POSTMARK

Project Outcomes

POSTMARK was based on Sohonet, a dedicated fibre network which provides connectivity to over 200 companies in the media industry and beyond, delivering fixed latency paths within an uncontended non-blocking network, with near real-time provisioning of bandwidth up to 10GBit/sec. POSTMARK used the UK Technology Stratey Board's ICtomorrow market simulation testbed.

IT Innovation has developed a service deployment and management framework called MServe that allows data transfer, data storage and data processing to be combined and delivered as application services- all with guaranteed Quality of Service.

This next generation of services is essential for the continued growth and prosperity of the UK media industry, which is one of the three largest in the world. The high-profile nature of the POSTMARK target community (companies producing blockbuster films, primetime TV, global advertising) will provide key public success stories to stimulate uptake of project results, the Technology Strategy Board's digital testbed (IC tomorrow) and UK use of advanced networks in general. Trials stimulated by POSTMARK will explore the business benefits of applications as services in the media sector, and the transformation in working practices and business models this brings.