Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Researchers Gain Free Access to Microsoft Cloud Resources

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 10/01/10

Scientists in Japan will be gaining free access to cloud computing resources in a joint grant program set up between Microsoft and Japan's National Institute of Informatics. The initiative is part of a project being promoted by the institute to encourage researchers to explore the use of the cloud for supporting data retrieval from new kinds of information systems that require high performance computing.

Microsoft will be donating access to its cloud computing and storage service, Windows Azure, to researchers participating in a project called the "New IT Infrastructure for the Information-Explosion Era." Microsoft staff will provide cloud-oriented expertise and work with grant recipients in the use of common tools, applications, and data collections that can be shared with the broad academic community.

The latest partnership mirrors one announced earlier in 2010 by Microsoft with the National Science Foundation. In that agreement, the company began providing individual researchers and teams of researchers with cloud computing resources by way of an application process managed by the NSF.

"It is essential that future academic research should form strong 'symbiotic style' relationships with other academic areas," said Masao Sakauchi, director general at the institute. "Cloud computing is a powerful tool that allows researchers to collaborate and share computing resources and research results necessary for this type of collaborative research. I appreciate that Microsoft has given us a valuable opportunity to prove this vision."

"Cloud computing can transform how research is conducted, accelerating scientific exploration, discovery and results," said Dan Reed, corporate vice president for technology strategy and policy and director of the eXtreme Computing Group in Microsoft Research. "These grants will also help researchers explore rich and diverse multidisciplinary data sets on a large scale."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • digital data protection and cyber security

    White House Launches New AI Security Framework

    President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order aimed at maintaining United States AI leadership while addressing the security risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems.

  • Binary code flows through a digital pathway with red and blue lights in a dark background

    Survey: Enterprises Say They Are Ready for Agentic AI Failures, but Few Test Recovery Often

    Most enterprise organizations say they are ready to recover from disruptions involving agentic AI, but a new survey of more than 300 IT decision-makers from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States suggests relatively few test those plans often enough to prove it.

  • Abstract neural network 3D illustration

    Intel® AI EmpowerED: The AI-Ready Campus, Delivered

    Artificial intelligence is transforming higher education, prompting institutions to rethink how they manage infrastructure, security, governance, and workforce readiness. Successful adoption requires a strategic, institution-wide approach that aligns AI initiatives with educational goals, faculty enablement, and scalable operational frameworks.

  • person typing on a touch screen schedule plan calendar

    DOJ Extends Deadline for ADA Title II Compliance

    Institutions working to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations for digital accessibility have received a temporary reprieve: The United States Department of Justice has published an interim final rule to push back the compliance deadline by one year.