ANN ARBOR -- Merit Network Inc. announced Tuesday that it will present six new and expanded service offerings at its annual Member Conference.

The new and expanded services -- Merit Cloud Media, MeritList Manager, Merit Michigan ID, Merit VPN, Merit VirtualDataCenters, now with self-provisioning, and MeritLicensing - Comodo SSL certificates and Veeam licenses -- will be presented during the Merit Services Track at the 2012 Merit Member Conference, to be held Wednesday and Thursday, May 23-24, at the Eagle Crest Conference Center in Ypsilanti.

For the first time, this year's MMC will feature the Merit Services Lounge, where Members can demo the new services first hand. Inside the Services Lounge attendees will find workstations with dynamic service trials and pilots.

"Merit is committed to providing services that strengthen the Merit Community and better support the ongoing operations of our Membership," said Merit Network president and CEO Don Welch. "The new service offerings for 2012 build upon the foundation of services announced at last year's MMC. Merit will continue to provide cost effective service solutions that leverage a connection to our network in addition to leading-edge connectivity."

Merit Cloud Media is a dynamic online platform for presenting, accessing and hosting video and media. It supports both a variety of devices including PCs, Macs, tablets and smart phones as well as a number of media formats. The service also boasts integration with premier Learning Management Systems, Blackboard and Moodle. Merit Cloud Media is currently in production and available for Higher Education Members.

MeritList Manager provides distribution list management with full Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and Active Directory integration. It features 500 GB of storage, an easy to use web interface, customized branding and can manage up to 20,000 lists. MeritList Manager service is currently in production and is the ideal choice for current MeritMail subscribers.

Merit Michigan ID is a Federated Identity service for Merit Members enabling Single Sign-On across multiple applications, resources and organizational boundaries. It builds an integrated Member Community, making it easier and more secure to share services and engage in collaboration. The service features a web portal where Members can post services that are available or services they are in need of. Merit Michigan ID is currently accepting subscriptions and expects to reach full production mode July 1.

Merit VPN is a fully-redundant, appliance-based VPN (Virtual Private Network) solution that provides users remote access via a web user interface or a downloadable client. With mobile device compatibility, it provides access to firewall-protected content over a secure, consistent network from any destination. Merit VPN goes into production July 1.

The popular Merit VirtualDataCenters service now features Self-Provisioning. In addition to providing a unique virtual environment to optimize storage capacity and computing capability, Merit VirtualDataCenters allows Members to stand up a server immediately via the Merit Member Portal in the event of an outage. The new Self-Provisioning aspect of the service has great Disaster Recovery potential for Merit Members. It is currently available for Dedicated Connection Members.

MeritLicensing - Comodo SSL Certificates Program provides members SSL certificates at a discounted price. Merit performs the validation of the subscriber, IP address, or server name for the Member organization. Merit Licensing - Comodo SSL certificates are currently available.

Veeam Licensing Program provides members discounted pricing on products by Veeam Software. Veeam offers innovative applications for backing up, monitoring and managing virtualized VMware and Hyper-V environments. Veeam licenses are currently available through the MeritLicensing Program.

To learn more, be sure to attend the Merit Services Track presentations at the 2012 Merit Member Conference. For more details about the Conference, and to view the Conference agenda: www.merit.edu/mmc/

Those interested in purchasing Merit's new service offerings or would like more information should contact the Merit Services Team: services-info@merit.edu or call 734-527-5785.

Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit corporation owned and governed by Michigan's public universities, owns and operates America's longest-running regional research and education network. In 1966, Michigan's public universities created Merit as a shared resource to help meet their common need for networking assistance. Since its formation, Merit Network has remained on the forefront of research and education networking expertise and services. Merit provides high-performance networking solutions to Michigan's public universities, colleges, K-12 organizations, libraries, state government, healthcare, and other nonprofit organizations.

For more information: www.merit.edu