By Kavita Sherman <\/strong><\/p>\n Kevin Goodman remembers taking field trips as a child to view Cleveland Museum of Art exhibits, tour the grounds, and learn about early Cleveland philanthropists, such as Jeptha H. Wade and John Huntington. Stories about the art museum and the industrialists who made CMA possible filled Goodman with adventure and inspiration.<\/p>\n \u201cThose school trips made light bulbs go off in my world,\u201d Goodman says. \u201cI would think about those people and their stories and how they contributed to the beauty I was seeing. It made me want to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Four decades later, Goodman \u2014 now the managing director and partner at BlueBridge Networks, a data center services company offering enterprise class, cloud-based data storage and recovery \u2014is following through on his desire.<\/p>\n In July CMA selected BlueBridge Networks to build a cloud-based storage solution to provide long-term archival preservation of CMA\u2019s digital assets. Additionally, BlueBridge donated up to $600,000 to CMA. The donation, along with BlueBridge\u2019s additional community contributions this year, brings the company\u2019s philanthropic giving to nearly $1 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a data-centric world,\u201d Goodman says. \u201cBy supporting CMA, we\u2019re helping them remain relevant and accessible to the populations they interact with. It\u2019s just good karma.\u201d<\/p>\n Lately, CMA\u2019s cutting-edge, interactive technology is making headlines. The BlueBridge project is the latest link in CMA\u2019s technology chain \u2014a partnership that is proving easier than expected, thanks in part to BlueBridge\u2019s downtown Cleveland proximity, according to Jane Alexander, the CMA\u2019s chief information officer. \u201cThe CMA team was won over by BlueBridge\u2019s offerings,\u201d Alexander says.<\/p>\n Initially, the museum had planned to host the archival repository in house while including all of CMA\u2019s digital assets, ranging from photos of artwork, conservation efforts, installations, and events to artwork created using time-based media, such as audio, video, and computer programs. However, \u201cthe cloud\u201d provided by BlueBridge Networks offered more advantages. With cloud computing, Alexander says she expects to achieve more efficient technology management and cost savings, as well as the ability to retrieve, download, and share CMA\u2019s digital assets easily.<\/p>\n The scope of the BlueBridge-CMA project is enormous. BlueBridge\u2019s custom-designed solution calls for moving content from more than 3,800 gold DVDs and more than 10 terabytes of digital records to the company\u2019s Enterprise cloud for permanent archiving. Additionally, BlueBridge included a disaster protection component for added security. Finally, CMA is preparing descriptions for each digital file being stored so the files can be found later.<\/p>\n In addition to the BlueBridge partnership, several other technology projects have launched recently at the museum, including Gallery One, where art, technology, and interpretation are blended to inspire visitors to explore the museum\u2019s permanent collection, and ArtLens, the museum\u2019s iPad application, which is available online through the App Store. These projects invite museum goers to interact with the permanent art collections and get social.<\/p>\n For instance, as visitors play in the \u201cStrike a Pose\u201d gallery, they twist and contort to match the pose of a specific work, which also attracts other visitors to the fun. In Gallery One, a 40-foot Collection Wall makes up the largest multi-touch screen in the United States. The 150 Christie micro tiles display the 3,800-plus objects currently on view at the museum. Visitors can then save favorite artworks from the Collection Wall to a running list on their ArtLens and let that app guide them on a customized tour.<\/p>\n According to Alexander, other technology initiatives are also providing more access to CMA\u2019s collections. These include switching the museum\u2019s internal and public websites to a flexible, open-source content management system and custom-developing a SharePoint-based collection catalog and management system.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really getting a lot of buzz in the museum world,\u201d Alexander says. \u201cAll of these projects have really put CMA on the map for technology. But it\u2019s our world-class art that is at the forefront of everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n On Sept. 18 Alexander and Goodman will be part of CBC Magazine\u2019s Amplify panel discussion on the state of cloud computing. With organizations expected to spend $112 billion over the next six years on cloud-related technologies, many companies think jumping on the cloud computing bandwagon is necessary to business success. The two-hour session, which includes lunch, will help businesses decide if cloud computing is right for them.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of these projects have really put cma on the map for technology. but it\u2019s our world-class art that is at the forefront of everything we do.\u201d<\/h3>\n