CONTENTS

BRITISH INNOVATION

A springboard to global growth
Andrew Cahn, UK Trade & Investment

Innovation: the business of shaping our world
David Golding, Technology Strategy Board

Going global
Jonathan Kestenbaum, NESTA

Diversity is good for innovation
Annette Williams, UKRC for Women in SET

Promoting physics supporting physicists
Institute of Physics

The cost-saving CEO
Taylor Wessing

The BIC network
UK Trade & Investment

Innovation inspires R&D tax relief
PricewaterhouseCoopers

OPEN INNOVATION

KEY TECHNOLOGY

Addressing cross sectoral issues
Integrated Products Manufacturing KTN

Research Councils

Meeting the global challenge
Research Councils

The UK?s National Science and Innovation Campuses
Science & Technology Facilities Council

Aerospace & Defence

Enabling technology through innovative approaches
Aerospace & Defence KTN

Defence technologies for civilian applications
Ploughshare Innovations

Biometrics

Securing the future
Intellect Association for Biometrics

Biotechnology

Supporting life sciences in the capital
London First

Tackling the threat of electronic crime
Cyber Security KTN

Electronics

From invention to innovation
Electronics KTN

Grid Computing Now! KTN

Energy

A global fusion
UK Atomic Energy Authority

Design for a one planet economy
Giraffe Innovation

Managing carbon in the corporate and public sectors
Greenstone Carbon Management

Towards an energy efficient future
British Electrotechnical and Allied

Manufacturers Association (BEAMA) Home help
Energy Institute

Healthcare

Connecting people and technology
Health Technologies KTN

A centre of excellence for innovative translational research
University of Birmingham

Feeling your way to design success
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

University-industry collaborations
Imperial College London

Lost in translation
Pearson Matthews Innovation Consultants

Location and Timing

Location and Timing KTN
Intelligent Transport Systems

Mapping the route to intelligent transport systems deployment
Innovits KTN

Drive down fleet costs and reduce carbon emissions?
Energy Saving Trust

DRIVENet and sustainable vehicle engineering
Oxford Brookes University

Manufacturing

Breaking the mould
Manufacturing Technologies Association

University of Nottingham

An innovative history
Scott Bader

Innovation for tomorrow?s built environment
Modern Built Environment KTN

MATERIALS

Innovations in materials deliver value for money
Materials KTN

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology in the UK
Nano KTN

Linking technology push with market pull
NanoCentral

Running the risks
European Nanotechnology Trade Alliance

Nanofabrication solutions
Kelvin Nanotechnology

Innovative science for global applications
Oxford Instruments

Leading positive change for global industry
The Centre for Process Innovation

PHOTONICS

Making light work for industry
Photonics KTN

SENSORS & INSTRUMENTS

Unlocking the potential of the UK?s sensing community
Sensors & Instruments KTN

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

Investing in the future
Invest Northern Ireland

Ulster innovation delivering business success
University of Ulster

Focus: Northern Ireland

Belfast ? a city of creativity and innovation
Belfast City Council

A natural centre for innovation
London Development Agency

England?s East Midlands ? an innovative region
East Midlands Development Agency

Making it in Leeds
The City of Leeds

Collaboration in wireless technologies
Wireless Centre of Industrial Collaboration

Industrial Collaboration at the University of Leeds
Engineering Design CIC

Innovations
One North East

Focus: North West of England

Connectivity, Catchment, Cost
St. Helens

Focus: South West of England

Be part of the equation
West of England Partnership

All change for Hastings
Innovation Centre Hastings

ITI Scotland

UK SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PARKS

Raising the standards
UK Science Park Association

Special focus: collaboration
Edinburgh Science Triangle

Innovation: the key to economic growth
County Durham Development Company

Solutions across boundaries
Norwich Research Park

Partnership provides innovation success
Wolverhampton Science Park

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

The outsourcing advantage
Business Services Association

Fast start UK
Tenon Outsourcing

Inward investment trends
HSBC

Divine intervention
British Business Angels Association

Know your rights
Intellectual Property Office

A perfect patent
Beresford & Co

Putting IP at the centre of business strategy
Cambridge Intellectual Property

USEFUL INFORMATION

Science lessons
GovNet Communications

Useful addresses

KEY TECHNOLOGY

Electronics

Grid Computing now!

Grid Computing has come a long way from its roots in the research community to playing a key role in the computing models of the future

Grid Computing is the practice of harnessing a wide range of computing equipment, across organisational boundaries, to provide a more efficient service for prospective user, allowing rapid deployment of services at reduced cost and improved utilisation. Inherent in grid computing infrastructures is the ability to dynamically discover and deploy resources. The use of virtualisation at application and hardware levels enables improved capacity and increased utilisation. The Grid Computing Now! KTN has been at the forefront of the development of these technologies since 2005. With pressure to improve efficiency and reduce cost, they are now poised for widespread adoption!

Grid computing and where are we heading?

We believe that the original grid computing adoption agenda has been successfully incorporated into the developments of commercial and open source offerings for virtualisation and system management middleware, now used to manage largescale, proprietary computing infrastructures. The next big move in the industry is towards a utility model where computing resources can be purchased on demand to meet the IT requirements of an organisation.

The current name for this model is ?Cloud Computing?. What does this mean?

  • Cloud Computing suppliers provide public access to computing resources paid for as they are used. Notable vendors include Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, IBM and many others. You simply purchase the resources, run your applications and manage your data on the supplier infrastructure accessed through the internet! This is know as ?Infrastructure as a Service?.
  • In some cases you don?t even need to own the software applications, you access the programs you need via the internet, when you need them. This is known as ?Software as a Service? (SaaS). Leading proponents include Salesforce. Com; Google Apps; and many other software suppliers offering access to their products in this way.
  • Increasingly, users are beginning to rely upon information provided by third-party suppliers which is then incorporated in their own business applications, often assembled into service ?mash-ups?. This model is known as ?Information as a Service? and leading suppliers include Google Earth, Microsoft Maps, Ordnance Survey, Met Office, as well as many service providers who deliver specialist information to financial institutions.

The evolution of this style of computing will lead many organisations to reconsider their assumptions about owning computer power and purchasing software to be installed locally. Recent exponents of cloud computing have built capacity into their businesses simply by adding capacity on demand. Paying only for the services they use when they use them, minimising up-front capital expense.

Shifts in the market like this cannot simply be adopted without some expert thinking and advice. Organisations either need to develop their own capabilities and architectural models to support their needs, or purchase such services from thirdparty experts in information architecture and strategy. These skills will become even more of a business imperative looking forward.

Members of the KTN have engaged with leading users to bring these processes to bear on challenges in sectors such as Intelligent Transport; Green IT; Healthcare; as well as Software Licensing models in this age of virtualised, distributed computing. Lastly, the requirement to design sustainable systems with minimal carbon emissions is becoming accepted as a fundamental part of next generation computing systems. But there lies an opportunity too. The true value of a business information infrastructure is to enable a breakthrough in carbon emission reduction through reducing wasted effort and optimising required expenditure across the organisation?s activities. Contact us now to learn more and join the network!

What is Grid Computing Now?

Grid Computing Now! is a national Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) funded by the Technology Strategy Board. It comprises a consortium of leading suppliers, academics and industrialists, led by Intellect, the UK high-technology trade association.

Established in 2005, with a network of more than 1,100 members, about two-thirds of whom are from industry; the remainder are from academia and public sector.

The KTN runs a #1 ranked website: www.gridcomputingnow. org which contains information on grid computing technologies, including grid middleware, virtualisation and service-oriented architecture.

The site publishes information about Web Seminars (webinars), events, user case studies, and provides access to news, background and other useful reference materials.

The website features examples of more than 40 successful implementations of grid computing technologies from organisations in all sectors of the economy. Several case studies are featured in our webinars available on the site.

The example applications address a wide range of user needs, including business transformation, sustainability, supply chain integration, exploration and service delivery.

The project also highlights the opportunities for standardisation, promoting the work done through its connections with the e-Science community, Open Grid Forum and OGF ? Europe programmes.

Finally, the members of the KTN frequently contribute to the conference and media activities of leading organisations and publishers, reaching and influencing a wide range of industry professionals and the general public.

Further information about the Grid Computing
Now! KTN and its activities can be found at:
www.gridcomputingnow.org