Over its 40 years of existence, imec has become the world's top microchip research company, as a global chip laboratory. Imec plays a vital role in key application areas such as computer technologies & systems, health, automotive, energy, infotainment, industry, agrifood and lifelong learning. For their ICT infrastructure, imec has been using cloud services through the OCRE framework agreement for many years. We spoke with Erik Thielemans, cloud architect at imec, about imec's cloud strategy and the benefits of OCRE.
- When and why did you start looking for a cloud infrastructure or services solution?
- The demand for cloud services initially came from our researchers. They wanted to be able to work faster and more flexibly. That was the starting point for a broader cloud strategy. We have been using cloud services for 8 to 9 years and have done so, from the beginning, through the OCRE framework. Our cloud environment consists of two parts: an enterprise component that is managed by ICT and within which we offer services to our users, and a business component in which researchers can work with Azure environments, for example, on their experiments. We always weigh-up what we do in our own data centre and what we run in the cloud. We deliberately choose managed services in the cloud so that we can outsource technical management and have greater flexibility. This allows us to quickly scale up or respond to temporary needs.
- What services have you purchased through OCRE and what are they used for?
- Currently, we use Microsoft Azure exclusively, but that may expand in the future. We use Azure in two ways: one is for enterprise applications that ICT manages, and the other is in research contexts where teams create their own environments for experiments or projects. In both cases, OCRE ensures that we can work quickly, safely and cost-effectively.
- What are the main benefits of the OCRE framework agreement for you?
- The biggest advantage is undoubtedly price; thanks to economies of scale at GÉANT level, we enjoy very favourable rates. Billing flexibility is a great asset too. We can choose to bill based on consumption or purchase credits in advance, depending on the needs of a specific project. This is particularly useful when we need to spend a certain budget within a specific time period, within a project. Finally, another added value is that much of the legal and administrative preparation is taken care of within the framework agreement. This saves us a great deal of work and ensures that we use reliable contracts tailored to the needs of research institutions.
- How is the transition to the new framework agreement going?
- We are currently transitioning from the previous OCRE agreement to the new OCRE 2024 framework. This includes a change of supplier but this is an administrative adjustment with little to no technical impact. So for our end users, nothing will change.
- What impact has access to these cloud services had on your operation or research projects?
- The cloud gives us access to the latest tools and technologies, which is essential for our researchers. When a new service becomes available, our teams dive right in to see how it could be used in their work. A key driver today is the availability of compute resources for HPC solutions, especially GPUs. In our own data centre, we cannot possibly meet the increasing demand for GPU capacity for AI applications. Thanks to the cloud, we can accommodate that capacity flexibly and quickly, which is a huge advantage. Our AI department works with this infrastructure every day. Without the cloud, many of their projects simply would not be possible. The flexibility of cloud infrastructure also adds value for ordinary CPU-intensive workloads.
- Is the security aspect also a driver?
- Definitely. Partners are increasingly demanding that our infrastructure meets certain compliance and security standards. In the current geopolitical context, this is more important than ever. OCRE cloud services allow us to start from an infrastructure whose base layers are already compliant with most security standards. In our own data centre, that would be much more difficult and, more importantly, much more expensive to accomplish on our own.
- Would you recommend the OCRE agreement to other organisations in the R&E sector, and why?
- Absolutely. The price tag is very attractive and, at the same time, many of the legal requirements are already dealt with. Much of the negotiation around those requirements has already happened through the framework agreement. That means starting from a standard contract that has been verified and meets the key requirements for research institutions. That's certainly an asset for smaller organisations that don't have a large legal team to figure it all out.
- Do you have suggestions for the OCRE programme?
- It would be useful to establish a user community around the OCRE framework. I think it could be interesting to exchange experiences or share information on how certain partners work in practice. Belnet has a good overview of the users of the framework, so you could take a facilitating role in that.
Would you like more information on the OCRE 2024 framework?
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