SCIENCE

Cloud computing has gained fertile ground in enterprise with businesses looking to drive down costs. Small businesses and start-ups have started to tap into the Cloud to increase productivity, build business, reach wider markets and create entirely new ways to engage with customers. Now the Cloud is creating waves in science circles, where it could ultimately accelerate global scientific exploration, discovery and results. 

VENUS-C (Virtual Multidisciplinary EnviroNments USing Cloud Infrastructures, www.venus-c.eu) is a pioneering project for the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme that draws its strength from a joint co-operation between industry and scientific user communities. The aim is to develop, test and deploy an industry-quality Cloud computing service to empower researchers through the easy deployment of end-user services. The VENUS-C platform is underpinned by Windows Azure and its European data centres, the Engineering Group data centre along with resources from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH, Sweden) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC, Spain). 

Current VENUS-C user scenarios include bioinformatics, systems biology, drug discovery, civil engineering, civil protection and emergencies, and data for science. To expand this user community, gather additional requirements for the VENUS- platform, test and validate it, VENUS-C has launched an Open Call to fund between 10 and 20 new pilot prototypes with applications suited to the Cloud. The Call is open to European public and private research organisations involved in Research and Technology Development (RTD) from the 27 Member States and the 13 Associated Countries and will run from 11 January to 11 April 2011.  

While Cloud computing has reached a stable level, it still remains at the cutting edge. What will be the next generation of scientific applications taking advantage of the Cloud? Where will the new, smart ideas come from by letting scientists be scientists? “It’s early days for the Cloud but exciting times lie ahead. The Open Call is an ideal opportunity not only to bring on board new users of the Cloud but also help answer these important questions. Industry and resource partners in VENUS-C aim to demonstrate that you do not need to be a scientist to be ambassadors of scientific innovation,” remarked Andrea Manieri, Engineering Group and VENUS-C co-ordinator.

“Clouds can revolutionise e-science. Researchers can have a good idea on their way to work in the morning, and when they arrive immediately grab the computer resources they need to pursue it,” said Paul Watson, a professor of computer science at Newcastle University, UK, where he has helped develop a Science-as-a-Service platform called e-Science Central. “Science will progress at a faster rate as it takes less time to go from idea to realisation. What is needed is a high-level Cloud platform designed specifically to make life easier for scientists,” concluded Watson.