OCRE
This call OCRE Tender IaaS+ (Infrastructure as a Service) targets commercial cloud providers. One of the objectives of the project is make the selected services accessible through the service catalogue of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a trusted digital platform providing digital services for all European researchers. Additionally, providers will be connected to the GÉANT data network and the community’s single sign-on systems, bringing them into the heart of the research community’s digital ecosystem.
According to the consortium, the potential value of the call may reach €600 million through the awarding of framework contracts. The tendering process will be conducted through an open procedure and is divided in lots, whereas each lot represents one country. Services providers can easily bid in all countries covered in the tender or in a selected subset.Per lot, a number of frameworks can be awarded. Estimated value per lot vary be significantly. More details are available in the tender document.
Interested bidders are invited to respond before the deadline of 2 June 2020, 12 CEST. A webinar targetting potential bidders for the OCRE IaaS+ Tender will be held on 27 April 2020, 13:00 CEST.
Following the publication of the IaaS+ Tender, OCRE will publish the OCRE Tender for digital Earth observation services.
Background
The OCRE project aims to accelerate the adoption of cloud-based services in the European research community, by bringing together cloud providers, Earth Observation organisations and the research and education community, removing bureaucratic barriers and ensure a better market understanding on all sides.
To reach these objectives, OCRE will rely on several tendering processes. The tenders will result in a framework that will ensure easy access to commercial cloud and digital Earth observation services for researchers. In addition, OCRE also has at its disposal €9.5 million in adoption funding to be distributed to institutions and buyer groups that procure services through the OCRE tenders.
The project, coordinated by GEANT, started in January 2019 for a 3-year period with €12 million of EU funding.