[CAnet - news] IBM launches initiative for community based grids

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[Excerpts from GRIDtoday - www.gridtoday.com.  A great example of how R&E
and community customer owned fiber networks can deliver new services - BSA]


  

  IBM announced this week its Economic Development Grid initiative, 
  which aims to help public sector institutions (e.g., school districts, 
  local businesses, local governments, universities) in different 
  geographic regions leverage their computing power and resources to 
  best benefit the communities they serve.
  
  The first region to be publicly announced as a partner is Greater 
  Cleveland, an area already being served by OneCleveland, a non-profit 
  organization dedicated to driving collaboration in the area through 
  its region-wide Gigabit network. IBM and OneCleveland have been 
  working together for some time on the network, which also aided in 
  Cleveland being ahead of the other cities with which IBM is working.
  
  "They're a non-profit Ohio organization that's focused on this type of 
  value proposition and it made for a very easy, quick discussion and a 
  very easy move forward on the project," said Ken King, IBM's vice 
  president of Grid computing. "If you don't have an organization like 
  that set up in your community, it's a little bit more of an effort."
  
  
  To establish what areas could benefit the most, and in turn bring the 
  most benefits to the community, IBM conducted a survey of CXOs in the 
  region and came up with four main categories where a Grid initiative 
  could really make a difference. The four areas, and their respective 
  projects, are:
  
  
  Healthcare Collaborative Grid -- This collaborative Grid would allow 
  hospitals to share information, ultimately allowing for improved 
  health care for patients through collaboration among medical 
  professionals. 
  
  Public Information Grid -- Designed to offer broad community impact by 
  delivering local government information to citizens. It will improve 
  the visibility of government information and services to citizens, 
  while improving customer service at a reduced cost. 
  
  K-12 Outreach Grid -- An example of a data-sharing collaborative Grid, 
  this would allow the K-12 educational system to tap into the resources 
  from numerous school systems, as well as universities and content 
  providers to help teachers deliver higher quality and compelling 
  educational programs with the goal of increasing graduation rates. As 
  another example, a High School Outreach Grid would allow universities 
  to attract students, increasing enrollment in local and public 
  universities. 
  
  Higher Education Collaborative Grid -- By further enabling distance 
  learning, these collaborative Grids can provide a more effective way 
  for students to learn. They will make education more accessible to 
  students who may not have been able to participate, ultimately 
  providing an increase in attendance in local Ohio universities. 
  
  Both King and Rourke spoke about the possibilities of the health care 
  Grid project that has been outlined. King said the federation of 
  medical records across the various hospitals could really be helpful 
  for uninsured individuals, who often have to bounce from ER to ER, and 
  their records don't necessarily travel with them.
  
  Assuming all the foreseen projects come to fruition and thrive, both 
  King and Rourke said the idea of linking the various projects to form 
  a "city Grid" or a "wired city" is definitely being considered. As 
  King said, "That's down the road a bit. Obviously, they've got to 
  start small, they've got to get some of these initial projects 
  implemented and successful and demonstrating value and return on the 
  money they're spending to do this, and then you can build out from 
  there."
 
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These news items and comments are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect
those  of the CANARIE board or management.



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