Emulex Launches Extra End User Program

Emulex Corporation announced
a new end user program, the Emulex Extra Program, an initiative designed
to support customers and partners in training and accrediting users.

It provides enhanced training (leading to
Emulex Expert Certification) alongside additional support features and end user
tools.

The Emulex
Extra Program has been developed in response to a survey of 1,000 customers that
revealed 88% of Emulex end users rank technical support as a top priority,
while more than half indicate training as also very important. The program was
designed with these factors in mind, providing a single point of delivery for
information, training resources and online support to improve overall end user
experience with Emulex products and to aid resellers in supporting customers
post-sale.

"We are grateful for the candor,
participation and feedback we received during this survey process,"
said Shaun Walsh, vice president of marketing, Emulex. "This is the first step in learning what
really matters to the IT professionals that deploy Emulex solutions and
building a better customer experience over the lifetime of our products."

Key to this
program is Emulex Expert Certification. To become certified, end users must complete one course and score 70%
or higher on the knowledge checks at the end of each of three modules. There
are two Emulex Expert courses, one for the OneConnect portfolio of 10GbE UCNAs and one for the
LightPulse portfolio of FC HBAs. Course material includes
how-to guides on installing Emulex OneConnect UCNAs and LightPulse HBAs,
instructions for configuring OneCommand management software with Emulex
adapters and maintenance and troubleshooting guides.

The Emulex
Extra Program, free to customers, also includes the following
features designed to arm customers with access to the information, resources
and documentation they need to develop and maintain high-performance
connectivity and management in their data centers.

• Portal Access: As part of the program,
  users will have access to the Emulex Extra portal that includes the Emulex
  interoperability tool, white papers and one-stop access to downloads for
  OEM-branded drivers, boot code, firmware and documentation.
• Extended Support: Extended support
  includes access to online case management, where customers can open a support
  case and track its resolution online. Emulex also offers priority support for
  Extra members. In addition, members may register for notifications on the
  availability of new driver and firmware releases.

Members of
the Emulex Extra Program will also be invited to monthly webcasts with
engineers and technical support experts. The first webcast will be held on
December 14, introducing the program and showcasing a demonstration of the
Emulex OneCommand Manager plug-in for VMware vCenter Server.