As an official OCRE 2024 provider, Sparkle delivers integrated cloud solutions based on AWS and Google Cloud combined with professional services to support R&E institutions throughout their cloud adoption journey.
Cloud technologies offer powerful tools for the research and education community and, with the growing demand for performance and capacity from applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), they are more important than ever. However, purchasing cloud services can be a complex process for many institutions.
By adhering to the OCRE 2024 Framework, which is a powerful standardized contractual tool that simplifies the buying processes, R&E institutions can benefit from Sparkle’s offer based on AWS and Google Cloud, combined with professional services and expert customer support. With an history of collaboration with GÉANT dating back to early 2010s and projects such as OCRE, Sparkle has been leading the digitalization and cloud adoption process, enabling education and research centers to develop new projects that benefit society and the economy in all aspects of real and modern life, from weather forecasting to air transport safety, from medical data storage and analysis to smart energy systems, from communication networks to internet security.
Sparkle is enhancing security with advanced encryption and post-quantum cryptography and its customers can now access the Quantum Safe over Internet (QSI) Service, via a dedicated portal or API, ensuring secure, flexible, and automated connectivity. QSI can be used to protect data across offices, data centers, and cloud environments, defending against both current and future cyber threats. This service and its latest advancements will be presented at TNC 2025, showcasing how the offering is evolving to safeguard cloud connectivity and critical digital services for research and education.
Building on the success of the previous cloud frameworks promoted by GÉANT, an experienced team of consultants will guide institutions in the 2025-2030 period through the purchasing and implementation process to ensure that cloud services are perfectly integrated into their day-to-day research activities. In addition, customers will have full control over their resources and costs through an easy-to-use management console. With a long-term relationship that began in 2015, Sparkle is today an Advanced AWS Partner, and the highest ranked AWS provider in all the 39 European countries within the OCRE 2024 Framework, as well as a qualified Google Cloud integrator and service provider for the digitization needs of R&E institutions, the highest ranked provider in 19 European countries as well. Overall, Sparkle will operate within OCRE 2024 in twelve more European countries than in the past.
Benefits include:
- Customers can access special discount schemes
- Service Authentication is supported by eduGAIN, the global research and education infrastructure for Single Sign On access
- Exemption from Data Egress Charges: no charge for traffic generated by AWS and Google Cloud resources i.e. to the data transfer out from the cloud platform to the Internet, with no limit on the contract value
- Network of selected Cloud Professional Service Providers set up by Sparkle and identified on a geographic basis to serve customers locally and in the local language, in order to offer consultancy, design and coordination of migration projects, cloud native application development, operations and management, training
- Direct connectivity to the GÉANT network, leveraging on AWS and Google Cloud presence in several peering points
- Customers are supported by a 24×7 Contact Center and by Sparkle Multicloud Competence Center providing first specialist support as well as introductory workshops to facilitate the customer’s service onboarding.
“As a selected provider since the first GÉANT cloud framework, Sparkle offers the best cloud solutions to the research and education community, thus reducing the cost and complexity of moving to the cloud”, says Paola Crobu, Product Manager Multicloud solutions. “With a multicloud offering, expert customer support and local consulting services, Sparkle is the ideal partner for R&E institutions looking for reliable and secure cloud solutions”.
For more information about Sparkle’s cloud solutions for the European Research and Education community visit ocre.cloud.tisparkle.com.
