NASHVILLE, TN -- (Marketwire) -- 03/08/10 -- AFCOM'S Data Center World (http://www.datacenterworld.com), the world's leading data center industry conference and two-day expo, officially opens today in Nashville, TN, gathering more than 800 data center management professionals through March 11 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. This year's show features live data center tours, educational and tutorial sessions encompassing all aspects of the data center, a keynote session by Equinix CIO Brian Lillie on aligning your business strategies with those of your customers, and the revealing of AFCOM's Data Center Manager of the Year award recipient.

The Data Center World exhibit hall opens on Tuesday, March 9, and features 200 of the industry's leading vendors, including 3Com, HP and Mitsubishi, set to highlight their latest technology advancements, products, and services.

"After 30 years in business, we're so proud to remain the premiere educational resource for data center managers the world over," said Jill Eckhaus, CEO, AFCOM. "The industry has changed exponentially since we first started in 1980, and with the advent of new technology and trends, will always be evolving at a rapid pace. AFCOM and Data Center World will continue to offer the tools and peer connections needed for data centers to adjust and thrive for the next 30 years and beyond."

The five-day conference kicked off on Sunday with live data center tours taking place at Vanderbilt University and Dolphini Networks. The conference will also host four concurrent tutorials focused on data center infrastructure optimization, developing a policies and procedures manual, data center re-design and upgrade, an interactive solutions forum, as well as more than 75 practical sessions, case studies and tutorials to give data center managers thorough training and understanding of the industry's most critical and current trends and themes. Sessions cover topics such as the Green Data Center, Cost Savings, Disaster Recovery, Security, High Performance and Data Center Efficiency, Leadership and alternative technology topics such as Virtualization and Cloud Computing. For a full list of program details, please visit: http://www.datacenterworld.com/attendees_scheduleofevents.html

Data Center World 2010 Expo and Media highlights include:

Celebrating AFCOM's 30th Anniversary -- CEO Jill Eckhaus will detail the association's storied 30 year history, highlighting its groundbreaking firsts, and looking ahead to the next 30 years in the data center.

Brian Lillie, Equinix CIO keynotes -- Titled "Are You Ready to Ride the Four Tsunamis About to Hit Your Data Center?", Brian Lillie, CIO of Equinix, discusses how to align your business strategies with those of your customers' and to deploy the solutions that they need: multi-source access to global networks, virtualized IT infrastructure, consolidated applications on the edge and disaster recovery/business continuity aligned to today's sophisticated cyber terrorism attacks. (Tuesday, March 9, 7:45 - 9:15 a.m.)

Live Data Center Tours -- The first live data center tours in nine years. Vanderbuilt University and Dolphini Networks will showcase dual power grid connectivity and an ability to absorb the renewable energy power price premium. (Sunday, March 7, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.)

Data Center Manager of the Year Award -- In recognition of the important role data center managers have in the overall success of their companies, AFCOM will continue its 30-year tradition of supporting these individuals by presenting -- alongside premier media partner eWEEK -- the 2010 Data Center Manager of the Year Award. Selected from more than 40 nominations, the three finalists include data center managers from Chevron, MetLife and Trinity Information Services. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, March 10 at an evening banquet which will preview the three finalists and their accomplishments, and will also feature entertainment by Grammy-award winning songwriting duo Mark Selby and Tia Sillers (Wednesday, March 10, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.)

An Abundance of Customer Case Studies -- Hear from real data center managers across all industries as they discuss specific challenges they have overcome, the best practices they have utilized to develop solutions to complete projects on time and on budget and how they have kept their teams motivated throughout. (Tuesday, March 9 through Thursday, March 11)

Data Center Optimization, Redesign, Policies and Procedures, and Interactive Forum Tutorials -- Four concurrent full-day tutorials will provide attendees with professional training and insight into today's most pertinent issues; data center managers will collaborate in the interactive solutions forum, learn tips and tricks for data center optimization, best practices for developing a data centers policies and procedures manual, and get a look into a complete data center redesign and upgrade. (Monday, March 8, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)

Learn Best Practices and Tips to Prepare for the Future in the Data Center Management Track -- Leading IT and data center experts will guide attendees through everything from technology to staffing, disaster recovery, security and more, giving them the tools to properly manage these resources to set themselves up for success. (Tuesday, March 9 through Thursday, March 11)

On Power to Cyber-terrorism Roundtable Discussions -- Join panels of experts as they lead informative discussions on the hottest topics in the data center, including disaster recovery, power management, emerging technologies, security and cyber-terrorism. (Wednesday, March 10, 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.)

Note to Journalists: Press and analysts are invited to view event press releases and other information at http://www.datacenterworld.com/media_newsbureau.html

If you'd like to speak with Jill Eckhaus, AFCOM CEO to learn more about the conference, please contact Lindsey Pappas at Atomic PR at lindsey@atomicpr.com.

About Data Center World Conference:
Data Center World, operated by AFCOM, the world's leading 4,500-member data center association, is the industry's premier networking and educational conference, and occurs bi-annually. Thousands of data center professionals, from many of the largest corporations across all industries, government organizations, and academic institutions in the world attend Data Center World to share, discuss and learn about the latest data center trends, technologies and best practices, as well as products and services by some of the world's leading data center technology and service providers. Tradeshow Week recognizes Data Center World as one of the 50 fastest growing shows in the U.S. (2006, 2007 and 2008). For more information, visit www.datacenterworld.com.

About AFCOM:
AFCOM (www.afcom.com) is a leading association supporting the educational and professional development needs of data center professionals around the globe. Established in 1980, AFCOM currently boasts more than 4,500 members and 38 chapters worldwide, and provides data center professionals with unique networking opportunities and educational forums and resources through its annual Data Center World Conferences, published magazines, regional chapters, research and hotline services, and industry alliances.