INDUSTRY

To help speed development and adoption of a next generation data center architecture, Oracle today announced it is working with Dell, Intel and their Linux partners to roll out a global education and information campaign slated to begin in January 2005. The technology leaders will collaborate with Linux partners Red Hat and Novell to sponsor half-day seminars designed to educate IT managers and architects from medium and large companies on how to design, build and maintain the modern data center. The Architecture of the Future program will begin with events in 14 cities -- six in North America, four in Europe and four in Asia Pacific -- and will feature presentations by top executives from the participating companies. "Data centers are just now beginning to move into the next stage of the Information Age," said Charles Phillips, Oracle President. "Through these collaborative seminars, customers can leverage and benefit from the collective expertise of the best thinking in the industry." The data centers of the future will include high performance processors, Linux, grid computing and service-oriented applications all designed to make them faster, more reliable and much more efficient. The joint program is designed to help the businesses of today prepare for and benefit from the modern data center. Enhanced processing power and low-cost storage based on Intel building blocks and Dell-Oracle database and application server system bundles already are available, a first stage for building the modern data center. "These seminars will be a great opportunity for IT managers to learn about the latest standardized data center technologies and how to integrate them into their business infrastructure," said Linda York, vice president of worldwide marketing at Dell. "It is an important forum for technology leaders and customers to align visions and requirements that can result in blueprints for the future." "We are pleased to be working together with Oracle and Dell to transform the modern data center with 64-bit Intel and Xeon processor-based platforms," said Deborah Conrad, vice president, Solutions Market Development Group, Intel Corporation. "We believe that together, we deliver significant technical and business value to the end-user, helping their business thrive."