VISUALIZATION

EMC Corporation and Acxiom Corporation today announced a technology and distribution partnership combining Acxiom's industry-leading grid technology with EMC's portfolio of industry-leading storage, information management and resource management solutions to help customers take advantage of a more scaleable, flexible grid-based information infrastructure. EMC has also acquired Acxiom's information grid software for an aggregate $30 million, which was initially developed to meet the information management and time-to-market needs of Acxiom and its clients. Under the terms of the agreement, EMC and Acxiom will jointly develop and market an information grid solution to customers as a hosted offering from Acxiom. Additionally, EMC has purchased information grid software from Acxiom, and over time, EMC and Acxiom plan to integrate relevant systems, software, services and data from both companies into a complete product-based information grid solution for customers to deploy within their own enterprise. As a key component of next generation information infrastructure, grid technology enables customers to improve compute utilization, enhance information access and workflow, optimize distributed information access, and deliver faster time-to-results. Acxiom will continue to have access to the information grid software and further developments for Acxiom’s continued use in connection with its business. Jeff Nick, EMC Chief Technology Officer said, "Information continues to grow at staggering rates. For many organizations, innovation and competitive advantage are locked inside this wealth of data – from internal sources on customers and prospects, to external sources on demographics and purchasing habits, to supply chain data. We've been evaluating grid software for some time and found Acxiom's grid solution to be by far the most advanced. Together, Acxiom and EMC will provide customers with the industry's most complete, grid-based information infrastructure for information-intensive applications." "The world of computing has changed dramatically," said Charles Morgan, Acxiom's Chairman and Company Leader. "By combining EMC's proven track record of innovation and market reach with our established business intelligence leadership, we will be able to deliver a configurable, scalable platform in a single location where services and data content can be manipulated, stored and made available to information-centric applications."