EMC has renewed its "built in" commitment to innovation with a series of events, programs, and employee outreach efforts.

On October 16-18, the company held its first Innovation Conference, a two-and-a-half-day milestone event in Franklin, Massachusetts. It brought together 400 employees from 24 countries who had impressed senior executive management with their ideas. Thirty "idea competition" finalists, including the six top award-winners, showcased their concepts.

The EMC Fellow and Distinguished Engineer Program also made its debut recently. This program recognizes and provides an extended career path for EMC's technical talent. EMC inducted its first 13 Distinguished Engineers at a Boston gala on October 18, 2007.

The innovation theme continued even more forcefully at EMC's first Innovation Day, an event held for industry analysts and the media on November 14 at the Museum of Science in Boston. EMC senior executives highlighted the company's cutting-edge approaches to innovation—and the products that are resulting from the efforts—to show how innovation at EMC is helping its customers.