EMC Unveils Centera Software Development Kit for New XAM Specification

Storage Networking World -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today unveiled an EMC(R) Centera(R) software development kit and Early Adopter Program for the new eXtensible Access Method (XAM) specification. As a leading industry proponent of open standards and a major contributor of intellectual property to the XAM specification, EMC is working to help customers obtain the maximum business value from their fixed content -- unchanging digital information -- by helping to enable multi-vendor solution interoperability.

Developed by EMC and others in collaboration with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), XAM is a software framework for fixed content storage solutions that enables multi-vendor solution interoperability, simplified data portability, and automated Information Lifecycle Management for long term records retention and regulatory compliance. Fixed content, such as mortgage and financial records, medical images, e-mail archives and voice records, typically must be retained and easily accessible for long periods of time and is often subject to regulatory requirements. XAM defines a standard access method between applications, management software and storage systems to manage and store fixed content.

"It is rewarding to see the major storage and application providers join with EMC in embracing a standard model for storing and retrieving fixed content. As an industry interface standard, XAM promises significant benefits to customers, independent software vendors, and system vendors alike," said Jay Mastaj, EMC Vice President of Centera Engineering. "A rapid, industry-wide adoption of the XAM standard will ensure a new level of information management agility, reliability and application/system independence for customers' fixed content information repositories."

"EMC continues to invest significant resources to advance Centera's technology and market leadership. From the July introduction of the Centera Generation 4 LP node which reduces energy consumption by 67 percent per terabyte, to the recent introduction of the new Centera operating system, Centera sets a pace of innovation that is unmatched in the industry," said Rich Napolitano, Senior Vice President, EMC Storage Division. "With over 4,600 Centera customers worldwide and more than 90 percent revenue share of the content addressed storage hardware market, EMC continues to lead the CAS market that we pioneered with the Centera platform. Perhaps nowhere is our continued investment in Centera more evident than in our extensive work in the development of the XAM standard, which promises to make it easier for customers to deploy multi-vendor solutions that help them better manage their fixed content throughout its lifecycle."

Available to select EMC partners through the Early Adopter Program, the Centera software development kit enables Centera ISVs to familiarize themselves with the XAM specification and begin the development work to ensure XAM-enabled interoperability with Centera. The EMC Centera software development kit for XAM will be made available in August.

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information.

SOURCE EMC Corporation