Dear All,

Some new updates.
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1. The most host news is that a number of companies have annouced:
Alliance to Focus on Pragmatic Solutions using Grid Technology
A press release on this is enclosed below.

2. I am just back from my visit to Chicago--attending CCGrid 2004
conference. I also happen to give a talk at the University of Illinoison
our Gridbus Project R&D. Slides of this talk can be downloaded from:
http://gridbus.org/talks/UI-Chicago.ppt

Cheers
Raj
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Alliance to Focus on Pragmatic Solutions using Grid Technology

San Ramon, Calif., April 20, 2004 - Leading technology companies today
launched the Enterprise Grid Alliance (EGA), a consortium formed to
develop enterprise grid solutions and accelerate the deployment of grid
computing in enterprises.

Grid computing connects pools of computers, storage and networks,
enabling enterprises to dynamically allocate resources based on changing
business needs. Exploiting rapid advances in technology, enterprise
grids enable organizations in the public and private sectors to adapt
their Information Technology (IT) resources to their business needs.

The EGA is an open, independent and vendor-neutral community addressing
the near-term requirements for deploying commercial applications in a
grid environment. Initial focus areas include reference models,
provisioning, security and accounting. The Alliance will address
obstacles that organizations face using enterprise grids, by looking at
best practices and solutions that are open and interoperable. By
focusing exclusively on the needs of enterprise users, the EGA will
enable businesses to realize the many benefits of grid computing such as
faster response to changing business needs, better utilization and
service level performance and lower IT operating costs.

The initial EGA Board includes EMC, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP,
Intel, NEC, Network Appliance, Oracle and Sun Microsystems. Other
founding members are AMD, Ascential Software, Cassatt, Citrix, Data
Synapse, Enigmatec, Force 10 Networks, Novell, Optena, Paremus and
Topspin. In addition to providing an open forum for enterprise software,
hardware, service companies and end users, the EGA is working with other
consortia and standards organizations to promote integrated enterprise
grid solutions and improve adoption rates.

"Comprised of a remarkable group of technology companies, the EGA was
formed to accelerate the adoption of grid computing in the enterprise,"
said Donald Deutsch, president, Enterprise Grid Alliance and vice
president, standards strategy and architecture, Oracle Corp. "With our
pragmatic approach focusing on the enterprise, EGA is uniquely
positioned to deliver near term, tangible benefits."

"Grid computing, previously known largely as a powerful tool for the
high performance computing community, is emerging as an important
platform for critical business functions," said Dan Kusnetzky, IDC's
vice president of system software research. "The next critical step in
the adoption of grid computing is the creation of standards and
compliance testing for those standards. Standards bodies like the
Enterprise Grid Alliance are critical to enterprise grid computing as it
emerges over the next five years. Working in conjunction with other grid
alliances, the EGA can place a stake in the ground to define the
solutions and specifications essential for organizations to adopt
enterprise grid computing."

About Enterprise Grid Alliance
The Enterprise Grid Alliance is an open consortium focused on developing
and promoting enterprise grid solutions. Membership is open to all
organizations via multiple participation tiers. For more information,
please visit our Web site at www.gridalliance.org.
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