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California Department of Technology and City of Sacramento Connect to CENIC, the Premier Research and Education Digital Network

Categories Private Universities & NPS RENS & NRENS

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Government Collaboration to Benefit All Public Entities

The California Department of Technology (CDT) announced today that it will connect the state government’s network to the Corporation for Education Networking in California (CENIC). CENIC is California’s ultra-fast 100Gbps research and education network, designed to build stronger digital connections to California’s innovators, researchers, educators, and students.

This connection has been made possible by the City of Sacramento, which signed a long-term fiber sharing agreement with CDT. The agreement enables the state to use Sacramento’s fiber assets and CENIC members to utilize the state’s technology service offerings.

CENIC’s Charter Associates form one of the world’s largest education and research systems. Members include the University of California, California’s K-12 system, California Community Colleges, the California State University and California’s public libraries. CENIC also provides connectivity for its members to leading-edge institutions and industry research organizations around the world, serving the public as a catalyst for a vibrant California.

"This agreement plays a significant role in improving the delivery, efficiency and security of government services in the State of California,” said Chris Cruz, CDT’s Chief Deputy Director of Operations. “Now we can extend these services to CENIC’s research and education community thanks to Sacramento’s willingness to collaborate on solutions across government entities.”

CENIC’s 10,000 member institutions will now have access to the state’s technology service offerings, including its CalCloud Portfolio, the State of California’s private cloud, with service offerings such as compute, networking, storage and disaster recovery. CDT can also help CENIC members acquire assessment, planning and implementation service contracts to enable migration to additional CDT services.

An important benefit of the CalCloud IaaS is its security posture. CalCloud was designed, built, tested and operated according to the set of controls and processes defined by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

“The state’s CalCloud is the first of its kind — a private, secure, multi-vendor platform for public sector organizations and institutions — and, as such, of immense potential value to CENIC’s research and education community,” said Louis Fox, President, and CEO of CENIC. “CENIC’s CalREN network is the ideal backplane for our community to access this rich resource, enabling high-speed, private, and secure access to CalCloud for our members, and demonstrates the power of cross-sector collaboration among the private sector, government agencies, and education institutions.”

This agreement will also enable Sacramento to participate in statewide data-sharing initiatives with other cities who are connected — or will soon connect — to the CalREN network and to California’s academic research community. This will embolden a platform for sharing and analyzing data, and enabling the exchange of best practices and new applications across California’s public entities. CENIC is advancing the Smart Cities movement through high capacity collection, use, and sharing of city-scale data and information technology.

“This is a tremendous success story and a great example of leveraging a city asset that is not being fully utilized, in return for a significant benefit to both the city and the state. This is government at its best,” said Maria MacGunigal, Chief Information Officer at the City of Sacramento. “The opportunity to participate in statewide open data initiatives with other cities will allow us to share our best practices and benefit from those of other cities across the state.”

About the California Department of Technology • www.cio.ca.gov

The mission of the California Department of Technology is to support programs and departments in the delivery of state services and information to citizens and businesses through agile, cost-effective, innovative, reliable and secure technology.

About the Sacramento Department of Information Technology • www.cityofsacramento.org/Information-Technology

The mission of the Department of Information Technology is to ensure IT investments and strategic business technologies are customer focused, sound, and deliver the highest possible value to the City and its constituents.

About CENIC • www.cenic.org

CENIC connects California to the world—advancing education and research statewide by providing the world-class network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth. This nonprofit organization operates the California Research & Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity network designed to meet the unique requirements of over 20 million users, including the vast majority of K-20 students together with educators, researchers, and other vital public-serving institutions.

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