COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio businesses will soon have an ally in their struggle to keep pace with technological changes. The states Technology Action Board granted the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and the Business Technology Center (BTC) $255,000 to create Platform Lab, a shared software-testing and development facility.

State officials said that Platform Lab should provide valuable assistance in helping businesses get affordable access to rapidly changing information technologies. The Lab, located in the renovated Business Technology Center, will support Ohios IT industry by bringing together such crucial elements as expertise in hardware and software and physical space for software research, development and testing.

"The key to Platform Labs success is that its a community effort, providing convenient access to critical components for software testing and development," said Eric Stahlberg, Platform Lab project leader. "Were continuing to work with an expanding list of supporting partners to create a readily accessible development environment.'

The OSC will provide operational support and build upon existing vendor relationships to bring hardware, software and know-how to the lab. The BTC will complete the offering by providing business-development support for the lab and facilities in their newly remodeled space.

Platform Lab will offer companies secure networks and physical access to the site, as well as software and hardware to support development and product testing. Expertise in software development areas such as quality assurance, project management, database integration, database optimization and security and legacy-system integration will also be available.

Officials hope that Platform Lab will be ready for business by autumn.