Real-time data on global collaboration networks can support new research and create further connections

Cloud-based technologies provide easier access to the infrastructure and tools needed for research collaboration. The use of these tools can also provide new insights into current collaboration patterns; a picture of what is happening right now rather than what has happened in the past. John Hammersley, reporting on a recent study on research collaboration, considers how this real-time data can be useful in supporting the work of researchers and university libraries. By bringing together communities that form around new cloud-based tools, and local communities that support research within institutions, it is possible to create further connections within both.