New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Institute and Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), in collaboration with Injazat, a leading information technology and business process services provider in the region, opened a two-day international data center and cloud computing technology conference today at Injazat headquarters. The event, which is open to the public, brings together research and industry experts to discuss state-of-the-art technologies, exchange ideas, and foster strategic views in this area.
Data centers and cloud computing form the basis for most large-scale Internet applications, including search engines and social network sites. Technological advancements in this field have a significant impact on the information and communications technology industry, and on the interconnected global community.
Workshop participants will discuss topics involving data center networks, cloud computing architecture, security, resilience, monitoring, performance analysis, cloud applications, and future perspectives for the field. Participants include experts from: IBM, New Jersey Institute of Technology, CloudPhysics, Bell Laboratories, Juniper Networks, Huawei Technologies, Injazat, NYU-Poly, and NYUAD.
The conference also features an evening public lecture by AT&T Laboratories Fellow K.K. Ramakrishnan on “Networking the Cloud: Enabling Enterprise Computing and Storage” on March 18 at 6:30pm at the Park Rotana Hotel.
Jonathan Chao, department head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NYU-Poly and research professor at NYUAD, said: “This conference was designed to promote collaboration between research institutions, academia, and service providers as an important step in ensuring that advancements in research are being implemented in the design and development of commercial applications and services.”
CEO of Injazat Data Systems Ibrahim Lari said: “Injazat Data Systems is honored to be working with the esteemed New York University Abu Dhabi in hosting this event. Our institutions share a strong enthusiasm for discussing and promoting agents of innovation in data centers and cloud computing, both of which are revolutionizing computing and networking. We believe in the importance of consolidating the ideas, expertise, and experiences of academia and industry to deliver more effective models and practices for these critical technologies.”
Based on a survey by global IT market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC), data centers and cloud computing are gaining traction in the Middle East with approximately 70 percent of the region’s organizations either adopting or considering virtualization. Middle East markets are also embracing cloud computing as a viable IT model for cost savings and enhanced scalability.
NYUAD and NYU-Poly announced in May 2011 the establishment of a research and innovation lab in data center and cloud computing in Abu Dhabi. The research lab will serve as a hub to support both information exchange and applied research. The lab will host workshops, conferences, professional courses, and training, while experts develop new prototypes, conduct experiments, contribute to academic research, and investigate opportunities to create research-based commercial applications.
