01
July
2025

Catching Up on the Cloud: Summer 2025

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

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Internet2 NET+ and Other Cloud Program Updates

On the Road Again: Connecting with the NET+ Cloud Community

According to a recent survey, more than 80 percent of people plan to road trip this summer. Members of the NET+ team will be right there with them as we head to various locales to attend important cloud community gatherings. Summer is always a busy time for the NET+ Program, and this year’s no different. We’re on the road again – both literally and figuratively – as we continue our work to ensure the best cloud services are available for research and education.

Internet2 cloud net plus logo

To avoid wrong turns and work around traffic jams, it’s essential that we stay connected as a community. Keeping up with AI is a good example. R&E institutions might feel like they need GPS, a map, and a compass to stay headed in the right direction. We hope you have added the Cloud Scorecard to your roadside toolkit. It can help you find the right tools faster as higher ed navigates the future of AI. 

While the future holds uncertainty, one thing is certain. All roads lead to maintaining an active R&E cloud community. Our success and sustainability comes from our continued collaboration through NET+ service advisory groups and other community-driven activities. As Cloud Superhero Charlie Escue explained, “Crowdsourcing our talent for the collective good strengthens our community and advances the professional development of its members.”

In April, during National Volunteer Week, we recognized NET+ community volunteers for the great work they do. We really can’t say thank you enough. Our commitment to traveling this road together, uniting the R&E cloud community, is unwavering and rests on the foundation of the community’s continued involvement. Take it from Cloud Superhero Jack Suess, “Saying yes to opportunity when it calls is important, especially when it’s supporting our community.”

In this spirit, getting and giving support when you need it most, explore our initiatives and available resources to map out a productive and enjoyable summer road trip to the cloud.

Our Next Stops 

Whether virtually or in person, we’re coming to a neighborhood near you soon. Each of our events has been designed to keep you moving down the road towards your cloud services goals. We hope you’ll join us for our upcoming community events or catch up with us at an upcoming conference.

Webinars

Campus Leadership: Unlocking Strategic Value with LabArchives | July 15

Register


AI That Works: Carnegie Mellon’s Google Gemini Success Story | July 23

Register


Conferences

The NET+ team will be at Instructure’s annual InstructureCon conference July 22-24 in Spokane, WA. Please reach out to us if you would like information about our Happy Hour hosted by the NET+ Instructure Service Advisory Group, on Wednesday, July 23. 

You can also catch up with some members of the NET+ team at AWS Imagine in Chicago, July 29-30. 

If you plan to attend either of these conferences, please let us know, so we can connect in person.

Postcards from the Road

The NET+ team is committed to literally meeting you wherever you happen to be on your cloud journey. It’s been wonderful to connect with so many of you personally over the last few months as team members traveled to critical cloud community gatherings.

Bob Flynn speaking at 2025 Cloud Forum

The 11th annual Higher Ed Cloud Forum took a bite out of the Big Apple. More than fifty institutions from the U.S. and Europe attended this year’s forum hosted by New York University. The event kicked off with the presentation of the Cloud Super Hero Award to UMBC’s Jack Suess and continued with a wide-variety of excellent presentations for the cloud strategy and enablement audience. Check out this recap of the event.

Terry Fernandez speaking at Net+ ServiceNow higher education summit

The NET+ team hosted the Higher Education (HE) Summit at Knowledge25, bringing together higher education peers, administrators, and leaders to explore how ServiceNow is being used to streamline operations and enhance campus services. You can read the full recap of the event here.

Nick Lewis speaking at an educause event

Members of our team also attended the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference. You can read a reflection on the event here.

We’re staying on the road in the community working on your behalf.

Navigation at Its Best: NET+ Service Updates

Stay up to date with these important highlights about the services in the NET+ Program portfolio. Our program management team has its eyes on the road ahead to help you navigate today and tomorrow.

Net+ Instructure meeting
  • The NET+ Zoom Service Advisory Group resumed regular meetings this year. SAG members collaborated with Zoom AI subject matter experts and product development Zoom leads to present an AI focused Town Hall in April for the NET+ Zoom subscriber community. Zoom AI panelists shared best practices for AI implementation, data privacy, AI data storage and handling, and security. Visit our wiki space for additional program information.
  • The NET+ Lumen Collaboration and Unified Communications Service will be expanding its offering of Zoom Phone to include Zoom Contact Center. The Zoom Contact Center offering is an omni-channel, highly personal customer care platform that leverages Zoom’s commitment to AI in the agent and customer experience. Learn more

New and Next

Check out the new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Finder website.

Here are the new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard participants in the past quarter:

  • BoodleBox
  • cielo24
  • Coursedog
  • FileCloud
  • LogicMonitor
  • Six Red Marbles
Cloud Scorecard logo

If there is a cloud service you would like to see listed, please reach out to us with your suggestion(s).

Spotlight on NET+ Service Providers

We’re pleased to continue inviting NET+ service providers to share articles, blog posts, webinars, or other content relevant to cloud practitioners in the R&E community. Take a look at the resources they shared this quarter:

  • Globus – New and existing NET+ Globus subscribers can include Globus connectors in their Globus subscriptions as well as streamline the procurement process. Globus connectors simplify end-to-end data management for researchers and storage managers alike, and now with 20+ storage options to choose from, Globus users can store their data practically anywhere. Learn more about Globus NET+ offerings.
  • Google –  Gemini and NotebookLM are generative AI tools from Google that can be your AI assistants for education; check out the New Quickstart Guide to Gemini and NotebookLM for Education. Google is partnering with the University System of Maryland to provide access to Google Career Certificates and AI training across 12 campuses statewide. Interested in adding new admin settings to control Google Form responses? You can read more about this and other announcements on the Google Workspace Updates blog and subscribe to receive future updates. 
  • 1Password – Explore how a proactive SaaS governance strategy can reduce risk, optimize spend, and strengthen compliance without slowing down your operations. Join 1Password for a webinar on July 15. Register here
  • Panopto  A new feature, “Save As,” will be available to Panopto creators in July that enables them to create short microlearning clips from longer recordings. Watch our video to learn more. Also, check out our guide to demystifying content retention. We break down four reasons to clean up your video library. From reducing storage costs to making it easier for users to find relevant content, content hygiene isn’t just about tidiness – it’s about efficiency. Headed to InstructureCon or D2L Fusion in July? Schedule a meeting or stop by to see the latest in AI-powered tech designed to help you bring learning to life.
  • Pathify  Check out Pathify’s new GenAI Chatbot, connecting directly to ERP systems and delivering verified, real-time information like grades, GPA, schedules, and more.

This is a regular feature in our quarterly newsletter, so be sure to keep an eye out for it!

Keep Up With the Cloud

As always, we welcome your ideas and appreciate your contributions to our cloud programs! Interested in participating in one or more NET+ service evaluations? Or have feedback for other prospective services for the program? Don’t know where to start? Email cloud@internet2.edu.

Internet2 Program Contact Resources
Cloud Learning and Skills Sessions class@internet2.edu Register for upcoming training sessions. Help us shape the CLASS curriculum. Weigh in on proposed new courses.
Cloud Connect cloudconnect_request@internet2.edu Read CloudConnect News. Check out the Networking for Cloud wiki.
Internet2 Cloud Scorecard cloud-scorecard@internet2.edu Learn more about the Cloud Scorecard. Check out the new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Finder website.
NET+ netplus@internet2.edu Read the latest NET+ news. Check out our NET+ wiki. Review the NET+ Services Catalog.
Peer Exchange networkdevelopment@internet2.edu Learn more about the program.

Catching Up on the Cloud brings 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.

Join Us in CLASS This Summer

CLASS provides in-depth cloud training and workshops specifically geared to help the higher education and research community develop their skills. Check out our upcoming lineup of Cloud Learning and Skills Sessions:

  • Networking in the Cloud | July 9
  • Container Orchestration for Research Workflows | July 17
  • Automating Research with Globus: The Modern Research IT Platform | August 18
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If you have any questions about our upcoming sessions, contact us. The CLASS curriculum is driven by community needs. What CLASS cloud training would you like to see offered in the future? Share your suggestions.