Advancing academic research through our relationship with Internet2

Research from universities and higher education institutions plays an important role in driving innovation and social impact, and an increasing number of these organizations are turning to the cloud to do it. Today, we’re announcing a new agreement with Internet2, the advanced technology consortium of universities and research institutions, to offer special benefits under Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for their members.

Internet2 is a member-driven advanced technology community that includes 316 U.S. universities, 60 government agencies, 59 corporations, and 43 regional and state education networks. In addition, it collaborates with research and education network partners that represent more than 100 countries. Their NET+ program provides a portfolio of reliable cloud and trust solutions to help higher education and research institutions solve common technology challenges. As part of this program, we’re offering Internet2 higher education members key enhancements to our standard GCP education terms.

“We’re really excited about this development with Google Cloud,” said Kevin Morooney, vice president of trust and identity at Internet2. “Many of our stakeholders are already leveraging Google Cloud services and this is another way that NET+ can help campuses create the relationships they need with key infrastructure providers.”

Key benefits for Internet2 community

NET+ Google Cloud Platform for Education provides access to GCP with the following benefits:

• Discounted educational pricing for Internet2 member institutions, as well as egress waivers for data egress fees.
• Free deployment and training for Internet2 member institutions to facilitate onboarding and training.
• Successful completion of the peer-driven NET+ Service Validation process to help facilitate community security, accessibility, and contractual standards.
• Free Orbitera cloud billing reporting and analytics and Business Associates Agreements through Carahsoft, a leading IT solutions provider.
• Pre-negotiated, custom contract with Internet2 member institutions for the NET+ community
• Access to Google TPUs (10-30x faster than GPUs), and services like AutoML and Cloud ML Engine,
• Vertically-integrated security model with low latency and high responsiveness from the world’s largest private cloud network, as well as provisions addressing compliance with key regulations and standards, including FERPA and FedRAMP, among others.
• Layer 3 routed access to Google for greater speed and security through Internet2 Cloud Exchange.

Enabling peer-driven review through NET+ Service Validation

Member Internet2 institutions can also benefit from customizing their GCP services through a peer-driven review process. The NET+ Service Validation process helps them collectively identify and vet cloud solutions that the community believes can be effective in addressing their security and accessibility requirements, allowing them to negotiate contractual and pricing terms specifically for their teaching, learning, and research needs. 

“The NET+ GCP service validation process has given Indiana University access to a unique offering. This includes a community of technical resources and a collaborative environment to think strategically on how to design this cloud service offering—something we could not have done on our own,” said Bob Flynn, Manager, Cloud Technology Support at Indiana University. “Cloud adoption is essential for our community to stay competitive in the global marketplace. We are excited to provide the GCP toolset to our teaching, learning, and research communities to see where their imaginations can take it.”

Meet us at Internet2’s Global Summit

We’ve been hosting sessions sharing our best practices on topics like trust and identity management and improving reproducibility in scientific research during the 2019 Internet2 Global Summit in Washington, D.C., March 5-8th. Participating institutions like Columbia University will share how they’re using Google Cloud to develop cloud architectures and tools that support their research. If you’ll be attending the summit, please stop by the Google Cloud booth—we’d love to say hello. Talk to members of our team or set up a meeting to get started.

To learn more about GCP, visit our website or contact us.