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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 6, 2004 NEW COMPANIES, JOBS MCNC to Provide Grid Computing Services to Centennial Campus Incubator 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." About MCNC The non-profit MCNC was established by the state government in 1980 to be a catalyst for technology-based economic development and job creation throughout North Carolina. Since 1985, MCNC has developed and operated the North Carolina Research & Education Network (NCREN), one of the nation's premier statewide research networks. The network provides Internet, video, audio and data network services to universities and other education, research and government institutions. Today, in partnership with North Carolina's public and private universities, MCNC is building upon the foundation of NCREN to deploy one of the nation's first statewide grid computing networks. MCNC is located in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. For more information, please visit www.mcnc.org. About Centennial Campus Centennial Campus is North Carolina State University's vision of the campus of the future combining university, corporate and government R&D facilities and business incubators, with an exciting town center, executive conference center and hotel, upscale housing, and recreational amenities. This 1,334-acre site, adjacent to NC State's main campus, is quickly emerging as the Research Triangle Area's fastest growing development. There's no other campus or research park like it in the country. Centennial Campus is proving to be the logical choice for businesses and government agencies requiring R&D facilities near research faculty and graduate students who can supplement project teams on a just-in-time basis. To learn more about the N.C. State Technology Incubator on Centennial Campus visit http://techincubator.ncsu.edu/ About the CED The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004, is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,500 members representing 1,000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org |