This groundbreaking model for cross-country collaboration and networking could serve as the technology foundation and potential blueprint for future nationwide expansion
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and MCNC, the non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), today announced a new partnership to bring secure cloud enclaves and advanced data services to community anchor institutions throughout North Carolina.
This partnership will bring together SDSC’s Sherlock capability with MCNC’s extensive broadband network. Along with long-standing collaborator DataMorph, all involved will be working to provide secure cloud and data solutions to more than 1,000 diverse institutions that MCNC serves.
“This is our first partnership with MCNC, and we hope that it can serve as a model for other RENs,” said Sandeep Chandra, Sherlock’s executive director for cloud solutions and services. “While SDSC has partnerships with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), this new work opens the door to additional opportunities with other RENs outside of California.”
The collaboration emerged between Chandra and Phil Emer, MCNC’s vice president of development, who had been tracking Sherlock’s progress in the secure cloud and data services space.
“We have long followed Sherlock’s evolution and growth with great interest,” Emer explained. “We’re also excited about Sherlock’s relationship with DataMorph and look forward to leveraging their combined expertise in delivering modern, secure, cloud-based data services to support our North Carolina stakeholders.”
For more than 40 years, MCNC has proactively met the technological needs for citizens in North Carolina, been a consistent leader in innovation, and served as a catalyst for technology-based economic development. MCNC’s network today spans more than 4,500 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure in all 100 counties, providing connectivity, networking technologies, cybersecurity, and support to colleges, universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, health care institutions, libraries, governments, research institutions and more.
What sets this partnership apart is its forward-looking structure. Rather than simply providing services through existing Sherlock platforms, the team will duplicate these capabilities within MCNC’s own infrastructure – creating a pathway for independent operation. “Typically, Sherlock partners to provide these services to its customers while leveraging platforms it has built and operates, so this is the first time we are building a set of platforms and capabilities under the organizational management and oversight of the partnering customer,” Chandra said. “We are stepping outside of our typical mode of engagement for a much more integrated and long-term collaboration.”
The initial phase will offer secure cloud enclaves and data management to current MCNC users while simultaneously building MCNC’s internal capabilities to eventually act independently to manage the services. This project also provides Sherlock with the potential to share services and expertise all along the east coast, representing a strategic expansion of Sherlock’s reach within the academic and research community.
“It has been exciting to see the development of Sherlock’s relationship with MCNC,” said SDSC Director Frank Wuerthwein. “MCNC has been an excellent partner that shares the vision for how Sherlock’s unique capabilities can be leveraged – and duplicated – within an organization. We look forward to Sherlock executing this vision.”
Though still in its early stages, the success of this partnership could serve as a model for similar collaborations so more RENs can broaden their access to secure, scalable cloud and data solutions tailored for analytics, AI, and machine learning workloads. DataMorph co-founder Krishna Katikaneni added that by leveraging its visual data engineering platform, institutions can simplify the development and operation of modern data products, accelerate time to insight, and lower the technical barriers for deploying advanced analytics and AI/ML workloads. “We are excited to be a part of the nationwide team to make this happen,” said Katikaneni.
This latest collaboration will be one of many discussions happening later this year during MCNC Community Day on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 in Durham, N.C.
About MCNC
MCNC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit client-focused technology organization. Founded in 1980, MCNC owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), one of America’s longest-running regional research and education networks. With over 40 years of innovation, MCNC provides high-performance services for education, research, libraries, healthcare, public safety, and other community anchor institutions throughout North Carolina. NCREN is the fundamental broadband infrastructure for over 850 of these institutions including all public K-20 education in North Carolina. As one of the nation’s premier middle-mile fiber backbone networks, MCNC leverages NCREN to customize protected Internet, cybersecurity services, and related applications for each client while supporting private service providers in bringing cost-efficient connectivity to rural and underserved communities in North Carolina.
Visit www.mcnc.org. MCNC Social: Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn.
About Sherlock
Sherlock is a part of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). It provides innovative and secure information technology and data services, including cloud hosting, cybersecurity, and data services, for academic, state, and federal entities. Sherlock specializes in managed cloud solutions that are compliant with regulations like HIPAA, FISMA, and NIST CUI and CSF, supporting secure research and data collection for organizations like the Centers for Medicare and CMS. Sherlock’s current and potential partners can be confident that its infrastructure and solutions not only meet, but exceed, the stringent regulations and protect their sensitive data. Visit the SDSC/Sherlock webpage.
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SOURCE MCNC
