GÉANT today announced the latest achievement in a successful multi-year partnership with Microsoft to make powerful cloud computing environments more accessible to the research and education communities.
The agreement between GÉANT, 36 National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), Microsoft and ten approved Microsoft resellers is part of GÉANT’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) framework, and provides a cloud-based offering tailor-made for the research and education community in 36 European countries, based on Microsoft Azure, and available through GÉANT’s innovative Cloud Catalogue.
Microsoft, GÉANT and the NRENs have collaborated closely for many years to enable the research and education community to benefit from advancements in technology, including cloud computing, which can help accelerate breakthroughs in research as well as enhance and optimise student engagement and institutional operations.
Erik Huizer, GÉANT Interim Chief Executive Officer said, “The GÉANT Cloud Catalogue is already delivering significant benefits to users across the European research and education communities. We are really excited to have Microsoft Azure on this platform, further expanding choice and supporting our NREN partners in the cloud services they can offer to their customers.”
Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft added: “Microsoft Azure is the perfect choice for research and education institutions. It allows quick access to powerful computing environments where complex data can be stored and shared easily and securely. It also gives researchers access to tools that can turn data into insights and enable them to collaborate with others quickly and securely to accelerate discovery. We are delighted to bring these benefits and opportunities to the research and education communities across the EMEA region through the GÉANT IaaS framework agreement.”
