Kochi, March 16:

IIHT Ltd, a technology-training organisation, along with Microsoft, has announced the launch of a certified cloud expert programme at Kochi Infopark. Mr Keshava Raju, CEO, IIHT, told reporters here that the programme would help IT professionals and aspirants acquire the necessary skills to develop into cloud professionals by acquiring expertise in multivendor virtualisation solutions, IT infrastructure monitoring and management, along with private cloud designing and deployment skills. He pointed out that the international research firm, IDC, estimates that cloud computing will generate 14 million new jobs worldwide by 2015. With India getting nearly 20 lakh cloud computing jobs according to the findings of this new study commissioned by Microsoft, the launch of this program will benefit IT aspirants all. The market for public cloud infrastructure, platforms and applications is growing far more quickly than any other type of IT spending, he added. IIHT will expand the programme to five more cities in the State in the next two years. To create awareness on cloud computing, the company is also organising an international workshop here on Saturday jointly with Microsoft. Mr Phani Kondepudi, Director, Academic Programmes, Microsoft, will inaugurate the workshop.

IIHT Partners with Microsoft to launch Learning programs on Cloud

- Our cloud will enable people globally to acquire complex IT skills anywhere, anytime

Bengaluru, November 11, 2011

IIHT along with Microsoft launched, a one of its kind certification program "IIHT Certified Cloud Expert" .This cloud computing program will help IT professionals and aspirants acquire the necessary skills to develop into cloud professionals by acquiring hands on expertise in virtualization solutions, IT infrastructure monitoring and management, along with private cloud designing and deployment skills.

Also IIHT Ltd, India's leading technology training organization today announced the launch of 'Learning-as-a-Service' on the cloud using Microsoft Virtualization Technologies which will be powered on Dell Enterprise Server Solutions. IIHT's Cloud Strategy removes the need to continuously purchase, maintain, upgrade, and re-configure expensive equipment for ANY IT Training. This platform is available as real time experiential learning as a service and is accessible anywhere, anytime and on any device instantly on demand. This unique service supports simultaneous learning

of 20,000 individuals with decreased cost, available on subscription, pay only on use, and individually customizable for any IT learning environment.

IIHT's Cloud Computing program will cater to the growing demand for trained & certified Cloud computing experts to the IT Industry.IIHT would train and certify 100,000 Cloud professionals globally including India in the next 3 Years.

Commenting at the launch Mr.Keshava Raju, MD & CEO, IIHT Ltd said, "This course is a first of its kind that is exceptional and uniquely differentiated, train's people on Cloud Technologies, using the Cloud and for the Cloud Industry".

IIHT Ltd and Microsoft Corporation, have announced a strategic alliance today in Bangalore. Under the partnership, IIHT would integrate highly sought after licensed Microsoft content into its career as well as short-term courses. Microsoft course content will be embedded into all IIHT's courses and will be offered across 150 cities in India. Along with the career and short-term IT courses, the students will also get the added advantage of Microsoft certifications and trainings to enhance skills and job opportunities.

Commenting at the launch Mr. Kyle Uphoff, Senior Regional Sales Director, Microsoft Learning said,"Today technology advancements are progressing at a rapid pace, creating high demand forIT professionals globally. We believe that a combination of relevant content from Microsoft Learning and structured learning methodologies from IIHT centers will go a long way in addressing this demand. We are pleased to collaborate with IIHT to deliver very tangible results".

Commenting at the launch Mr.Vineet Kshirsagar,Director, Partner Strategy and Programs, Microsoft, India said "We're very happy to be a part of this initiative. The demands for professionals conversant with the various aspects of cloud computing will only grow, and a course such as this one can help cater to that demand".

All the Market research firms and Industry giants agree that the market for public cloud infrastructure, platforms and applications is already large and growing far more quicker than any other type of IT spending. But for cloud computing to deliver its promise, IT Companies need human resources with cloud computing competencies

Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Inc. on his visit to India last year had announced that Cloud computing would generate 300000 job in India over the next 5 years.Source-Zinnov Management Consultant May 2010

Nestor Infotech & EDS are the technology partners for the cloud implementation.The service offering is powered on Dell Enterprise Server Solutions.

About IIHT Founded in the year 1992 in Bangalore by IIHT Ltd. is Indias leading technology training organization in IMS. The company has its presence in over 200 centers in India along with and is also significantly present in countries like China, South Africa, New Zealand and Malaysia.

Ever since its inception, IIHT has recognized the potential of IMS and has concentrated its efforts on becoming a dominant education provider in that space. IIHT certifications are industry oriented, conducted in the state of the art training infrastructure with certified experienced faculty. IIHT has a portfolio of 50 courses and trains close to 60,000 students a year. The organization is known to have trained 10,00,000 students in 350 million hours so far

About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 13 cities Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.

Cloud Assessment Tool - FAQ What is Cloud Assessment Tool? The Cloud Assessment Tool is a sales assessment methodology that provides a framework to strategize and design your cloud sales engagements. Who is the target audience? Our primary focus is to help partners drive a structured conversation with customers to build a comprehensive cloud strategy. We also encourage customers to use the tool to understand the platform and workload priorities with in the context of their business goals. Is the tool available for all partners? Yes, the tool is freely available and open for all partners. Partner competencies or certification requirements are not needed. How do I get started? Do I need to register? All partners have to register into the system. The registration process is simple and takes less than 5 minutes. What is the role of a partner and the customer in this assessment process? Partner is the trusted advisor in the assessment process. The tool supports partners in structuring sales conversation with their customers, and helps them fulfill customers cloud strategy. In conjunction with the partner, customer can understand and realize a comprehensive road map for their IT Platform strategy across multiple workloads. How does the assessment process work? Once you register through the tool, you can run as many assessments as needed. There are no limitations on the number of customer assessments that you can run. Please review the user guide, and instructions for detailed process. Do we need to share the data with Microsoft? No, you do not need to share or send any data to Microsoft. When is the best time to use the Cloud Assessment Tool? You can use the Cloud Assessment Tool at any time during sales conversation. However, in order to engage the customer better, we recommend using the tool within the Prospect/Qualify and Develop stages of the sales cycle. A customer can also run the tool during business transformation process with respect to their platform choices, workload priorities, and goals. How is Cloud Assessment Tool different from other assessment tools on the market? Unlike the other assessment tools on the market, Microsoft Cloud Assessment Tool is a sales assessment tool, not a technical assessment tool. What set it apart are its unique ability to pivot on

the customers business priorities first and the technology second. The tool allows you to discuss the customer workloads, and then go on to talk about the platform that will work best for the customer, be it physical, virtual, private cloud, or public cloud. How does the tool work? The tool facilitates an open conversation about the customers cloud strategy and next steps in their business growth. The tool is based on a survey, with a flexible and simple approach. It enables sales engagements at the right level to formulate customized solution. What are the main components of the Cloud Assessment Tool? The tool has two main components A CIO Conversation assessment, and Five Application Workload-Specific assessments The CIO Assessment focuses on high-level companys strategy, and supports discussions on how the customer achieves that strategy. Workload specific assessment focusses on discussion with IT decision makers about a particular workload (Messaging, Collaboration, Unified Communications, CRM, LoB). How long does it take to run the tool? The CIO Conversation simulates high-level strategy discussion, and takes approximately 20 minutes. This generates CIO level strategy output outlining clear next steps. The Application Workload-specific assessments go much deeper, with 30 to 40 structured questions. These assessments solidify the joint strategy customized to suit the business need of the customer on any platform (from physical to virtual to private cloud, and/or public cloud). Is there a specific order to run these assessments? The assessments can be run in any order of your discretion. The CIO conversation assessment helps you in driving situational analysis of customers IT & business strategy. The workload assessments are targeted and defined. Depending on the engagement level, you can decide the course of assessment process. How does Microsoft use customer data? Microsoft does not use any specific customer information or individual customer data in any form or fashion. Only aggregated data will be reviewed to understand tool performance, and future development needs. You can input as much or as little information as you choose. In fact, customer name can be a pseudonym. Is there a contact to reach the Cloud Assessment Team? We are happy to receive your feedback. You can contact us at cloudassessment@microsoft.com

Cloud Computing Cloud computing describes computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services.

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