• Foreword
• A Step Ahead
• Supporting Education
  & Research
• Enriching Learning
• Security & Regulation
• Part of the Global Network
• Working with Other Public Sector Networks
• Engaging with the Community
• Keeping in Touch with JANET
• JANET Publications

Foreword

"To provide outstanding and distinctive information and communication services to the UK's research, education, training and cultural communities."

A vibrant knowledge economy depends on excellence in research and education, to which JANET, together with its associated services continues to be a mission critical asset. It is essential that such an economy be underpinned with a powerful and transparent infrastructure which facilitates knowledge exchange in every area. While research and education remain at the heart of JANET's mission, advances in technology together with the government's drive for shared services and efficient procurement mean that a common infrastructure can support multiple communities effectively. The East England Regional Network (page 17) is an excellent example of how we are able to identify synergies between different sectors and through joint procurements bring benefits to all stakeholders. The increasing trend towards public sector networks across the UK opens up a key strategic opportunity for JANET.

For the UK to remain competitive globally, an accessible, high-speed and resilient network is essential to enable both national and international collaboration. JANET once again stands out as a world leader as it moves to 100Gbit/s on the backbone, making it one of the world's fastest research and education networks. The continued restructuring of our regional network delivery is also proving beneficial from both an economic and operational point of view.

As the fall-out of the global financial crisis becomes clearer we are addressing the infrastructureand funding challenges facing our customers. The volume of traffic on JANET continues to grow year on year, and with the constant emergence of new technologies, the network is continually being updated to reduce the unit costs and meet the requirements of over 18 million users throughout the UK and across the world.

In such a changing environment it is essential that we meet our customers' needs in an appropriate and cost effective way. Customer engagement and service will be at the heart of our success and this will be a key aspect to our organisational and team development in the coming year.

This report records the activities of JANET(UK) during 2009-10 and we look forward to continuing to adhere to our core values of efficiency, operational excellence and environmental sustainability in response to the needs of all our stakeholders and customers.

Tim Marshall,

Chief Executive Officer