The Quilt wishes to congratulate its members who were recognized last night at IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program award ceremony in Washington D.C. Among the award laureates were: North Carolina’s MCNC, for philanthropy; Ohio’s OARnet and the University of Kentucky in the emerging technology category; and Merit Network and Indiana University in the mobile access category.
A special congratulations to Merit Network which won the 21st Century Achievement Award from IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program in the mobile access category.
The annual award program, which honors visionary IT applications that advance businesses and benefit society, chose 267 laureates from over 700 nominees for 2013 who were all commemorated in a gala ceremony Monday evening. The Computerworld honors program, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, recognizes individuals and organizations that create and use IT to promote social, economic and educational change.
In a press release, Merit president and CEO Don Welch said it was “truly an honor and a privilege to accept this award. The awardees I have met are all inspiring. The work they are doing to improve society is truly impressive. We are so honored to be counted among them.”
Merit was honored by a panel of judges as one of the top five 21st Century Honors Laureates in the mobile access category. It then went on to win the 21st Century Achievement Award, granting it the honor of being the very best among its peers in the category. Merit won the awards in recognition of its REACH-3MC project, a fiber-optic infrastructure build-out through rural and underserved areas of Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
We’re very proud of the work of our Quilt member organizations as they effect real change in pursuit of their missions to support educational and research institutions.
Read More...ATLANTA and SEATTLE – June 5, 2013 – AirWatch the global leader and innovator in mobile security and the largest Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) provider and The Quilt the national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education, have unveiled a unique partnership under which Quilt members can deploy AirWatch’s cutting-edge mobile device management solution at a significant discount.
With the exploding number of mobile devices and the applications that run on them, it is a challenge for educational institutions to manage secure access to their networks, access institution-provided content, and maintain compliance with online safety rules. With its leading position in the growing enterprise mobility management space, its focus on education, and its proven ability to scale devices on clients’ infrastructures, AirWatch is a natural partner for The Quilt.
AirWatch, whose mobility management solutions are already deployed at more than 110 higher education institutions and more than 440 K-12 schools, offers a complete suite of mobile device, applications and secure content management solutions for schools and universities to manage student, faculty or institution-owned devices on campus.
AirWatch is helping schools and universities embrace the next generation of learning with educational apps, e-books and learning content on mobile assets. Administrators can track all mobile assets across the institution, configure policies and settings, distribute apps and secure access to school networks and resources all through the AirWatch web-based console. AirWatch allows IT administrators to ensure devices are compliant with school policies and monitor violations in real time. This empowers organizations to maximize mobile investments by increasing IT efficiency and reducing costs associated with managing mobility.
“As smartphones and tablets proliferate throughout school campuses, there is a growing need for mobility enablement and management,” said Tyce Miller, director of education solutions, AirWatch. “The partnership between The Quilt and AirWatch is a prime example of two industry leaders joining forces to address the challenges of mobility in education. Together, The Quilt and AirWatch are bringing unmatched domain and industry expertise to our schools and universities to embrace the changing mobile landscape.”
The Quilt represents 31 research and education networks which provide advanced network services and applications to thousands of educational institutions, including over 250 universities.
“There is a clear trend in the increasing number of students, faculty, and administrators bringing their own devices on campus for educational and work-related purposes. The Quilt’s partnership with AirWatch is one more tool in our Quilt members’ toolkit to support educational communities in expanding their teaching, learning, and work environments. It’s also a way to help educational institutions take advantage of the new opportunities mobile devices offer to these environments,” said Quilt president and CEO Jen Leasure.
The educational institutions served by Quilt members will benefit from the flexibility provided under the AirWatch agreement, which enables them to purchase solutions directly from AirWatch at an additional discount. In addition, the agreement provides the option for Quilt members to host AirWatch solutions on their own network infrastructure, enabling these networks to remain the trusted resource for delivering services to their member institutions.
About AirWatch:
AirWatch is the world’s largest mobile security and enterprise mobility management provider with more than 7,000 customers and more than 1,300 global associates. The largest customer base, combined with the largest research and development team in the industry, allows AirWatch to provide the broadest functionality at the lowest cost. The AirWatch platform, featuring industry-leading mobile device management and application management, also incorporates the most secure content management solution, Secure Content Locker™. These solutions can be used stand-alone for unique BYOD requirements or as a comprehensive, highly scalable enterprise-grade mobility platform.
The Quilt is the national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education, representing 31 networks across the country. Participants in The Quilt provide advanced network services and applications to over 250 universities and thousands of other educational institutions. For more information, visit www.thequilt.net.
For more information, contact:
Victor Cooper, AirWatch
Jen Leasure, The Quilt
(206) 403-3188
Read More...First annual Michigan Cybersecurity Industry Summit to take place May 14 in Ann Arbor
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Merit Network and the Michigan Cyber Range announced today the first annual Michigan Cybersecurity Industry Summit. The Summit will take place May 14, 2013 from 3:00-7:00 PM at the Sheraton Ann Arbor.
The theme of this year’s Summit is Building Michigan’s Cybersecurity Industry. It will feature expert speakers from government and industry. In addition, a demonstration of the Michigan Cyber Range’s capabilities will introduce attendees to the education, training and testing capabilities that will help launch Michigan’s cybersecurity industry to the forefront of the global marketplace.
The Summit will feature the following speakers:
David Behen, CIO of the State of Michigan, on the governor’s vision for cybersecurity and what the state is doing to expand the IT industry in Michigan.
Dug Song, founder of Duo Security, on how to successfully train a skilled cybersecurity workforce.
Craig Labovitz, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Deepfield, on current Internet trends and the evolution of the cloud and cybersecurity.
This event is ideal for CIOs and IT executives who follow and support cybersecurity activities in Michigan.
About Merit Network
Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit corporation owned and governed by Michigan’s public universities, owns and operates America’s longest-running regional research and education network. In 1966, Michigan’s public universities created Merit as a shared resource to help meet their common need for networking assistance. Since its formation, Merit Network has remained on the forefront of research and education networking expertise and services. Merit provides high-performance networking solutions to Michigan’s public universities, colleges, K-12 organizations, libraries, state government, healthcare, and other non-profit organizations.
For more information: www.merit.edu
About Michigan Cyber Range
Hosted by Merit Network, the Michigan Cyber Range enables interactive learning through real-world exercises and course work. The program offers students and IT professionals a full curriculum of meetings and workshops as well as critical cybersecurity training and awareness tools. Organizations may also utilize the range in closed exercises for their staff to help them practice protecting their infrastructure. The Michigan Cyber Range is part of the State of Michigan’s initiative to improve cybersecurity efforts to protect families, communities, businesses and government.
For more information: www.merit.edu/cyberrange
Elwood Downing
Merit Network, Inc.
Phone: (734)527-5702
Email: edowning@merit.edu