Anixter has announced that it is launching the latest virtual experience for customers who are looking to bolster their knowledge and skills in the data center space. Anixter's Virtual Data Center Seminars will allow customers, industry experts, and manufacturers to interact virtually in real time from the comfort and convenience of the workplace, home office or remote location.

Our customers' demand for information is increasing as quickly as the amount of information available, said Doug Deputy, Anixter's vice president of solutions marketing. However, we recognize that the time they have to acquire that information is getting shorter, and more often than not, the opportunities to get away from the office to educate themselves about trends and technologies are becoming harder to justify.

Through Anixter's Virtual Engagement Center, customers can acquire knowledge in a cutting-edge environment. Anixter's Virtual Engagement Center is a Web-based platform that offers live, highly interactive virtual conferences with the ability to connect with colleagues, manufacturer representatives, and Anixter. Anixter's Virtual Data Center Seminar Series offers a dynamic presentation format and live panel discussions that cover topics that are most pressing to contractors, integrators, end-users, architects, consultants, and engineers—from sustainability and the green movement to physical security and data center infrastructure.

As current business models require video, voice, data and security networks to be managed over a single converged network, the role of the data center has become even more critical. Several trends are directly impacting the reliability, security and efficiency of data centers. The inaugural event on May 17 at 10:30 CDT will address how physical infrastructure can affect the reliable delivery of data center services. Subsequent events will address the need for secure and energy-efficient data centers.

Upcoming live events include:

• May 17, 2012 10:30 a.m. CDT

DataCenterReliability – The Role of Infrastructure

• August 16, 2012 10:30 a.m. CDT

DataCenterSecurity – Protecting Critical Systems

• December 4, 2012 10:30 a.m. CST

DataCenterEfficiency – Maximizing Return on Investment