Global NOC receives $6 million grant

IU’s Global Research Network Operations Center has secured a five-year, $6-million contract for managing a computer network with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This is a sole source federal contract with NOAA that was only offered to the GlobalNOC.

NOAA contracted GlobalNOC in 2010 to install and manage its N-Wave network, which connects NOAA facilities nationwide to support NOAA’s scientific research and provide access to weather and climate data across the scientific community.

The new contract extends these responsibilities and allows GlobalNOC to support NOAA’s two satellite networks and five field offices.

The GlobalNOC has formed partnerships with national and international research and education networks for more than 15 years to provide computer network operations, engineering, deployment and architecture.

It is a private network built for the purpose of creating a faster system that avoids the congestion of commercial networks.

Sole source federal contracts happen “about one percent of the time,” Jent said. NOAA decided GlobalNOC was the only facility with the proper capabilities. 

GlobalNOC will also build a new secure network facility in McLean, Va., allowing NOAA to have secure traffic on their network.

“The purpose of the network is to exchange data between NOAA science facilities,” Luke Fowler, director of software and systems at GlobalNOC, said.

To keep up with the new demands, the GlobalNOC will hire new employees to staff its 24/7 operations centers located in Indianapolis and Bloomington, Jent said.

Jent said he thinks the most challenging part of this contract will be instilling confidence in NOAA as they move from a self-supportive network to outsourcing to GlobalNOC. 

“The GlobalNOC really is a business within the University, and we were built and designed to go do this,” Jent said.

— Rachel Rapp