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