THE Pan-European Framework Agreement on Services cloud – OCRE 2024 – came into force on February 3rd for a period of five years, allowing European public, research and education (R&E) institutions, located in 39 countries, can enjoy services cloud innovative in an easy, compatible and economical way.
THE GÉANT, the entity responsible for grouping together national research and teaching networks in Europe, has been concluding successive Framework Agreements, at European level, for services cloud commercials.
In Portugal, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through its digital services unit FCCN, is the national representative, having promoted the Framework Agreements among the national higher education and research communities.
Advantages of OCRE 2024
THE OCRE 2024 is a Framework Agreement that, in compliance with European public procurement law, provides a portfolio of 416 services cloud on 17 platforms for solutions IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service), PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), based on contracts between GÉANT and 40 service providers. This entire offer is available on OCRE 2024 catalog and can be consulted through national availability, preferred platforms, or available suppliers. In the specific case of Portugal, the following were selected: 14 traders, making available 9 suppliers cloud distinct.
The services cloud of OCRE 2024 guarantee support for contract exit, identity management (including support for eduGAIN), connection of peering with GÉANT and Academic and Research Networks, root access, split billing, Bring Your Own License (BYOL), shared use, among other resources.
Some improvements requested by the community were also integrated in relation to previous framework agreements, namely, a greater compliance with European laws, regulations and reports dedicated to sustainability, privacy and security. As well as, a improvement of commercial terms, with minimal discounts, lower exit costs, local invoicing and broader access to additional training and support resources.
These resources can be acquired by institutions that have expressed interest in participating.
A look to the future
THE OCRE Framework Agreement 2024 marks a step forward in the digital transformation of the European R&D sector, improving service compliance and opening up new opportunities for growth and innovation. With the recently launched GÉANT project (GN5-2) providing support, institutions can now rely on a solid foundation for the coming years.
All information about the acquisition of services cloud of OCRE 2024 and entities participating in OCRE 2024 is available on the GÉANT website Clouds and on the page OCRE 2024 on the FCCN website.
