Intel Corp. said its new program to pre-certify servers from enterprise OEMs powered by Intel’s microprocessors will shrink time-to-market and development costs for original equipment manufacturers.

Currently, server OEMs that want to incorporate the hardware and software offerings must individually submit their new IA-based systems to those vendors for independent certification. The new Intel Enterprise Server Acceleration Alliance (ESAA) is aimed at removing that hurdle by pre-certifying Intel-architecture server platforms with participating independent hardware and software vendors (ISVs and IHVs).

“The Intel Enterprise Server Acceleration Alliance is focused on reducing certification barriers, providing server OEMs a quick, cost-efficient avenue for adopting a wide variety of software and hardware building blocks,” said Jeff Richardson, general manager, Intel Enterprise Platforms and Services Division.

The objective of the ESAA is to enable cost-effective server solutions based on components that are validated to work with Intel architecture. Initially, the ESAA will focus on IT Infrastructure, including database, backup and virtualization software, as well as drivers, storage and interconnect components. In the future, the organization plans to add components for a variety of vertical applications.

The first vendors to participate in the ESAA include EMC, InfiniCon, Oracle, Quantum and VMware, an EMC Company. Multivendor solution support coordination is being managed through the services of TSANet.