Catching Up on the Cloud: Spring 2023

By Sean O’Brien - Associate Vice President, NET+, Internet2

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Internet2 NET+ and Other Cloud Program Updates

Stepping Up to the Plate

Last week Major League Baseball fans celebrated the start of the season, Opening Day 2023. Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn Jr. (January 6, 1920 – April 4, 1999) once said of Opening Day, “An opener is not like any other game. There’s that little extra excitement.” That’s how the NET+ team is feeling too. 

As the season turns to spring, we’re excited to step up to the plate and work with you, and there’s definitely some excitement in the air. Among other things, we’re marking an important program milestone, gathering data for the cloud community, and providing a forum for sharing best practices and lessons learned: 

• Cloud Scorecard Success. The Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Directory now features 50 services (Read more about this milestone). We’ve progressed since the pilot phase and have released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select a platform for hosting the Cloud Scorecard Directory. If you are interested in submitting a proposal for the RFP, please visit this page for more information and instructions. The deadline is April 21, 2023.

• NET+ MFA Survey. David Allen, director for Systems & Communications at Pacific Lutheran University and chair of NET+ Duo Service Advisory Board, recently invited members of the research and education (R&E) community to respond to the 2023 NET+ Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Community Survey (Read his blog). Take the survey by April 14.Your responses are an important resource to help us to understand how MFA is used in our community. 

• GWE Webinar Series. Already in full swing, this webinar series showcases Internet2 NET+ Google Workspace for Education. Hear from members of the Internet2 community who are already leveraging the platform as well as from Google, Internet2, and the two authorized resellers for the program, Burwood and CDW Amplified Services. Register for the series today. Upcoming topics include quota management, data migration, and administration learning paths and resources.

We know some days it feels like the bases are loaded, and everyone is counting on you to drive in some runs. NET+ is here to make it easier —more efficient and economical— for the research and education community to adopt cloud technologies. Learn more about how and get your copy of the NET+ guide, a quick reference for cloud services and contracts vetted by peers and customized for research and education. 

Whether you need customized cloud services or need tools for procuring them effectively, we’re going to bat for you to ensure that you have the resources you need. 

On behalf of the team that continues working to bring a better cloud to the research and education community, let’s play ball as we kick off a new season together! 

New and Next

With the addition of seven new services, we have reached 50 in the Cloud Scorecard Directory. Welcome new Cloud Scorecard Vendors. (You will need to authenticate to view them):

• Globus
• YuJa
• Cribl
• Zscaler
• Scytl
• Rspace
• Asimily

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+ Google Workspace for Education 

The Cloud Storage Management Working Group (CSWG) continues to meet regularly and focus on Google Workspace for Education topics. Visit the CWG workgroup site to learn more about the group and join. 

• NET+ LabArchives  
  • The NET+ LabArchives program recently reached more than 40 subscribers, and we are accepting new members to participate in the NET+ LabArchives Service Advisory Board. Reach out to Dana Voss if interested in participating. 
  • LabArchives supports the key aspects of the NIH 2023 Data Management and Sharing (DMS) policy which is now in effect. To learn more about how LabArchives can support your institution with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, visit their site or read this white paper. 

• NET+ LastPass SAG 

The NET+ LastPass program is starting a NET+ LastPass Service Advisory Group in response to recent events. This group will provide oversight and direction for the program. If you have questions or feedback about the group, contact us at netplus@internet2.edu.

• Evaluating Vendor Risk Management Services for Cloud 

Many institutions realize and have expressed the need for additional governance and coordination to more effectively manage risk and better utilize cloud services. Based on community feedback, we are excited to share plans to convene a NET+ service evaluation, engaging with the HECVAT team along with EDUCAUSE and REN-ISAC, to identify a service provider that will offer cloud vendor risk management tools that support shared security assessments for the research and education (R&E) community. We invite Internet2 members and other R&E institutions interested in participating in the service evaluation to email Nick Lewis, program manager for cloud security services, by May 26, 2023. We will kick off the service evaluation shortly thereafter.

Instant Replay

Achieving Multi-Cloud Control and the Freedom to Innovate: On March 1, Kion and Internet2 brought together two universities to discuss the people, practices, planning, and tooling they’re using to manage their multi-cloud implementations and enable their teams to get work done. Our webinar speakers were Bill Bonner, director of network and cloud engineering at Washington State University, and Mark Ratliff, director for cloud infrastructure services at Princeton University. Both institutions are leveraging the NET+ Kion service offering to help with account automation, cost management, and security monitoring across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. 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.

Internet2 Program	Contact	Resources
Cloud Learning and Skills Sessions	class@internet2.edu	Read about the learning modules..Watch the researcher spotlight.
Cloud Connect	cloudconnect_request@internet2.edu	Read Cloud Connect News. Check out the new Networking for Cloud wiki.
NET+ and the Cloud Scorecard	netplus@internet2.edu | cloud-scorecard@internet2.edu	Read the latest NET+ news. Check out our NET+ wiki. Catch up on any I2Online event recordings at any time.
Peer Exchange	networkdevelopment@internet2.edu	Learn more about the program.

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.