Fifteen innovative research projects will benefit from commercial cloud solutions through EU cloud project Open Clouds for Research Environments (OCRE), demonstrating the adoption and effectiveness of commercial cloud services in research.
Approximately €6 million will be distributed to the successful applicants, each receiving between €100,000 and €500,000. This is the second and final call run by the OCRE project for the adoption of the cloud services available through the OCRE IaaS+ framework agreements. It proves a new funding mechanism with commercial cloud providers teaming up directly with researchers to apply. All applications were screened, evaluated, scored and ranked by the OCRE cloud adoption funding team and overseen by the OCRE External Advisory Board.
The distribution of cloud adoption funding is a key milestone in OCRE’s goal of piloting a digital single market for cloud and digital services for European research. This second cloud call, along with the Earth Observation services call, has allowed OCRE to use the project’s remaining funding budget before the close of the project to help researchers get the tools and services they need, and demonstrate the value of these.
OCRE Project Director, Dave Heyns (GÉANT) said, “Working closely beside researchers, collaborating with commercial cloud services providers on innovative digital services in support of research agility and improved outcomes, has been extremely fulfilling for the entire OCRE team. We believe that we have demonstrated the significant benefits that commercial cloud computing bring to the European research community, and have contributed towards making these services more easily accessible to the researchers.”
Discover the fifteen research projects supported by OCRE Cloud Funding and read more on the OCRE website: https://www.ocre-project.eu/news-insights/news/ocre-awards-cloud-adoption-funding-15-exciting-research-projects
