EMC Education Services

ACADEMIC ALLIANCE

EMC Academic Alliance Program

Partner Guide
Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Why Storage Education? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

EMC Academic Alliance Program Origin and Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

EMC Academic Alliance Program Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

EMC Proven Professional Certification Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

The EMC Academic Alliance Program Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Program Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Professor/Instructor Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Faculty Readiness Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Student Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Commitments and Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

EMC Academic Alliance Program Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Joining the EMC Academic Alliance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Best-Practice Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

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Executive Summary
Numerous studies and research illustrate that the volume of data that needs to be stored,
managed, secured, maintained, and available is reaching new heights. Additionally, the
complexity of data is challenging existing IT professionals as they are tasked to comply with
regulatory requirements and meet the growing demand for quickly accessed, fully available data.

EMC Corporation is the world’s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure
technology and solutions. Based on our own research, and the research of respected
analysts, we are anticipating a data explosion that is likely to be disruptive in technology
environments that are unprepared.

Currently, storage professionals tend to be IT employees who have learned about storage
informally through peer mentoring, or self-study. Combine the data explosion with informal
learning and you’ll reach the same conclusion that we did; there won’t be enough educated
storage professionals to manage these environments. In fact, research indicates that the
industry will need more than one million skilled storage professionals by the year 2012. It’s
easy to see that a serious bottleneck is facing the industry; a severe shortage of storage-
educated professionals.

Where will these educated professionals come from? From colleges and universities who
provide the education. EMC is contributing to filling this gap in the storage talent pipeline by
offering a unique ‘open’ storage curriculum to colleges and universities. A first in the
industry, the Storage Technology course focuses on storage principles and concepts rather
than on EMC-specific technology. It provides a broad base of knowledge that can easily be
applied in any data center The EMC® Academic Alliance program extends the reach of the
Storage Technology course into colleges and universities across the globe.

If your college or university is interested in graduating students who have a comprehensive,

unique education, we welcome a conversation about joining our EMC Academic Alliance
program. Feel free to contact us at edservices@EMC.com to learn more.

Why Storage Education?

Corporate CIOs and IT managers understand that their single most critical asset is their data.
Whether e-mail or medical records, more and more data is being created in a wide variety of
formats (audio, video, mpeg files). Much of that data is subject to regulations that require
data to be available for extended periods of time. IT managers are challenged to create and
manage an information infrastructure that can store, protect, manage, optimize, and leverage
this information in the most cost-effective and efficient means available.

IT departments are implementing SANs (storage area networks), NAS (network-attached

storage), and using data replication technologies to solve the storage capacity, data
availability, and data mobility problems. Storage spending illustrates that it is one of the
fastest growing segments of IT.

Based on a CIO Magazine Tech Poll for 20071, more than 50 percent of respondents ranked
storage and servers as the top items for spending increases over the next 12 months.
According to a recent Gartner CIO survey, storage technology was ranked fifth of the top-ten
technology priorities. CIOs need to exploit new approaches and technologies to support the
business needs of their organizations.2 In an analysis of U.S. Department of Labor job data
and a survey conducted by EMC, it is estimated that over one million new storage jobs will be
created worldwide by 2012.3
1CIO Magazine, December 2006. http://peoplepolls.com/results/CIO/120706.asp?user=CIO and
http://www.cio.com/info/releases/122906_techpoll.pdf
2Gartner EXP Survey of More than 1,400 CIOs Shows CIOs Must Create Leverage to Remain Relevant to the Business”
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=501189
3Hecker, Daniel, “Occupational employment projections to 2012,” Monthly Labor Review, February 2004, pp. 80-105

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Despite all the projections and spending data, most storage infrastructures are still
relatively unknown to most IT professionals. Informal learning has occurred, but storage
has been in existence for some time. Why then, is so much emphasis being placed on
information infrastructure technologies now?

One major reason is that system downtime is expensive. Data unavailability can cost a
company millions of dollars (Figure 1). Information must be continuously available to
support the business, relying on effective data management and storage allocation.

Figure 1 — Cost of Downtime

Companies require an IT infrastructure that can support data availability for both business
and legal needs. Today’s IT departments are implementing information management
infrastructures to meet these needs.

Typically, intelligent storage disk arrays are at the core of these information infrastructure
solutions. Intelligent arrays provide organizations with the ability to store, protect,
manage, optimize, and leverage their data.

Depending on business needs and solution requirements, different storage technologies

can solve the data management needs. They include SANs (storage area networks), NAS
(network-attached storage), DAS (direct-attached storage), and CAS (content-addressable
storage). These technologies, as well as advancements in hard disk drives and data
delivery through high-speed networks (Fibre Channel and IP networks), have enabled
organizations to maintain data availability.

Additionally, for each type of storage technology, there is array-based data replication
software functionality to copy and move data for backups, business continuance, and
disaster recovery, migration, and testing. So, if these storage technologies have become
so prevalent, how do storage professionals learn about them?

Vendors typically provide training on their products; and focus on training, not education.

Many Computer Science and Information Technology degree programs at colleges and
universities focus on computer architecture, operating systems, databases, networking,
and software application development—but not storage technologies.

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If we look at today’s IT infrastructure, it’s important to note that operating systems,
RDBMS, networks, applications, and storage are integrated to form the five pillars of IT
(Figure 2). We can see all these technologies interact when an end user with a software
application makes a read or write request for data over the network. The operating system
processes the request, the database organizes the data into tables and the disk array
sends or receives the data, protects it, and secures it.

f Information Technolo
Pillars o gy

SYSTEMS

STORAGE
INFORMATION STORAGE
OPERATING SYSTEMS

NETWORKS
APPLICATIONS

NETWORKS
OPERATING

APPLICATIONS

INFORMATION

DATABASES
DATABASES
Figure 2 — Five Pillars of IT

EMC recently conducted an extensive survey of IT professionals to acquire data about the
storage skills gap. Survey results drove EMC to develop a first-of-its-kind educational
solution to meet both industry and academia’s needs. We’ve engaged industry analysts,
customers, and partners in our research; all agree that storage education is needed to
meet the growing complexity of data and the demand for skilled storage professionals in
the marketplace.

EMC Study Data

EMC conducted a study (global survey of over 1,200 IT professionals) and identified the key
challenges for managing increasingly complex information infrastructures. Figure 3
identifies the key challenges faced by IT/storage managers.

Challenges Identified by IT and Storage Managers and Professionals

• Managing storage growth

• Designing, deploying, and managing backup and recovery
• Designing, deploying, and managing disaster recovery solutions
• Making informed strategic/big-picture decisions
• Designing and deploying multi-site environments
• Designing and deploying emerging storage technologies
(such as storage virtualization, IP, SAN, GRID, etc.)
• Lack of skilled storage professionals
• Managing data availability/data retention compliance

Figure 3 — Key Challenges for Managing Storage

Backup has been in practice for decades, so how can it not be performed to the desired
level? EMC contends that the backup process is becoming more complex with massive
amounts of data from different sources, different levels of importance, and retention

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periods that vary based on content. Individuals managing the environment don’t always
have a full understanding since they have not been provided a comprehensive education
on the infrastructure core—storage technologies. Figure 4 substantiates the complexity
issue and identifies key pain points by priority.

IT and Storage Managers

80% Managing storage growth

61% Designing, deploying, and managing backup and recovery
58% Designing, deploying, and managing disaster recovery solutions
48% Making informed strategic/big-picture decisions
40% Designing and deploying multi-site environments
36% Designing and deploying emerging storage technologies
(such as storage virtualization, IP, SAN, GRID, etc.)
30% Lack of skilled storage professionals
27% Compliance regulations

Storage Professionals

73% Managing storage growth

62% Designing, deploying, and managing backup and recovery
61% Designing, deploying, and managing disaster recovery solutions
42% Making informed strategic/big-picture decisions
42% Designing and deploying multi-site environments
36% Designing and deploying emerging storage technologies
(such as storage virtualization, IP, SAN, GRID, etc.)
31% Lack of skilled storage professionals
23% Compliance regulations

Figure 4 — Key Pain Points for Managing Storage

Figure 5 reveals hiring plans and requirements for storage personnel over the next 12
months. Not surprisingly, those plans are aggressive. The lack of skilled storage
professionals is a serious gap due to the lack of formal standards and education
specifically targeting storage technologies. The EMC Academic Alliance, in partnership
with innovative colleges and universities, is seeking to close this skill gap.

Figure 5— Hiring Requirements of Next 12 Months

Research also reveals that hiring managers prefer to hire experienced storage
professionals. However, these individuals are difficult to find and often even more difficult
to retain. Without a pipeline of experienced storage professionals, companies are seeking
certified individuals as the preferred alternative.

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Figure 6 — Looking to Hire Certified Individuals

Colleges and universities can close this gap in the IT industry and provide students with a
needed education on storage technologies through the EMC Academic Alliance program.

EMC Academic Alliance Program Origin and Concept

The EMC Education Services team took a creative approach to fill the talent pipeline.

• EMC’s research with storage customers revealed that finding individuals who understand
“the information infrastructure big picture” was their biggest pain point. IT organizations
need people that understand, at a high level, the five pillars of IT.

• The storage industry has not standardized on a common set of tools and as a result there are
many product offerings to perform the same task. Therefore, a focus on equipment-based,
task-based learning poses a risk to students entering diverse technical infrastructures.

• EMC Education Services employees with experience in academia created a course focused
on storage technologies. Based on our research, we developed course materials focusing on
storage theory, storage design, and information management skills.

• This “open” curriculum meets the needs of most academic institutions worldwide.

• Students preparing for roles in areas like database or network management benefit from stor-
age knowledge since they will undoubtedly encounter storage infrastructures in their careers.

• Colleges and universities focused on providing a comprehensive IT education can introduce

storage education to thousands of students, preparing them for a career in a challenging
and rewarding career.

• EMC’s Academic Alliance program has executive-level support. Joe Tucci, Chairman, Presi-
dent, and Chief Executive Officer of EMC, who serves on the President’s Council of Advisors
on Science and Technology (PCAST) and as Chairman of the Business Roundtable Task Force
on Education and the Workforce, views the EMC Academic Alliance program as a vehicle to
improve technology education worldwide. This is EMC’s opportunity to give back to the
broader IT community by creating a pathway to storage proficiency.

• EMC has a history of corporate giving, in-kind contributions, and volunteerism. Offering the Stor-
age Technology Foundations course to colleges and universities at no charge is just one of the
many ways that EMC expresses its commitment to community and to the broader IT community.

With executive support and funding from the highest levels, the EMC Academic Alliance
program was initiated in late 2005 and launched in July 2006.

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EMC Academic Alliance Program Structure
The characteristics of the EMC Academic Alliance program include:

• Teaching focus that provides CS/IT students with education about storage concepts and
principles, not products.

• EMC offers the course materials and additional support at no cost to participating
colleges/universities.

• EMC supports academic freedom, and where warranted, the need to supplement the materi-
als with additional reading, research, or assignments.

• EMC facilitates knowledge transfer via the Faculty Readiness program.

• We and our partners are exploring research opportunities with EMC the CTO office.

• IT companies are likely to recruit and hire students with storage knowledge.

The structure of the program includes:

• No cost to join and no cost for the Storage Technology Foundations course.

• EMC and the university or college complete an agreement.

• EMC retains ownership of the course materials.

• The course must be offered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program for credit.

• Use of the materials in an adult education or other for-profit program is restricted and must
be done through the EMC Learning Partner channel.

• The course becomes part of the university’s or college’s degree program offering. The university
or college schedules course delivery and lists the course in their course catalogue and website.

• Universities or colleges determine how they implement the course, either as an elective to
junior or senior students or as a core offering.

• The university or college provides student instruction and the faculty member(s) to teach the
course. Credentialing is done by the university or college.

• The university or college uses the full materials to teach the course and may supplement the
materials. Sections of the course can be used in other courses provided a complete course
offering is delivered. Sections of the course cannot be used in other courses unless the com-
plete course is being taught.

• EMC provides program support; faculty training (no cost for attending a session), trade-
mark/logo for use in collateral materials, guest lectures/site visits, recruiting, and opportu-
nities for research.

• EMC has included the course as part of the EMC Proven™ Professional program so that if
students are inclined, they can become EMC certified.

EMC Proven Professional Certification Program

The EMC Proven Professional program is the backbone of the EMC Academic Alliance. With
over 20,000 certifications, EMC Proven Professional is recognized as the leading storage
certification program. An EMC certification is a top-ranked certification according to
studies conducted by Certification Magazine. This, coupled with certification as a desired
hiring criterion, provides unique opportunities for new graduates.

The Storage Technology course used in the EMC Academic Alliance program maps to the
newly created Storage Technologist track, a track open to IT professionals and students.
Successful completion of the course and exam certifies storage knowledge.

To learn more about the EMC Proven Professional program, visit our website at
http://www.EMC.com/certification/.

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The EMC Academic Alliance Program Opportunity
Based on experiences with institutes that are already participating in the EMC Academic
Alliance program, there are two degree programs that are optimal for this storage training:
Information Science/Information Technology and Computer Science degree programs. The
EMC Academic Alliance program includes all the support mechanisms that will allow your
institution to successfully implement this program.

Program Benefits
By participating in this program, institutes can:

• Fill the storage gap in IT education

• Provide technology versus product-focused learning

• Enhance their competitive advantage and recruit top candidates

• Improve their reputation as leading edge, technology-centric institutions

• Increase job placement rates among graduates

Students involved with the EMC Academic Alliance will:

• Receive relevant education in a high-growth IT segment

• Develop skills to design and manage storage solutions

• Gain a competitive advantage in the IT marketplace

• Have an opportunity to achieve an EMC Proven Professional certification

Professor/Instructor Profile
Professors and instructors should have an in-depth knowledge and experience in
operating systems and networking.

• Operating Systems—CPU, memory, I/O pathing, commands, directory structure, registry

• Networking—TCP/IP, network design and support, troubleshooting, Active Directory Ser-

vices, monitoring tools, upgrades, and patches

• File Systems and Data Structures

If possible, previous work experience in system administration and/or network

administration is beneficial.

Faculty Readiness Program

The Faculty Readiness program (“train the trainer”) is a critical part of our offering.

Professors and instructors are encouraged to:

• Review course materials

– Preparation by reading

• Attend the Storage Technology Foundations class as a student

– No cost to attend

• Pass exam or self-assessment

– Assessment will be the Practice Exam

• Begin teaching, teach others

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EMC schedules Storage Technology Foundations classes on a quarterly basis so that
professors and instructors have opportunities to participate. The Storage Technology
Foundations course is instructor-led, using case studies and group discussions to ensure
knowledge transfer. The participating college or university is responsible for faculty travel
expenses for the class; the class itself is free of charge.

Student Profile
Students should have successfully completed Introduction to Computers, Computer
Architecture, Operating Systems, TCP/IP Networking, and File System structures.

Ideally, students will have knowledge of:

• Computer Operating Systems—CPU, memory, busses, I/O, device drivers, buffering, job
scheduling, virtual memory, file systems, and file system structure

• Networking—TCP/IP, Ethernet, addressing, mapping, flow control, naming, routing/traffic

Commitments and Expectations

These are the college and university commitments required to participate in the program:

• Agree to and sign EMC Academic Alliance partner contract

• Identify two faculty members to complete the Faculty Readiness program

• Enroll students
– Market program to student population

• Acquire EMC materials

– Course materials—facilitator guide, student guide, presentations
– Industry reference materials

• Distribute student guide to students

• Incorporate course into degree program as core or elective option

EMC Academic Alliance Program Website

The EMC Education website has a section devoted to the EMC Academic Alliance program. The
website provides program information for instructors, students, and officials to keep you
current with the program. Please visit the site at http://education.EMC.com/main/guest/
academy/index.htm.

Joining the EMC Academic Alliance Program

Contact your EMC Education Consultant who has talked to you about this program or, if you
have not yet been contacted, feel free to contact us at edservices@EMC.com or call us at
1-888-EMC-TRNG (1-888-362-8764).

Thank you for your interest in this program and we look forward to partnering with you.

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Best-Practice Recommendations
Enclosed are some best-practice recommendations

1. Determine credit value for the course.

2. Determine course placement as either an elective or core course.

3. Determine prerequisite courses in order to enroll in the storage courses.

4. Develop course description and course outline to be included in institute catalogue and
website where course information is listed.

5. Develop an enrollment/marketing plan to inform students about the course and gain
enrollments.

6. Use the EMC Academic Alliance program flyers developed by EMC to support
enrollments.

7. Select faculty; this is a critical success factor. Previous backgrounds in storage are
obviously beneficial, but not expected. Typically, a focus on systems integration,
computer systems administration, or hardware integration is desirable.

8. Successful completion of the Faculty Readiness program is required, but the use of
additional sources in the form of text books, online research, and active learning will
accelerate instructors’ knowledge. The most successful instructors immerse themselves
in the technology.

9. Visit the EMC Academic Alliance website for current program information and additional
information.

10. Visit the Faculty eRoom® and download course materials.

11. Engage EMC and provide updates on program status relative to enrollments, issues,
and any additional support that may be required.

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reserved. Published in the USA. 09/07

EMC Education Services

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