JASPER, Ind. — The Quilt, a consortium of regional Research and Education (R&E) networks throughout the United States, today announced a new contract with PIER Group, Partners in Education and Research, that gives eligible Quilt buyers a streamlined way to procure technology products, infrastructure and professional services.
The Quilt’s member networks provide advanced network services and applications to more than 900 universities and thousands of other educational and community anchor institutions nationwide.
“We’re thrilled to build on the strong relationship The Quilt and PIER Group have developed over many years,” said Jen Leasure, president and CEO of The Quilt. “By working together, we can make technology procurement simpler and more effective for the R&E community—helping regional networks and their member institutions access the scalable, advanced infrastructure they need to support today’s research and education.”
Research and education organizations are addressing growing infrastructure demands related to artificial intelligence, advanced research, data movement, cybersecurity and network capacity. Through the new contract, eligible organizations can work with PIER Group to access advanced networking and optical infrastructure, data center and high-performance computing solutions, AI infrastructure, servers, storage, data management, cybersecurity, network resiliency and engineering services.
“Research and education organizations should be able to focus on solving their infrastructure challenges, not on making procurement harder than the technology itself,” said Chad Williams, President of PIER Group. “This contract provides another practical way for Quilt members and the institutions they serve to access the technology, partnerships and technical expertise they need.”
PIER Group has worked alongside research and education organizations for decades, helping institutions design, deploy and modernize the critical infrastructure that supports advanced research, education and collaboration. The new relationship with The Quilt builds on that commitment and makes it easier for eligible organizations to engage PIER Group for projects of varying sizes and complexity.
Whether an organization is modernizing its network, expanding research computing capacity, preparing its infrastructure for AI, strengthening cybersecurity or exploring next-generation networking technologies, PIER Group can bring together the technologies, partners and technical expertise needed to move the project forward.
PIER Group formed in early 2018, as the results of a group’s passion to deliver the best possible technology for the best possible value to R&E customers across the country. To learn more about the PIER Group contract with The Quilt, visit piergroup.com/contracts or contact Caleb Williams at cawilliams@piergroup.com or 812-639-8010.