EGI-ACE: Key Recommendations for the Future of EOSC
The EGI-ACE project, a 30-month endeavour that ran from January 2021 to June 2023, has emerged as a beacon of innovation and collaboration within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) landscape. Coordinated by the EGI Foundation, this project set out with a noble mission: to empower researchers across all disciplines by facilitating data and compute-intensive research through free-at-point-of-use services. As the project reached its successful conclusion, it left behind a legacy of significant achievements and strategic recommendations that promise to shape the future of EOSC.
This free-to-use distributed computing environment integrates a myriad of resources and services from diverse entities, creating a versatile platform for distributed data processing and analysis across various scientific domains.
Technical elements like a Monitoring service, Usage Accounting system, and Configuration Database simplify integration into the Compute Platform and the EOSC. These services provide a scalable resource allocation system, benefiting local and European entities.
These data spaces are the foundation for hosting and integrating datasets and scientific tools. They facilitate the online analysis of large datasets and the operation of complex computing workflows over distributed resources.
Five Strategic Recommendations for the Future of EOSC
We advocate for developing an accessible channel to essential computing and analytics capabilities, supporting various modes of operation and catering to a wide range of research data usage scenarios.
The Thematic Service Integration and Delivery Programme requires reinforcement and expansion, focusing on the selection, integration, and sustained support of thematic services in the EOSC Exchange.
It is recommended that research support networks be established and coordinated across sectors, disciplines and countries to ensure full exploitation of EOSC resources. This approach leverages the proven expertise and experience of EGI-ACE, which has successfully catered to multiple communities.
We propose augmenting the description of onboarded resources in EOSC with both human and AI-generated information, and refining and tailoring user interfaces and APIs to enhance the composability of resources along the open science pipeline.
Funding mechanisms should be compatible with the operation of publicly-funded organisations and should be managed in the best interests of the community. This harmonisation is vital to enhance participation and engagement within the EOSC.
Each recommendation has been developed to address a distinct challenge within the EOSC ecosystem while contributing to an integrated approach that enhances EOSC’s capacity in computing, to serve as an invaluable resource for the European and international research community.
EGI-ACE leaves behind a legacy of collaboration, innovation, and strategic vision that promises to shape the future of EOSC. These recommendations, grounded in the project’s remarkable achievements, serve as a guiding light for a more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly European Open Science Cloud, benefitting researchers and society as a whole. EGI-ACE’s impact is a testament to the power of collaboration in advancing open science and research.