OCRE Cloud Framework & Catalogue Empowers European Research

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.

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) said, “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: