AWS and the Open Cloud for Research Environments Framework

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Overview

Open Cloud for Research Environments (OCRE)

You can now purchase Amazon Web Services (AWS) through the new Open Cloud for Research Environments (OCRE) framework. AWS, our partners, and the OCRE project aim to accelerate cloud adoption in the European research and education community through a ready-to-use service agreement that is now available to GÉANT members.

Over 10,000 institutions can now directly consume AWS without the need for public procurement. They can gain a number of benefits specifically tailored to cloud adoption. Read below for more information on how to procure AWS services through the OCRE framework.

  • By using this framework, research institutions do not need to run complex procurements and competitive tenders. The OCRE team vetted AWS Cloud services, which are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. The services also connect to the GÉANT and National Research and Education Networks (NREN).

    AWS waives engress charges through the OCRE framework, so institutions don’t pay for the additional bandwidth from AWS. Through OCRE, GÉANT acts as a centralised procurement body. Institutions consume services by the means of a call off agreement with an AWS Partner with the support of their local NREN.

  • AWS services are only available through the appointed OCRE framework AWS Partner in your country (or through an NREN in selected countries). The AWS OCRE framework partners are Jisc in the UK and Rackspace in 38 European countries. To get started, contact your AWS Partner to learn more:

    Rackspace

    Customers in the following countries can procure through Rackspace:

    Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

    Jisc

    Customers in the following countries can procure through Jisc:

    United Kingdom

  • OCRE framework customers benefit from all the financial optimization mechanisms offered by AWS such as savings plans and reserved instances. AWS Trusted Advisor also provides you with real-time recommendations and best practices to help you provision, optimize, and secure your resources.

    Our calculation tools help you to figure out your costs based on our public prices. You can estimate the cost of your architecture on AWS or calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) for your infrastructure.

    We're here to help.

  • AWS provides a number of resources to help you begin your cloud journey:

    1. Executive briefing centres

    We know it is critical to gain alignment with key stakeholders, especially when contemplating a major shift in your institution’s IT infrastructure. That’s why we offer institutions virtual executive briefings hosted by the AWS executive briefing centre (EBC) Program. We’ll work with you to customize the agenda so that it is reflective of your institution’s needs.

    Connect with your AWS team and learn more about how this briefing could support your institution’s cloud goals.

    2. Quarterly OCRE webinars

    We want to help you make the right decisions for your institution and provide the support for you to use the cloud to achieve your greatest potential. Each quarter we will dive deep on a specific cloud topic, bringing AWS experts and real-world customers to help you to understand the power of cloud and help your students, faculty, and researchers.

    3. Collaborations with GÉANT and your local NREN

    Your local NREN will host a series of workshops where AWS technical experts will present insights into how you can adopt the cloud. Find out more about your NREN.

  • Nothing is more important to us than protecting your data. By using AWS, you will benefit from data centres and a network architecture built to meet the requirements of the most security sensitive organizations.

    AWS provides many services to keep control over application and data security, including powerful network configuration tools, filtering and intrusion detection mechanisms, and protection against denial of service attacks. We support you by offering automation of incident response, traceability and accountability of actions, control and evaluation of configurations, automation of security updates, encryption at rest or in transit, and key management.

    We base our encryption solutions on hardware cryptographic modules to protect your keys, allowing you to control their creation or import, their rotation, and their deletion, as well as manage the associated authorizations.

    AWS services allow you to build solutions that meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can consult our dedicated GDPR page for more information.

    Finally, independent third-parties regularly audit AWS services through several compliance programs, awarding the services numerous certifications.

  • Every day, higher education institutions rely on AWS services to help them support and develop education. Learn more about how AWS services help education and research move faster and operate more securely:

    • UCAS
    • University of Nicosia
    • University of Manchester
    • Technische Universität München (TUM)

    AWS supports Cloud Innovation Centres (CICs) in the following institutions. These centres look at how the cloud can help solve problems facing the public sector:

    • Sciences Po
    • Hochschule München Univerity of Applied Sciences (MUAS)

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions relied on AWS infrastructure and services to maintain continuity of education:

    Empowering education with infrastructure for remote learning and work
    Resources for researchers and institutions to work remotely
    Chatbots and call centers: Connecting with citizens during critical times

  • To find out more about AWS and how cloud computing can transform your institution, please visit:

    AWS in education
    AWS in higher education
    Research and technical computing on AWS

    Advance your skills and knowledge.

    Higher education customers often have concerns over skills gaps and hiring talent when it comes to IT expertise in the cloud. However, many education IT professionals discover they are cloud experts—they just didn’t know it. Connect with our AWS training and certification experts today to complete an internal IT skills assessment and identify available training options.

    AWS training and certification helps you build and validate your cloud skills so you can get more out of the cloud. Our content is built by experts at AWS and updated regularly to keep pace with AWS updates, so you can be sure you’re learning the latest and keeping your cloud skills fresh.

Useful resources

AWS in education

AWS in higher education

Research and technical computing on AWS

AWS training and certification

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