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Cloud computing firm selected for new Oxford University Knowledge Transfer Partnership

London-based cloud firm Strategic Blue have been selected for a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Oxford University.

The firm, whose headquarters sit near City Hall, will work with the university’s digital innovation-focused e-Research Centre to look at ways that the firm can enhance the cloud ecosystem it utilises for its financial cloud brokerage and data analytics products.

KTPs see companies working closely with higher education and research institutions to utilise and obtain knowledge and skills that might prove beneficial to their organisation.

This KTP with the FinTech firm, which offers a range of cloud-based payment and finance options, is only the seventh agreement that Oxford University have entered into of this kind.

Dr James Mitchell, CEO of Strategic Blue commented: “Cloud computing is the new electricity. How we buy and sell this new utility service will have a profound impact on the way the market for IT services matures over the next decade.

“We are very excited that our financial cloud brokerage services will have the opportunity to benefit from Oxford’s unique interdisciplinary expertise in both energy and cloud markets. We further recognise the importance of the University’s KTP experience as a vital aspect of this project to ensure the results can be applied to the wider industry”.

Professor David Wallom, Associate Director of Innovation at the Oxford e-Research Centre, believes the knowledge transfer with Strategic Blue is a natural continuation of the university’s work on its CloudWATCH cloud ecosystem analysis tool.

He said: “Our work with the CloudWATCH and CloudWATCH2 projects has demonstrated the benefits of gaining a good understanding of the cloud ecosystem.

“Within this KTP, in partnership with Strategic Blue, we will extend quantitative methodologies by which we can better understand a particular use of cloud computing and who is the best fit provider for them.

He added: “This has the possibility of transforming the current use of cloud and, we would hope, support the development of a complete market.”