Janet will connect National Virtual Incubator (NVI) sites across the UK in the next stage of Cisco’s British Innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative.
At an event on the 10th November 2011, Prime Minister, David Cameron cited Cisco’s BIG initiative – and specifically the NVI as a significant example of success in the Government’s goal to drive new economic growth through high-tech innovation.
NVI is a sustainable public technology network that aims to stimulate entrepreneurship by connecting physical sites through IT infrastructure. The NVI network will connect to Janet through a series of ‘nodes’ linked to research clusters, higher education establishments and science parks.
The main aim of the initiative is to help accelerate the growth of start-up and SME businesses. Start-up businesses will be able to visit a ‘node’ and connect to other organisations in the network in order to facilitate their contact and collaboration with other like-minded businesses, partners, advisors and investors. The nodes will be equipped with state-of-the-art networked technology including Cisco TelePresence® with access to Janet Videoconferencing.
The initiative, led by Cisco, was launched on the 10th November in conjunction with founding partners Ravensbourne, Greenwich Council, Janet and Birmingham Science Park Aston. Over the next three months three more nodes will be announced with a target of over 100 nodes within the next five years.
Tim Marshall, CEO of Janet said: “Janet is delighted to be involved in this initiative. Providing connectivity across the Janet network will ensure that these start-up companies are able to share ideas and develop business partnerships. Innovation and collaboration can be constrained by geography, which is why Janet is ensuring that SMEs participating in the National Virtual Incubator will have full access to collaborative technologies. Actively enabling such collaboration is at the core of Janet’s mission to support the UK economy.”
To find out more and to read the full press release, visit the Cisco website.
