Ipswich: Smart421 completes Commonwealth War Graves Commission archive project

Ipswich-based systems integration specialist Smart421 has helped the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) lauch a new cloud-based platform for searching and downloading archive documents.

The system offers members of the public access to information on the war dead, including graves, names on memorials and locations of Commonwealth cemeteries.

Cloud computing technologies from Amazon Web Services, including Amazon S3, Amazon Cloudfront and Amazon Route53, were recommended by Smart421 to provide a scalable and high availability solution, with the project being completed on time and on budget.

Will Webster, head of IT at CWGC, said, “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission wanted to offer online public access to part of our historical archive.

“Following a competitive tender, we were so impressed with the skills and value on offer from Smart421, we awarded them the project to realise this vision, cost effectively, using the AWS Cloud.

“In this centenary year of the Great War, Smart421 has made it possible to deliver fully on everything we wanted to do. This will ensure our records are available to everyone who wants to access them this year and into the future.”

Neil Miles, managing director at Smart421, said: “There can be few projects so deserving of the care and attention this project has received.

“We respect and honour the memory of the fallen in our own way by applying our skill and expertise to help CWGC on this important project in this special year.

“CWGC must be commended for their decision to adopt cloud-based technology. The result is a perfect use case for cloud scalability, availability and value, if ever there was one.”