What is Cybera?

E-infrastructure — also called cyberinfrastructure — is the advanced system of networks and computers that was created by and for university research. It is the vanguard of the Internet.

This publicly funded backbone of the Internet requires a neutral expert organization to oversee its development, as well as help pilot new projects “above-the-network”, to make us more enterprising.

In Alberta, Cybera is the not-for-profit organization with this mandate.

Cybera is located in Calgary and Edmonton, and is funded by Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education, as well as members.

What does it do?

Cybera accelerates innovation in three ways:

It operates Alberta’s advanced research network – CyberaNet – a high-speed, high-bandwidth system that connects local researchers to some 80 research networks around the world.
It pilots emerging technologies, such as cloud computing, data portals, and Internet buying collectives, in conjunction with public and private sector partners to seed Alberta-based economic growth.
It provides unbiased, highly skilled expertise: Cybera’s team of leading experts, with a not-for-profit mandate, advises government, universities, K-12 schools, and innovators in all sectors of society on ways to create efficiencies and new high-tech products, processes or services.

See the full list of network services offered.

Who is it for?

Cybera is a collective made up of Alberta’s universities and research organizations, school districts, not-for-profit associations, and private sector companies in the networking and computing world.

They share an interest in Alberta’s innovation ecosystem – ranging from youth education, to university research, to applied pilots in the private sector, either in start-ups or existing companies.

History

Cybera has roots in the global movement of the 1980s to build high-speed networking to support university research.

The initial manifestation of this movement in Alberta was the Western Universities Research Consortium Network (WURCNet). By the mid 1990s, the western provinces each evolved a need for their own organizations. Alberta created Netera Alliance, while other western provinces created partner network organizations. This was a period of explosive growth in the use of the Internet.

In 2006, Netera Alliance transformed to Cybera, with a much-expanded mandate and an expert staff respected throughout the province for its leadership and expertise in not only networking, but all of the innovations that are enabled by networks and computers – together called cyberinfrastructure.

Today, Cybera protects Alberta’s economic future as the publicly funded agency in the province responsible for ensuring advanced and efficient cyberinfrastructure, or e-infrastructure, a now essential foundation for innovation.

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