20 January 2021
The OCRE project is pleased to announce the award of a total of 473 OCRE IaaS+ framework agreements, that will ease access to commercial cloud services for researchers and research institutions in 40 European countries.
Researchers will be able to benefit from 27 different commercial cloud-based platforms that were sourced through the OCRE IaaS+ Tender concluded mid-2020 and have been made available through the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in the OCRE Cloud Catalogue from today. Although not every platform is available in every country, each country has eight or more platforms to choose from.
The new OCRE Cloud Framework builds on and supersedes the original GÉANT IaaS Cloud Framework agreements that have supported cloud adoption for research and education institutions across Europe. Contracts awarded will continue to support IaaS consumption already taking place and respond to a growing need for cloud services by offering more choice and innovative solutions.
The much-awaited OCRE Cloud Framework opens huge opportunities for the GÉANT and NREN community and promises to shape Cloud consumption in European R&E for many years to come.
With a total of 473 different entries in the catalogue, OCRE has made it easy to find what is available in each country. When entering into the catalogue, the user encounters a map of Europe. A country’s individual catalogue of available services is accessed by simply clicking on that country. Each entry includes a link to detailed information about the platform and a contact email address which can be used to request a quote.
OCRE Project Director David Heyns (GÉANT) said, “I am really excited by the opportunities this framework provides for the institutes, the NRENs, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and the successful suppliers of these services. We look forward to showcasing the tremendous benefits that consumable commercial cloud-based services bring to the research and education community in Europe in terms of agility, flexibility and vastly improved outcomes.”
OCRE NREN Liaison and Rollout Coordinator Dr. Jakob Tendel (DFN), continues: “OCRE offloads a large amount of cloud procurement work and increases community trust for NRENs and their institutions across Europe by delivering legally solid framework contracts. The service portfolio covers even more services than the previous GÉANT Cloud Framework, from do-it-all hyperscale offerings to more custom services, European and overseas providers, and supporting a wide range of data protection compliance requirements.”
The OCRE Cloud Framework and OCRE Cloud Catalogue will support state-of-the-art research and explore new ways forward for procuring, funding and using in-demand digital solutions while benefiting from volume discounts. In short, this allows research institutions to avoid bureaucratic barriers that prevent researchers from easy access to these cloud services.
Browse through the catalogue now by clicking on this link: 
At time of publishing the catalogue is still under construction but by 29 January it will be populated with active suppliers who have provided their contact details.
About OCRE
OCRE (Open Clouds for Research Environments) is a Horizon 2020 project funded by the European Union that aims to enable and facilitate research institutions to use commercial digital services in a safe and easy manner. The Consortium delivering the project includes GÉANT (coordinator), CERN, RHEA and Trust-IT.
Contact
- Twitter: twitter.com/OCREproject
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/ocre-project
- Email: info@ocre-project.eu
