How do researchers and innovators ensure they are able to move at the seemingly unlimited speed of scientific discovery? How can Canada maintain a competitive edge in global innovation and modernization? At ORION we often talk about our speed and our 100G capability – but why does speed matter? For researchers and innovators, the need for speed goes hand in hand with the advancement of technology and the pursuit of research projects with BIG data and time constraints.
Staying ahead of the curve and trying to provide the tools of tomorrow, today presents a number of significant challenges for any organization. Here at ORION we refer to these modern day issues as the “Six C’s”:
Cycles, Centres, Connectivity, Collaboration, Clouds, and Challenges
In my opinion these are the issues facing the research and innovation community today. Addressing the “Six C’s” will help to ensure that our best and brightest are able to achieve success without speed or bandwidth restrictions. At the speed of today’s best commercial internet, data intensive projects like cancer screening, genome mapping, and agricultural monitoring would take days for a single trial process to be completed.
You don’t have to be a cancer researcher to know that any type of delay hinders the possibility for discovery, innovation, and research success. To stay competitive, to stay relevant, and to even be considered a player in the innovation landscape you need speed.
On Sunday, October 21, I’ll be speaking more about this topic, the “Six C’s,” and the need for speed at the i-CANADA Summit in Montreal. Aptly named, “A Canada for the 21st Century,” this exciting event brings together Premiers, Mayors, and CEOs, among other business and social leaders and will address community economic sustainability and new social media financing, among other topics.
In the meantime, if you’d like to read more I encourage you to check out these articles that cover a wide range of projects that would be impossible without ORION’s 100G network: