VISUALIZATION

HOPKINTON, MA -- EMC today announced the EMC Authorized Services Network, delivering customers a unified network of the deepest technical service talent. The new program builds on EMC's Global Services offerings and represents a community of partners that EMC has trained and determined capable of delivering customers the highest levels of service. The EMC Authorized Services Network establishes a seamless and indistinguishable extension of EMC's service delivery infrastructure. As the world continues to deploy more and more networked storage solutions, the EMC Authorized Services Network will help meet the growing customer demand for storage networking implementation services and expertise. EMC's Senior Vice President of Global Services, Joseph Walton, stated, "The storage networking market will more than double by 2005, according to IDC. Such growth indicates the extremely high customer demand for networked storage solutions. With the EMC Authorized Services Network, EMC has created a program focused on scaling storage networking services to meet these increasing levels of demand." The charter members of the EMC Authorized Service Network have undergone extensive training, and have entered into an EMC technical mentoring program. The members are also subject to ongoing customer satisfaction and performance monitoring by EMC. In turn, members are able to expand and strengthen their marketable service offerings, while customers enjoy enhanced storage networking service levels. Christine Adams, Chief Partnering Analyst at Gartner, Inc., stated, "Execution - focus, planning and process - is the top driver of successful partnerships. EMC's program is characterized by a deep understanding of the necessary elements to deliver a comprehensive, sustainable services partner program." Each partner in the services network is assigned a dedicated relationship manager from EMC. The relationship manager ensures that EMC Authorized Services Network members receive the resources, training, and tools necessary to meet customers' diverse storage networking service requirements. Relationship managers serve as the partners' conduit into EMC to develop, integrate, and manage the partnership for mutual success. "EMC has invested significant time and resources into building robust processes for execution before announcement," added Laura McLellan, Chief Marketing Analyst at Gartner. "This attention to implementation detail should result in a natural extension of services business without the birthing pains so often encountered elsewhere." For more information visit www.emc.com