A recent budget proposal could bring enhanced cloud computing to Virginia and lend an economic boost to manufacturing in the Petersburg area, while bringing key Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA) members on site together.

Under the proposal, VIPA would use money originally earmarked for a CCALS facility to purchase the facility that Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) currently leases, with CCALS then headquartered in the newly purchased facility. Additional monies would be used to fund a robust cloud computing center and to make other improvements to support manufacturing and innovation in the area.

“We’re very excited about this,” said CCALS Executive Director Mark Manasco. “We’ve all had a crash course lately in the importance of advanced logistics, and of course they’re at the heart of many of the projects being supported here. So we’re thrilled to see these initiatives get the resources they need.”