The European open science cloud: A new challenge for Europe

Abstract

The motivation for the creation of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), is to provide computer support and data storage so that research institutions in the European Union can develop their activities in science, technology, and innovation. The European Commission launched the Europe 2020 strategy in 2010 to tackle the transformation of Europe and the world since the beginning of the 21st Century. The main objective of the strategy was to prepare the European Community for the major challenges of the decade and, among the various development and innovation actions, also the creation of an infrastructure in the hybrid or federalized cloud model that would meet the computing needs of these institutions linked to science and research. In this work, we examine the circumstances that led the European Union to create the EOSC. We also present the main characteristics that are part of the concepts of cloud computing, such as the consolidation and dynamic use of shared computational resources. We conclude that the creation of cloud computing infrastructure for scientific research for the European Union is a strategic need for the region and that many technical and social challenges should be considered for its implementation, the latter being the most relevant for the current panorama.