
“At the heart of the strategy lies education,” said the company in its announcement. “SNIA ANZ aims to not only establish greater training opportunities, but to use its educational courses as a means of accelerating the SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP) to boost the overall knowledge of storage and data management amongst the end user community, and the industry at large.”
The SNCP is the only recognised independent certification exam for the storage industry, according to the company.
SNIA ANZ also offers a wide range of subsequent courses including foundation basics, storage networking and storage sales, all of which will be available in major Australian cities later this year.
Every major disk and tape storage and information management company in Australia is a member, including a wide range of distributors, resellers and integrators, according to the company.
SNIA was formed in 1997 as collaboration between vendors who recognised the need to promote the use of storage networking as a concept. SNIA now acts as a focal point for industry collaboration regarding the development of standards and best practices.
"We have a unique opportunity to influence the growth and adoption of technology because of our vendor neutrality and the depth of our content based on standards and best practice," said Jacob Van der Eyk, Chairman of SNIA ANZ.
"We will harness the combined talents of our membership to assist in bringing a rich variety of educational and practical content to the widest possible audience. My colleagues on the Board of Directors are excited about the prospect of delivering the first real set of long term strategic objectives for this organisation since its formation."
Through its three-year strategic announcement, SNIA hopes to see an increase in its membership numbers, including corporate vendors and channel companies.
“This in turn will lead to a greater level of participation and the expansion of the storage community around the key events,” said the company.