The Future of Cloud for Academic Research Computing

Results of an NSF-Supported Workshop, Entitled “Cloud Forward” Supported by NSF ACI/CSE Award 1632037

Cloud computing is in the early stages of becoming a disruptive force in the area of research computing, and there are deep questions about how this new method of computing will impact the business and operating model for academic research computing. This workshop brought together thought leaders from academia – including researchers, CROs, CIOs – government, and the private sector to discuss key issues surrounding the future of cloud computing’s impact on computing in the research community. Though cloud computing can take many forms, for purposes of this workshop, cloud computing is meant mostly as commercial cloud computing – including Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft Azure. The workshop organizers sought a broad array of cloud computing use cases, providers, and research groups to best chart the future of this important evolution. Cloud-based computing in this context on campuses is evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, and the goal of this workshop was to explore how the advent of cloud technologies will impact researchers on campuses.