool once the service requirements are completed, optimizing utilization of the infrastructure.

HP has introduced several additional offerings that expand the flexibility of a business-ready infrastructure including: HP LeftHand P4000 SAN solutions, HP StorageWorks SB40c with P4000 Virtual SAN Appliance Software bundle, HP StorageWorks 600 Modular Disk System and HP Insight Capacity Advisor Virtualization Services.

“Increasingly, customers are looking for data center solutions with Adaptive Infrastructure properties such as superior economics, application-based cost tracking, and true dynamic capacity management,” said Mark Potter, senior vice president, Infrastructure Software and Blades, HP. “Matrix is a game-changing, all-in-one technology that allows the infrastructure to run at the pace of the business.”

Changing the economics, simplicity and flexibility of IT

HP BladeSystem Matrix is the industry’s first all-in-one software, server, storage and networking platform that allows customers to get the benefits of a converged system without a “rip and replace” strategy for all their existing data center investments.

Benefits such as four-to-one network equipment consolidation and a 45 percent reduction in server hardware and software costs provide early return on investment.⁽¹⁾

Based on the HP BladeSystem portfolio, Matrix offers customers the benefit of the platform’s sophisticated power management. IT can use one-third less energy through HP Thermal Logic Technology and accurately capture historical power usage.⁽³⁾ Customers can reclaim up to 50 percent of previously over-provisioned data center circuit capacity.⁽³⁾

In addition, the automated workflow engine with template-based provisioning increases productivity and decreases errors by removing manual steps and facilitating coordination between technology teams, lowering service delivery time from days to minutes.

Matrix is available through HP Factory Express, the company’s customization and integration service, with on-site implementation services and project management for a seamless deployment. As business needs grow, a single Matrix environment can easily be expanded to accommodate up to 1,000 systems.

Converge everything

Matrix comes with HP’s new Virtual Connect 8Gb Fibre Channel and Flex-10 Ethernet modules. Virtual Connect Flex-10 is the industry’s first interconnect technology that can allocate the bandwidth of a 10-Gb Ethernet network port across four network interface card (NIC) connections, eliminating additional network equipment and costs. Customers deploying virtual machines and using HP Virtual Connect Flex-10 can realize savings of up to 55 percent in network equipment costs.⁽⁴⁾

HP is extending the Virtual Connect offering with several updates:

• The Virtual Connect multi-enclosure stacking feature connects four enclosures into one VC domain, reducing the number of Ethernet cables to two per rack.
• HP Virtual Connect Enterprise Manager v1.30, part of the HP Matrix Orchestration Environment, simplifies LAN and SAN connectivity management across hundreds of HP BladeSystem enclosures. The software provides a central console, enabling group-based configuration management, plus rapid assignment, movement and failover of server-to-network connections for up to 200 virtual connect domains.

HP defines the future of storage: industry standard storage

With its latest storage offerings, HP is enabling customers to harness excess capacity from any vendor, anywhere in the network, and turn it into a single pool of shared storage. Additionally, HP is delivering multiple tiers of storage on a standard platform.

• The new HP LeftHand P4000 SAN solutions offer a scale-out architecture that provides data replication and automatically balances data volumes across all storage resources. Administrators can cost-effectively deploy shared storage within virtual environments while using existing infrastructures.
• The HP StorageWorks SB40c with P4000 Virtual SAN Appliance Software bundle is the industry’s first highly available shared storage solution within a virtualized blade server infrastructure.⁽⁵⁾ The solution delivers a scalable storage SAN that can be deployed within the HP BladeSystem. It can be expanded across multiple blade enclosures to meet high-growth storage needs.
• The HP StorageWorks 600 Modular Disk System (MDS600) provides direct-attach storage (DAS) for HP BladeSystem. MDS600 enables customers to allocate any number of drives to any server at 70 percent lower cost and 230 percent more density than traditional DAS.⁽¹⁾ Storage can be allocated as needed to each blade server, with the flexibility to reconfigure quickly and easily without moving cables.

Virtualization enhanced with leading combination of services and software

HP Insight Capacity Advisor Virtualization Services help customers assess, plan and design their ideal virtual environment. This service combines years of HP virtualization expertise with HP Insight Capacity Advisor consolidation software to identify the best approach for reducing the risk of downtime, increasing responsiveness and helping maximize the return on investment of a virtualized deployment.

More information on today’s news is available in an online press kit athttp://www.hp.com/go/ConvergeEverything.