Block 64 awarded Contract to Develop Groundbreaking Data Centre Optimization Technology for Shared Services Canada
Toronto, Ontario, October 13, 2021 — Block 64, a leading provider of discovery and analytics for IT asset management, cybersecurity and cloud enablement, has been selected to build a machine learning-based data centre optimization toolset under Shared Services Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada program. The aim of the project is to collect and analyze information, and provide recommendations for reducing and/or consolidating legacy federal government data centre resources through infrastructure modernization and, where appropriate, migration to the cloud. Over $1 million has been budgeted across two phases, during which Block 64 will develop and test a prototype based on a proof of concept, with the potential to receive additional support for future commercialization.
“It is incredibly gratifying to be chosen to move forward under this program, especially given the sheer number of Canadian technology companies that responded,” said Dean Williams, founder and CEO of Block 64. “This is both a strong vote of confidence in our ability to develop groundbreaking technologies to support data centre optimization, and a testament to the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting innovation at home.”
The technical challenge was issued as a result of the significant time, money and resources Shared Services Canada was investing to gather the information necessary to create a strategy to consolidate aging federal government data centers, which number in the hundreds, to fewer than 10. These challenges were due to the varying levels of data available about the existing data centres, as well as the manual work involved in consolidating and analyzing this information to identify cloud-ready workloads and opportunities for innovation.
As part of the first phase, Block 64 developed a proof of concept to improve the comprehensiveness, accuracy and efficiency of this process by using new discovery and data collection and analysis techniques, including machine learning, to build out tailor-fit optimization recommendations. The company will now begin the development and testing of a prototype application to collect and analyze system architecture, performance and behavioral data across hundreds of target networks. Block 64’s solution will provide modelling and costing for consolidating federal government data centers, whether through migration to a public or private cloud environment, or a more optimal and efficient data centre footprint.
“Issuing this challenge reflects the government’s dedication to improving service delivery for Canadians through the use of modern IT architectures,” said James Corless, head of finance and operations at Block 64. “At the same time, programs like this change the arithmetic by providing the support and incentives to help companies like Block 64 develop solutions with strong potential for commercialization, not only on the national stage, but globally as well.”
Notice of Tender: Computer Science (R&D) (2B0KB-207266/002/SI) – Buyandsell.gc.ca
