INDUSTRY

MCNC Grid Computing & Networking Services announced that it will provide advanced computing and data center services at no charge to start-up companies at the Technology Incubator on the Centennial Campus at N.C. State University as part of a new Start-Up Grid initiative. The Start-Up Grid pilot program at Centennial Campus is being designed to provide a novel set of resources to help fledgling companies grow, creating new companies and jobs throughout North Carolina. The program will leverage the state's existing resources in a new, collaborative and focused effort to spur economic development. The Start-Up Grid initiative will be presented Friday, Oct. 9, at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's InfoTech conference. Beginning with access to advanced networking, high-speed Internet, data center and Grid computing services at no charge during the first year for the initial phases of development of new companies, MCNC and Centennial Campus leaders are developing the Start-Up Grid's broad array of resources for entrepreneurs. The N.C. State University Technology Incubator will provide office space at a competitive rate and supporting services to start-up companies, including coordination of economic development activities from various university departments and the surrounding business community. "The Start-Up Grid is the type of government, industry and university partnership that can fully leverage Centennial Campus and university resources to foster economic development for North Carolina," said Dennis Kekas, interim director of the Centennial Campus Partnership Office. "By coordinating efforts with MCNC and other organizations devoted to economic development across the state, we are enhancing the opportunity to cultivate entrepreneurship from industry as well as our faculty and students." MCNC Grid Services MCNC will provide high-speed Internet service to start-up companies in the incubator through its North Carolina Research & Education Network (NCREN). In addition, NCREN will enable companies to use the computing resources of the N.C. Statewide Grid being developed by MCNC, including free access to MCNC's Enterprise Grid high-performance computing and data services. Through the Grid, the companies may also have a Web site and provide digital services to their partners and customers. With these services, the companies will avoid the need to make costly investments in their own hardware and support staff. "The objective is to dramatically reduce the cost and risk associated with starting a company, enhancing the chance for success that leads to more new companies and jobs for North Carolina residents," said MCNC Grid Computing & Networking Services Managing Director Wolfgang Gentzsch, who has founded several successful start-up companies. When entrepreneurs with a great idea start a new company to design, develop and market a new product or service, they face common challenges such as seeking funding, renting office space, purchasing equipment, incorporating the company, developing a business plan, hiring employees, accounting and protecting intellectual property. "These tasks are critical and are tremendously time consuming, but they don't advance the core mission and key to success –- developing a product or service, and bringing it to market in a timely manner," Gentzsch said. "The Start-Up Grid creates an environment for entrepreneurs in North Carolina which dramatically simplifies access to our Grid computing and data resources. This will help entrepreneurs overcome some of the greater challenges and accelerate the ability to bring their idea to market." Statewide Grid Network Of Resources MCNC will work with Centennial Campus and other organizations throughout the state to further enhance the services included in the Start-Up Grid and expand incubator locations across the state, such as involving other university research parks. In this way, the Start-Up Grid network of resources will become an "assembly line" that provides the critical tools and expertise at the right time for entrepreneurs to develop their ideas. A Grid typically consists of multiple computers, data sources, applications and scientific equipment that are linked by a network to operate as a single computing system. Networked resources are shared for collaboration, efficiency and cost savings. People using a Grid network can tap into resources anywhere on the network. MCNC provides Grid computing services through its Enterprise Grid on the MCNC campus and is working with public and private universities across the state to build one of the nation's first statewide Grid computing networks. As with the Start-Up Grid, Grid resources are not exclusively associated with computing and data -– they may also include people working in collaborative groups. The Start-Up Grid includes both physical resources and people with expertise to help entrepreneurs. "By uniting academia, government, industry and non-profit organizations to drive economic development in North Carolina, the Start-Up Grid initiative expects to provide novel, effective solutions to common challenges faced by entrepreneurs," said Monica Doss, president of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the nation's largest entrepreneurial support organization, located in the Research Triangle Park. "The Start-Up Grid fits our mission of economic development and supports the research and education community by providing a resource where people can come with a drive to be an entrepreneur and a good idea," said David Rizzo, MCNC's chief executive officer. "By working together, we are leveraging the wealth of resources that already exist in North Carolina. This new model of economic development can create high-paying jobs through an environment that fosters innovation and entrepreneurial strength."