Imation Convenes 14th Annual North American Data Center Management Symposium

At the annual "by invitation only" gathering, which will include presentations from industry leaders HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Imation, the country's top data center managers will have the opportunity to discuss current opportunities and challenges within their data center operations. They will also preview new products and technologies designed to address the ever-growing demands of corporate data center management. Session topics include data security, optimizing data center performance, tape lifecycle support, virtual tape and the future of tape technology.

"Tape is the mainstay of the world's largest data centers, most of which backup terabytes of corporate data weekly, even daily. Data center managers have an enormous responsibility to ensure that their organizations' critical data is protected efficiently and securely. Our Data Center Management Symposium is the ideal forum for data center managers to discuss their operational needs and questions with industry experts," said James Milligan, general manager, Americas Commercial and OEM Division, Imation. "With more than 50 years of serving data centers with leading tape technology and technical support, Imation is proud to be one of the few data storage companies that helps its customers meet with industry and leaders. And for Imation, there is no better opportunity for us to hear from our customers first hand."

"The storage industry is looking at new rules that are reshaping traditional methods for storing, retrieving and protecting data -- requiring careful planning to successfully navigate the road ahead. Imation's Data Center Management Symposium, and the information exchange it fosters, is very timely and useful," said Fred Moore of Horison Information Strategies, an information strategies consulting firm that specializes in marketing strategy, industry analysis and business development for the IT industry. "As a data storage developer and manufacturer, Imation continues to provide great opportunities for customers to stay informed about industry trends, best practices and new products -- involving some of the world's largest data center operations. I expect this year's event to be no exception."

Moore, one of the storage industry's foremost speakers on industry trends and directions, will provide a keynote presentation, "The State of the Storage Industry" on March 25. The symposium will also welcome Director of Enterprise Assurance Dianne McAdam, of the analyst firm, The Clipper Group, who will discuss "The Evolving Role of Tape and Disk" in her keynote scheduled for March 26.

"Both tape and disk storage technologies continue to advance in reliability, capacity, speed and functionality. Essentially, what we're seeing is that both tape and disk continue to have complementary roles in the corporate data center, and tape isn't going anywhere," said McAdam. "In addition, with growing concerns around rising energy costs, I expect to see even more interest in tape storage technologies due to the lower energy costs involved with tape management and storage. I'm pleased to be able to meet directly with data center managers to discuss these trends."

To benefit other data center managers who are not in attendance, Imation will make presentations and white papers available online at http://www.imation.com/euc following the symposium - Imation.