05
February
2024
Get Tips on Introducing Automation to Your Cloud Environment at This 2024 Community Exchange Session
By Iain Oldman - Copywriter - Content Marketing, Internet2
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The path to cloud adoption rarely follows a short, straight line. Instead, institutions must expect — and prepare for — a long and winding path to solid cloud operations.
Re-architecting the Cloud with Guardrails, a session at the 2024 Internet2 Community Exchange, will share how one team navigated a fresh path to cloud adoption.
The path to cloud adoption rarely follows a short, straight line. Instead, institutions must expect — and prepare for — a long and winding path to solid cloud operations.
Re-architecting the Cloud with Guardrails, a session at the 2024 Internet2 Community Exchange, will share how one team navigated a fresh path to cloud adoption.
The research computing team at Saint Louis University started its cloud journey three years ago with a need to build out cloud workloads. The team rose to meet that challenge, even as it saw new challenges pop up.
“Like most research institutions, we’ve seen an increase in cloud adoption at Saint Louis University. This meant we had to keep pace with new development to support our researchers, while also maintaining security,” said Maureen Donlin, director of Research Computing at Saint Louis University. “And, we needed to do this without exponentially growing our team.”
Donlin will team up with Shruthi Sreenivasa Murthy, assistant director of Research Computing at Saint Louis University, and Ibrahim Taufique, manager of Solutions Engineering at Kion, to discuss the processes and technology used to meet the university’s cloud growth trajectory.
The key to scaling securely in the cloud is automation, according to the team.
“By rethinking our approach to provisioning cloud access and setting up guardrails to control who can do what, we not only streamlined and sped up the process, but we solidified our approach to crafting regulatory-compliant workspaces,” said Donlin. “We’ve reduced the opportunity for human error around security and budget control.”
Community Exchange attendees will hear applicable advice on how to make adjustments to cloud strategy and address their own cloud automation hurdles to support cloud users at their institutions.
“When you combine your technical expertise with a strong understanding of the unique challenges the researchers are facing, you can contribute significantly to the success of your institution’s cloud initiatives,” Murthy said.
It is possible, Donlin says, to make adjustments during your cloud journey to optimize processes and reduce friction points.
“Our challenges are not unique. Sharing our experience in this session will hopefully help other teams best support the needs of their research colleagues,” said Donlin.
Check out this session and other related events in the Cloud Track, which features dozens of presentations focused on cloud services and solutions. Hear more about emerging cloud technology from leaders in the higher education space at the 2024 Internet2 Community Exchange, held March 4-7 in Chicago, Il.
Meet the Speakers
Maureen Donlin has been the director of Research Computing at Saint Louis University since 2020. Donlin has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Penn State University.
Shruthi Sreenivasa Murthy is a certified AWS solutions architect and began working as the assistant director of Research Computing at Saint Louis University in July 2023. Murthy has a Master of Science in Information Systems and Technology from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.
Ibrahim Taufique leads the Solutions Engineering team at Kion, a position he has held since July 2022. Taufique holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.