Le Lézard
Classified in: Ebola virus, Science and technology
Subject: PDT

World Community Grid Taps IBM Cloud to Help Accelerate Research into Global Humanitarian Challenges


ARMONK, N.Y., June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that World Community Grid, an IBM philanthropic initiative which allows anyone with a computer or Android device to contribute to scientific discovery, has migrated to IBM Cloud as it continues to grow and further its mission to support cutting-edge research into important global humanitarian issues.

IBM Corporation logo. (PRNewsFoto/IBM Corporation) (PRNewsFoto/)

World Community Grid has adopted IBM Cloud for 100 percent of its infrastructure, including the infrastructure that prepares the researchers' data sets, distributes tasks to volunteer devices, validates and aggregates the results and returns the data to the researchers. This system manages the workflow of the approximately 2.5 million virtual experiments performed by World Community Grid volunteers every day from more than 3.4 million devices. 

Launched in 2004, World Community Grid creates a virtual supercomputer by leveraging unused computing power contributed by volunteers around the world to accelerate health and sustainability research. Volunteers participate in World Community Grid by downloading and installing a free software program on their computer or Android devices.

With the software, a volunteer's device performs calculations and virtual experiments on behalf of researchers, making use of its compute power while it would be otherwise idle. The results are then transmitted back to researchers, where they are analyzed and used to accelerate research into pressing global challenges such as childhood cancer, Zika, HIV/AIDS, solar energy and clean water access.

Prior to migrating to IBM Cloud, World Community Grid was hosted at a traditional data center. This infrastructure is responsible for dividing up research tasks among volunteer devices and then validating and assembling results for scientists as they are completed and returned by World Community Grid volunteers. World Community Grid wanted a more flexible hosting environment that allowed it to scale more easily.

World Community Grid will benefit from IBM Cloud's global footprint of more than 55 data centers across 19 countries and dedicated network to improve speed and performance for volunteers around the world. As part of the migration, World Community Grid has also adopted DevOps best practices and deployed IBM and open source automation tools such as IBM UrbanCode Deploy, which will allow it to more efficiently perform website updates, technical upgrades and monitor for system issues.

"World Community Grid makes it possible for computationally intensive research projects that would have taken years to be completed in weeks or months, and faster results means benefits are delivered sooner to patients and communities around the world," said Jennifer Ryan Crozier, IBM Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and President of the IBM International Foundation. "By moving to IBM Cloud, World Community Grid is poised for years of growth and will leverage automation tools to make our development and deployment processes more efficient."

Since its founding, World Community Grid has supported 28 research projects in critical areas including cancer, HIV/AIDS, Zika and Ebola viruses, genetic mapping, sustainable energy, clean water and ecosystem preservation. To date, World Community Grid has connected researchers to one half billion U.S. dollars' worth of free supercomputing power. More than 730,000 individuals and 440 institutions from 80 countries have donated more than one million years of computing time on more than three million desktops, laptops and Android mobile devices since 2004. Volunteer participation has helped researchers to identify potential treatments for childhood cancer, more efficient solar cells and more efficient water filtration.

To learn more about World Community Grid and volunteer to contribute your unused computing power, please visit: https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/  

To learn more about IBM Cloud, please visit: https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/

Media Contacts: 
Sarah Murphy 
IBM Media Relations 
[email protected] 
202-551-9396

Ari Fishkind 
IBM Media Relations 
[email protected] 
914-499-6420

SOURCE IBM


These press releases may also interest you

21 mar 2019
The "Europe Welding Equipment Market-Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019 - 2024)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Welding is one of the critical processes employed in the manufacturing...

21 mar 2019
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that its Ebola vaccine, INO-4201, was safe, tolerable, and generated strong T cell and antibody responses. This Phase 1 data was published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and further supports the...

20 mar 2019
Merck , known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NGM) today announced that Merck has exercised its option to extend the research phase of the companies' broad, strategic collaboration...

20 mar 2019
The shareholders in Sandvik Aktiebolag are convened to the Annual General Meeting to be held on Monday, 29 April 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at the Göransson Arena, Sätragatan 21, Sandviken, Sweden. RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AND NOTICE Shareholders who wish to...

20 mar 2019
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given to inspiring business leaders who have put society first. 2019's winners are: Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako, medical director of GiftedMom, Alice Laugher, CEO of Committed to...

19 mar 2019
The evolving competitive market has made it essential for the telecommunication industry to rethink traditional ways of doing business in terms of the impact on business models, service portfolios and technical architectures. Digital business support...



News published on and distributed by: