Looking back on OH-TECH technology consortia milestones in 2022

The Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-TECH) celebrated the major milestones of its member technology infrastructure organizations as they observed notable anniversaries in 2022. OH-TECH, the umbrella organization for the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) and the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK), also marked its 10th year of service to the State of Ohio.

The chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) issued a directive creating OH-TECH in late 2011 to consolidate state consortia dedicated to providing technology services and resources to diverse communities in Ohio. By establishing a shared technology and business infrastructure for these consortia, OH-TECH has offered cost savings and created synergies among the consortia to ensure a maximum return on investment to the state since it began this work in earnest in 2012.

“After a decade of work, OH-TECH has clearly delivered on its promise to the State of Ohio,” said Charles See, vice chancellor of strategic partnerships and education technology for ODHE. “OH-TECH has enabled OSC, OARnet and OhioLINK to focus on their core missions of serving institutions and citizens across the state. All three consortia have made phenomenal strides in advancing their technology services and resources and expanding access to more Ohioans.”

In addition to OH-TECH’s 10th anniversary, 2022 also marked the 30th anniversary of OhioLINK and the 35th anniversaries of OSC and OARnet. The consortia recently published overviews of their milestones, as well as current initiatives, on the news pages of their websites.

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  OhioLINK marks 30 years of innovation for Ohio's academic libraries

  OhioLINK has built a nationally renowned consortium that benefits Ohio’s higher education

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  OARnet connecting communities through  technology for 35 years

  Rooted in higher education, statewide network has grown to improve life for all Ohioans

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  OSC celebrates 35 years at the forefront of technology

  Unique state resource has evolved advanced computing in Ohio to accelerate research discovery and business innovation

During its 30-year history, OhioLINK, the statewide academic library consortium, has been at the cutting edge of the shift to electronic library resources and has grown in size and scope, adding shared services and programs for its members. Today OhioLINK maintains a shared electronic catalog of electronic books, journals, databases and streaming media for its 117 libraries within 88 institutions and the State Library of Ohio, and manages the statewide lending of books and other printed materials among member and public libraries.

Over the last 35 years, OSC has supported the growing need in the State of Ohio and beyond for advanced computing resources that can accelerate research discovery, business innovation and the education of tomorrow’s workforce. The Center has remained on the forefront of technology by continually upgrading and launching new high performance computing resources while expanding its services to an array of academic disciplines and industries.

OARnet has expanded from its origins as an OSC network to serve an extensive number of communities across Ohio, delivering more than 5,500 miles of fiber-optic broadband connectivity and on-demand configuration to match each client’s diverse and evolving sets of needs. In addition to higher education institutions and K-12 schools, OARnet provides highly reliable and secure connections for state and local government, public broadcasting, health care and Next Generation 911 emergency call centers. It works with public and private partners to supply increased bandwidth to underserved and unserved areas.

Over the last decade, OH-TECH’s shared services operation has worked closely with the three consortia and the ODHE to identify and address technology and business innovations that can help the organizations meet state goals.

“With the rapid pace of technology and the growing needs of the entities our consortia serve, OH-TECH has been a critical resource for the state,” said ODHE Chancellor Randy Gardner. “Thanks to OH-TECH, Ohio is well positioned to support an increase in research activity, the expanded use of online learning tools, and the continued development of our future workforce.”