Internet2 NET+ Quarterly Update: Fall 2021

By Tara Gyenis, Internet2 NET+ Program Development Manager

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

NET+ Turns 10!

The Internet2 NET+ Program has had many accomplishments to be proud of in the past 10 years, as the community came together to address challenges in adopting cloud services. With the rapidly expanding cloud service landscape, the NET+ Program continues to evolve to meet the needs of higher education and research in the cloud. 

We heard from several members of the community in our recent I2Online event, NET+ Program Turns 10, which captured the spirit of our collaborative program and the ongoing value it creates for the community. Catch the recap and watch the video recording here if you missed it.

Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Directory Pilot Launch

On November 3, we introduced the community to the Cloud Scorecard directory that evolved from the Cloud Scorecard Working Group report. Engaging cloud service vendors that are committed to addressing the unique requirements of higher education and research institutions, this pilot program strives to ease the discovery, procurement, and contracting process for the community. Check it out and share your feedback with us!

NET+ Program Governance Welcomes You

Call for Participation: The Internet2 NET+ program relies on research and education community members to help drive forward this “by the community, for the community” program. We invite you to participate in the following opportunities:

• Cloud Scorecard Working Group
  • Support developing, implementing, and maintaining the Cloud Scorecard and associated projects.
  • Participation is open to any Internet2 member or higher education institution. 
  • Deadline to apply is November 19, 2021.
  • View the Cloud Scorecard Working Group Charter.

• NET+ Business, Procurement, and Legal Advisory Group (BPLAC)
  • Provide advice to the NET+ Program on key program decisions that may impact procurement.
  • Participation is open to any Internet2 member or NET+ service subscriber. 
  • Deadline to apply is December 10, 2021.
  • Learn more about BPLAC.

• NET+ Service Advisory Boards (SAB)
  • NET+ Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • NET+ Duo Security
  • NET+ Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • NET+ Google Workspace for Education
  • NET+ LabArchives
  • NET+ Splunk

Interested in participating in these groups? Please email us information about your interest, and a member of the NET+ team will be in touch.

NET+ Service Updates

• NET+ Google Workspace for Education: The launch promotion ends December 1, 2021, so finalize your contracts soon to take advantage of the first year free! View our FAQ or reach out to us if you have questions. The informative webinar series that took place over the last several weeks was recorded with links provided in this blog post.
• NET+ Palo Alto Networks: There’s a lot of informative content available from the recent community calls, and you can hear from the perspective of Charlie McMahon, interim CIO of Stony Brook University, about his experience with the service.
• NET+ Security and Identity Portfolio Update for Cybersecurity Awareness Month is available in this recent blog post, including updates on the services and opportunities to get involved. 

Cornell Cloud Forum

A group of cloud leaders will gather in person for this year’s Cornell Cloud Forum, but we are extending the reach of several Cloud Forum sessions that will be part of the TechEXtra21 virtual events, including lightning talks and research presentations for the Cloud Infrastructure and Services track on November 16-18. Register and join the cloud conversation!

Other I2 Online Programming

Catch up with any I2Online event recordings at any time. We also made it easy for you to view the NET+ Cloud Services highlights from the first three quarters of 2021 with this recap video.

As always, we welcome your ideas and appreciate your contributions to the NET+ programming!