Cloud computing centre wins Government funding
Cloud computing centre wins Government funding
A new £2 million cloud computing centre is being developed in Newcastle as part of the Government’s £6 million investment to improve the city’s broadband provision.
The state of the art centre at Newcastle University is being set up with a combination of public and private resources and will be used by the university, the public sector and industry as a hub for research and skills improvement.
The University has matched the £1 million in funding from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).
Project leader, Barry Hodgson from the university, said: "The Cloud Centre offers us a unique opportunity to gather and analyse huge amounts of data much more quickly and present them in a way that is meaningful to the customer.
“For example, a trial is already underway to issue patients with wrist sensors which log their daily activity and sleep patterns.
“In the past, doctors have relied on patients filling in their own diaries which is time consuming and often inaccurate. But using the cloud centre, the data collected by the sensors over a period of weeks can now be downloaded, analysed and presented to the Consultant and their patient in a meaningful format within minutes while the patient is sat in the waiting room.
He added that the centre will also act as a "test-bed" for the development of new applications and services thanks to the option it provides for extracting more value from massive data sets. Training opportunities to fill the skills gap, will also be generated, helping to build on the organisation's status and "world-leading reputation in cloud computing and big data”.
Government money is also being used to improve superfast broadband access in Newcastle’s city streets, public buildings and the Metro public transport system.
Leader of Newcastle City Council Cllr Nick Forbes said: “Over 40,000 adults in Newcastle have never used the internet so I am delighted that we have secured this funding to get more people connected to the web.”
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
