ABOUT EDGE
Edge serves as a member-owned, nonprofit provider of high performance optical fiber networking and internetworking, Internet2, and a vast array of best-in-class technology solutions for cyber security, educational technologies, cloud computing, and professional managed services. Edge provides these solutions to colleges and universities, K-12 school districts, government entities, hospital networks and nonprofit business entities as part of a membership-based consortium. Edge’s membership spans New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. Edge’s common good mission ensures success by empowering members for digital transformation with affordable, reliable and thought-leading purpose-built, advanced connectivity, technologies and services. Visit NJEdge.net to learn about our mission, vision, and vast array of member benefits.
Samuel S. Conn, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Edge Membership Benefits Include:
VALUE AND TRUST
Edge serves as a member-owned, nonprofit organization focused solely on the success and benefit of our members for the past 20 years. As your trusted partner, Edge leverages consortium buying power, common good thinking, and scalable operations and infrastructure to assist member institutions in lowering the total cost of ownership of technology, and achieving greater return on investment for technology spend.
PREMIER NETWORKING
Edge’s purpose-built, 400G world-class optical fiber network is simply faster, more reliable and secure, and peered with more resources than any best-effort commodity network provider. With 11 major hubs across the northeast region, Edge provides for our members’ networking and internetworking needs with SDN segments dedicated to the needs and functions of both enterprise and research computing. The Edge network, now in its sixth generation of design, provides a best value for the digital connectivity needed by our members in today’s hyper-connected and hyper-converged mobile world.
CYBERSECURITY
As well as mitigation of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on our members, Edge provides a portfolio of best-in-class products, services, and solutions that keep our members’ data, networks, and reputation more secure. Our members benefit continually from Edge’s vast experience and are able to rely on our in-house experts in digital security.
CLOUD AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
Whether the need is IP addresses, caching services, co-location space for disaster recovery and business continuity, DNS service, Internet2, or LISP management, Edge members receive multiple technical products and services as required. With master service agreements in-place with all major Cloud providers, Edge helps connected members with Cloud architecture and migration strategy designed for today’s software as a service (SaaS) models of computing.
PROFESSIONAL AND MANAGED SERVICES
Throughout the lifecycle of the student, patient, and citizen, networked business processes are supported by Edge’s connective tissue and experience in enterprise computing. As our member institutions and organizations encountered the need for adjunct or managed services in the form of a virtual chief information security officer (vCISO), an institutional chief information officer (CIO), network engineers, moving to the Cloud, digital marketing and enrollment management, education technology or even building and supporting an online program or campus, Edge makes available to our members fully vetted and affordable talent pools to supplement or outsource essential services.
CONCIERGE EXPERT SUPPORT
Available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year, our members can speak directly with our expert networking and system engineers regarding planning, issues, and technical challenges. Our local Network Operations Center constantly monitors traffic on our network backbone to ensure security, reliability, and optimal performance for our connected members.
CONSORTIUM BUYING PROGRAMS
Edge’s New Jersey State Lead Agency Status and designation as a Cooperative Pricing System forms the basis for a marketplace of available products, services, and solutions via direct purchase. Edge members benefit from Edge’s supply chain management approach by not spending the time and effort to conduct laborious, difficult, and expensive public procurements. Conducting strategic RFPs to provide essentially on-demand procurement of critical needs and requirements benefits our members and provides vetted best pricing for public and private institutions and organizations in education, healthcare, and government.
COMMUNITY AND COLLABORATION
Numerous professional networking and development events are provided each year to Edge members to encourage and facilitate community and engagement. Events such as our CxO Exchange, Women Leaders in Technology, or Technology Practice Groups in Education and Emerging Technologies, VMware, and Cyber Security are conducted throughout the year for our members. In addition, our digital community platform, EdgeXchange, is provided to our members who elect to asynchronously stay informed, network and innovate with peers, or share best practices and collaborations among member organizations. Edge’s premiere annual conference, EdgeCon, is held the first week of January and features relevant sessions, plenary speakers, and a nationally ranked keynote speaker. The third way in which Edge promotes member community and collaboration is via publications, newsletters, and webinars.
SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH AND SPONSORED PROGRAMS
With guidance from a highly prominent advisory council of leading researchers, EdgeDiscovery continually evolves in support of scientific discovery and advanced research initiatives, grant writing, and grant administration. Serving all Carnegie classified research institutions, EdgeDiscovery uniquely combines a dedicated research network segment, advanced research computing resources, education for researchers and students, comprehensive expertise and support for research, and tools and events that foster research community engagement.