9,000 Visitors and 125 Exhibitors Expected at Next EMC World 2008

In just under one week, more than 9,000 EMC customers, partners, technologists, journalists and analysts from around the world will gather in Las Vegas for the annual EMC World user conference. EMC World (May 18-22, 2008) is a comprehensive educational forum that provides attendees with unparalleled access to experts from EMC and over 100 partners, discussing and demonstrating the technologies and strategies that help customers get the maximum value from their information and their information infrastructures.

EMC World gathers a wide range of experts, partners and customers, each with a unique perspective on the most innovative approaches to information management across a range of industries and organizations that regard information as one of the most valuable business assets. The conference covers a multitude of the most important issues in information management today, from storage and resource management, to security, content management and virtualization.

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Anyone can be alerted to the latest news and important event updates from attendees at EMC World 2008 by following the EMC World Twitter page.

Starting May 19, EMC will also have a dedicated EMC World 2008 news page containing the latest EMC and partner news releases, along with event photos, video and executive presentation slides.

Spanning nearly one million square feet of exhibit and meeting space in Mandalay Bay’s convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada, attendees will learn directly from EMC engineers, users and partners at more than 500 breakout sessions. Attendees can also explore the EMC World exhibit floor and Solutions Pavilion featuring more than 125 exhibitors and sponsors, representing a broad spectrum of the IT industry, including many of EMC’s most strategic partners.

For the first time, EMC World will feature the EMC Innovation Showcase, providing a dedicated area for conference attendees to learn about EMC’s innovation ecosystem and cutting-edge technologies under research and development in the company’s worldwide offices. Technologies and processes will be showcased in a dramatic and interactive fashion. Another first at EMC World 2008 is the EMC World Executive Forum that will bring together more than 200 executive-level attendees, providing them the opportunity to collaborate, discuss technology trends and strategy with EMC executives and innovation technologists.

"The continual growth of EMC World indicates how valuable this event has become to a large and expanding base of EMC users, partners and the IT software development community," said Frank Hauck, EMC Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Customer Quality. "EMC World 2008 is the premier industry event designed to help educate and inform IT professionals who are dedicated to leveraging information within their organizations for competitive advantage."

EMC World 2008 kicks off on Sunday, May 18, with a welcome reception featuring a concert by platinum-selling, chart-topping recording artists The Goo Goo Dolls. The conference formally begins on Monday, May 19 with the opening of the EMC World exhibit floor and a keynote delivered by EMC Chairman, President and CEO Joe Tucci, who will address the impact that the ever-expanding digital universe will have on IT organizations of all sizes. He’ll articulate how EMC’s information infrastructure strategy is helping organizations and individuals intelligently and efficiently store, protect, and manage information so that it can be made accessible, searchable, shareable, and ultimately, actionable.

Additional executive keynotes will include:

• Howard Elias, President, EMC Global Services & Resource Management Software Group who will discuss bringing automation to information infrastructure management;
• David Donatelli, President, EMC Storage Division who will focus on the latest innovations in storage;
• Mark Lewis, President, EMC Content Management and Archiving Division who will talk about helping customers navigate the complex content landscape to realize the full value of content management;
• Art Coviello, President, RSA, The Security Division of EMC will deliver a joint keynote with Brian Gallagher, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Symmetrix Product Group that will focus on trends in information security and the need to implement security holistically and linking it to information infrastructure.

On Wednesday, May 21, the topics will center on virtualization with a keynote by Dr. Stephen Herrod, Chief Technology Officer, VMware, focused on how virtualization can help overcome the challenges facing today’s datacenters. The day will close with a customer appreciation event featuring acclaimed actor and comedian Billy Crystal.

In addition to the keynotes, educational sessions and exhibits, attendees can take advantage of the many opportunities for networking at EMC World including 44 ‘Birds of a Feather’ sessions that offer users of EMC products and services a chance to share experiences, ask questions and learn from one another. The EMC Education Services group will be onsite to administer testing for EMC Proven Professional certifications.