Funding, Grants & Awards

Splunk Offers Free Software, Training for Educational Institutions

• By Leila Meyer
• 09/28/16

Splunk, a provider of real-time operational intelligence software, has launched the Splunk Pledge, a new philanthropic program of the Splunk4Good initiative.

The Splunk Pledge will donate at least $100 million over 10 years to not-for-profit higher educational institutions and other nonprofit organizations. The $100 million pledge includes free software licenses, training and support, as well as volunteer work by Splunk employees.

Splunk's operational intelligence software is designed to make machine data more accessible and usable, according to information on the company's site. Through the Splunk Pledge, the company hopes to help educational institutions and nonprofit organizations take advantage of big data to "support academic research and generate social impact," according to a news release.

Approved educational institutions and nonprofit organizations will be eligible to receive a one-year, 10 gigabyte Splunk Enterprise license with standard support and access to Splunk eLearning. According to the company, the technology "will enable these organizations to reduce operating costs, improve their cybersecurity posture, streamline IT operations, perform research, analyze diverse data sources and gain visibility into their infrastructure."

Splunk will also give its employees up to 60,000 hours collectively of "paid time off to volunteer at the nonprofit organization of their choice."

Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions can apply for free software licenses and the accompanying training and support through the Splunk Pledge site.

In related news, Splunk is expanding its Splunk Academic Program. The program, in partnership with Internet2, currently reaches 339 institutions and more than 5 million students across the United States. Splunk is now inviting "any educational organization around the world to join the program and receive free education for their students." Further information and an online application form can be found on the Splunk site.