By
Sean O’Brien - Associate Vice President, NET+, Internet2
Internet2 NET+ and Other Cloud Program Updates
This time of year when the leaves change color in many parts of the country and eventually fall from their branches is often used as a metaphor for positive change. As expressed in one popular quote, the leaves are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go. From the perspective of the NET+ program, change is community-driven and necessary to ensure our service portfolio continues to evolve with the needs of research and higher education (R&E).
The NET+ Program has continued to add news services to its portfolio, including Kion, Miro, and Splunk Cloud. The CLASS Advanced fall cohort is kicking off soon to support researchers and RCD professionals using the cloud – just a few spots remain in the cohort! In addition to adding new programs and services, our team is always evaluating existing services to determine how we might change them for the better.
Speaking of change, institutions continue to respond to changes in the content collaboration services market. That’s why the Cloud Storage Working Group issued an RFI for storage management and migration solutions. DryvIQ recently completed a service evaluation and we’re excited to share the availability of a new NET+ DryvIQ agreement. DryvIQ enables higher education institutions to migrate data across cloud and on-premises storage and content management platforms seamlessly. To learn more about how your peers evaluated the DryvIQ Migrate service and their plans to expand its usage of it with this NET+ service, join us for a webinar on October 26, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET. You’ll hear from a panel of participants in the NET+ service evaluation process. In the meantime, you can learn more about the NET+ DryvIQ offering on the service web page.
Changemakers among us. Throughout this year, we are continuing our series of blog posts highlighting Cloud Superheroes. These individuals have made significant contributions to moving our work forward and leading change when necessary. Check out our recent interviews with Bobby Clark of Clemson University and Tom Lewis at the University of Washington. Be on the lookout for additional interviews, and email amotley@internet2.edu if there’s a Cloud Superhero you would like us to spotlight in the future. (You can be a superhero too! Check out current opportunities to participate in NET+ working groups, service evaluations, and service advisory boards.)
Community and connections. We’re onsite at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference. NET+ community volunteers and members of our team will be participating in these sessions (all times are Central Time):
Want to engage with us at the conference? Check out our wiki page. We’ll keep it up to date throughout the week.
Last month, the NET+ team facilitated a vibrant cloud track at the 2023 Internet2 Technology Exchange. Check out the presentations. In general, we’re giving you more choices for cloud, community, and collaboration at Internet2 events.
I am pleased to share these highlights with you and very excited that there’s much more to come. Whether you need customized cloud services or tools for procuring them effectively, we’re here and willing to adapt to ensure that you have the resources you need.
On behalf of the team that continues working to bring a better cloud to the R&E community, let’s embrace change together and look forward to things falling into place in all the best ways.
CLASS Advanced Accolades
As the Fall 2023 Cohort of Class Advanced gets under way, we’re pleased to share how highly program alumni rate the program.
“I would absolutely recommend CLASS Advanced training to folks who are looking to learn more about cloud computing within research and higher education settings,” said Kate Birney, MS, CISSP, CCSP, operating systems/network analyst, at Oregon State University. “The process of working with peers and finding new ways to utilize the power of cloud computing is very empowering.”
Such praise for the program can largely be attributed to our principal instructor, Sujee Maniyam. Missed signing up for CLASS Advanced? Stay in touch with us to receive information about upcoming training opportunities.
Other Cloud Program Updates
New and Next
Learn more about how HashiCorp Vault is being deployed by the University of Florida to meet audit requirements, optimize the cloud, and ensure proper access controls during a webinar on October 18 at 12 noon ET. Register now to join your colleagues. We are exploring the possibility of introducing HashiCorp Vault as a NET+ service and appreciate your input and interest in participating in a service evaluation in the future.
Check out new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard participants in the past quarter:
If there is a cloud service you would like to see listed, please reach out to us with your suggestion(s).
Cloud Service Updates
Here’s the latest news from the NET+ portfolio of services. Have questions? Want to sign up? Want to get involved? Please email us at netplus@internet2.edu.
NET+ Kion
Special Offer for the NET+ Kion Program to Welcome Institutions Back-to-School:
- Free consulting, installation and premium support from Kion’s cloud solution engineers.
- Run Your Cloud Management Application Free of Charge via an additional 10-20% in AWS Credits to off-set the infrastructure to run Kion and then some.
- Promotion runs until 10/31/23.
NET+ GCP
Stayed tuned for more information regarding subscription agreements that are available in this program. Reach out to us if you have an immediate need or any questions.
Evaluating Vendor Risk Management Services for Cloud
We’re planning for future community engagement and interested in hearing more from campuses using vendor risk management tools like this. What might your campus might want from a NET+ service? Contact Nick Lewis if you would like to be included.
Instant Replay
During our recent webinar, “NET+ Miro Introduction,” Miro Solutions Engineer Adrian Casas, Matthew D’Emilio, director of university contracts at Carnegie Mellon University; Matthew Burgess, director of learning technology services at University of Virginia; and Brad Weiger, also a solutions engineer at Miro, participated in a panel discussion about the new NET+ Miro service offering and the NET+ Service Evaluation process. Watch the recording.
Keep Up With the Cloud
As always, we welcome your ideas and appreciate your contributions to our cloud programs! Don’t know where to start? Email cloud@internet2.edu.
Catching Up on the Cloud is a new feature that replaces the NET+ quarterly update to bring you all the latest Internet2 cloud updates. Whether you’re supporting the academic enterprise, research domain, or anything in between, these timely announcements and updates will help you with the best solutions for implementing cloud services at your institution.
About the Author(s)
Sean O’Brien leads Internet2’s NET+ cloud service program working with institutions on the collaborative development, evaluation, and management of cloud services for the research and education community. He has worked in a variety of roles in higher education and the private sector focusing on cloud enablement, institutional research, and project management.