Cisco and NetApp Help Customers Accelerate Transition to Microsoft Private Cloud

Cisco and NetApp Help Customers Accelerate Transition to Microsoft Private Cloud Avnet Technology Solutions Expands Its FlexPod Services to Offer Custom Configuration of the Validated Cisco, Microsoft, and NetApp Solution to Resellers

SAN JOSE AND SUNNYVALE, Calif. - February 23, 2012 - As data center virtualization becomes more pervasive, IT functions are increasingly seeking to lower cost of ownership and improve manageability by unifying silos of information with shared IT infrastructures and multi-hypervisor environments. To meet growing customer demand for choice and flexibility, Cisco and NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) are announcing the availability of a Cisco Validated Design (CVD) for the FlexPod shared infrastructure and Microsoft private cloud. The new FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud builds on a reference architecture that was announced last year and is designed to reduce infrastructure and application deployment time from days to hours while helping achieve greater utilization of physical and virtual resource pools. Part of a series of innovative joint solutions that Cisco and NetApp are bringing to market with support from Microsoft, the FlexPod solution is currently available for demonstration in select Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs) around the world, allowing partners and customers the opportunity to see firsthand the many benefits of the solution.

To help channel partners further accelerate and simplify customers transitions to private clouds, Cisco and NetApp are working with Avnet Technology Solutions, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), to expand its FlexPod Services to provide partners in the United States and Canada with the validated, pretested data center solution for the cloud.

Key Facts / Highlights:

New FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud

Validated by Microsoft as part of its Private Cloud Fast Track program, the new FlexPod validated shared infrastructure features the Cisco UCS server, Cisco network switches, NetApp unified storage systems running on Data ONTAP software, and the Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track architecture with Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center.

FlexPod is a pretested architectural design guide that combines networking, computing, and storage in a shared infrastructure and supports multiple applications and workloads to help customers accelerate and simplify their transition to the cloud. The flexible, scalable shared infrastructure is pretested to lower deployment risk, increase data center efficiencies, and create a flexible information technology (IT) environment to build a Microsoft private cloud.

The FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud goes beyond virtualization to drive real business value through deep insight into applications and to simplify the evolution to IT as a Service (ITaaS). The platform allows customers to orchestrate IT resources so they can deliver applications as services, rapidly resolve problems, increase application uptime, and meet desired Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud is deployed at select MTCs worldwide, allowing customers to see the power of Microsoft System Center with Windows Server Hyper-V on the FlexPod shared infrastructure. Partners and customers have direct access to FlexPod deployments and can engage with Cisco, Microsoft, and NetApp technology experts through briefings, architectural design sessions, and proof-of-concept engagements.

Avnet Support for the FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud

As part of its FlexPod Services, Avnet will now provide its channel partners with a single source for delivery of the Microsoft private cloud built on FlexPod solution. Avnet will offer multiple configurations to help channel partners meet different customer requirements, especially for those working with customers in the high-growth vertical markets of energy, finance, government, healthcare, and retail.

Avnets expanded FlexPod Services are designed to help channel partners deliver the FlexPod solution validated with Microsoft private cloud quickly and easily. They include pre-sales support, consolidated quoting, single order capability, assembly and testing, ship complete, and tracking. Additionally, channel partners will be able to work hand in hand with a dedicated Avnet team to support all of their FlexPod needs, as well as draw upon additional support and expertise from Avnets dedicated Cisco and NetApp teams.

FlexPod Services from Avnet allow channel partners to focus their resources on core business strategies while Avnet handles the complexities of solution development and supply-chain management.

Cisco and NetApp FlexPod Shared Infrastructure

Since Cisco and NetApps FlexPod was announced in November 2010, both channel partners and customers have embraced the benefits of the solution. To date, approximately 500 joint channel partners worldwide are certified to sell FlexPod and more than 600 customers have deployed FlexPod in their data center infrastructure, representing more than 400% growth in customer adoption since May 2011.

To provide greater flexibility and customer choice, FlexPod currently offers 13 Cisco Validated Designs supporting multiple hypervisors, business applications and workloads. Cisco and NetApp will sponsor Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2012, where these and other private cloud solutions will be demonstrated.

NetApp and Cisco offer programs to support FlexPod to give channel partners access to a wide range of unique tools and resources to help partners differentiate their services, speed time to market, and grow their revenues. The channel programs include technical trainings and service benefits, as well as marketing and sales support.

Supportive Quotes:

Brad Anderson, corporate vice president, Manage

LINK:	http://www.netapp.com/us/company/news/press-releases/news-rel-20120223...
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