OpenCloud becomes part of the European research cloud EOSC
Scientific progress is driven by collaboration. To enable research teams to exchange and share data across national and organisational boundaries, they need digital tools and services that work reliably together. The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) provides a common foundation for this. In future, we too will be contributing our expertise in open-source technologies to this European research infrastructure.
On 30 October 2026, the European Commission announced that the Open Science Commons Consortium had been selected to manage the continued operation and further development of the EOSC EU Node. The consortium partners include the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Centre (PSNC). As a subcontractor to the PSNC, we are supporting this European infrastructure and cloud services operation project with OpenCloud.
When research data needs to be brought together
Many scientific questions can only be answered collaboratively today. Research teams work across different locations, exchange large volumes of data and draw on shared resources. To enable the economy of scale and synergies among disciplines, institutions and research groups data has to be made open, discoverable, accessible and reusable (according to FAIR principles)
In practice, this is not straightforward. Research data is often distributed across servers and data centers at various universities and institutes. Different IT systems, access rights and technical requirements complicate the exchange of data. At the same time, data must be protected and remain available in the long term.
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) aims to make research data, software and digital services accessible and interconnected across national and organisational boundaries. This is intended to enable researchers to find, use and jointly develop scientific resources more easily.
A key component is the EOSC EU Node. The platform, provided by the European Commission, has been operational since October 2024. It offers far more than just a central storage location: researchers gain access to a range of digital services, including tools for file sharing, collaborative document editing and the processing of research data in virtual compute and containers platforms as well as using Jupyter Notebooks. At the same time, the platform serves as a reference point for the interconnection of other European research infrastructures through so-call EOSC nodes.
The extent to which the platform is already being used is demonstrated by the figures from October 2026: the EOSC EU Node makes more than 190 million research objects discoverable and supports around 2,000 research groups. It thus forms an important foundation for the exchange of scientific data and collaboration in Europe.
How OpenCloud can contribute
When large numbers of people work together on vast datasets, the underlying technology has to be up to the task. Files must be reliably available, access must be securely managed, and the systems must remain high-performing even as usage increases.
OpenCloud is an open-source solution for file sharing and collaboration, based on a modern, cloud-native architecture. It is designed for scalability and efficient operation and can be integrated into existing IT infrastructures via open interfaces. OpenCloud thus provides key technological prerequisites for collaboration in large, networked research environments.
The EOSC EU Node’s current file sync and share solution is based on ownCloud Infinite Scale. As part of the new contract, the plan is to replace this solution with OpenCloud.
Together with European partners
This new contract marks the start of a new phase for the EOSC EU Node. The selected Open Science Commons Consortium is coordinated by the Athena Research and Innovation Centre. Other partners include PSNC, GÉANT Vereniging, OpenAIRE AMKE and Netcompany S.A..
As a subcontractor to PSNC, we are contributing our expertise in the development of open file-sharing and collaboration technologies. Together with our European partners, we aim to ensure the continued operation of the EOSC EU Node and to further develop the platform in line with the requirements of the research community.
“Research thrives on the sharing of knowledge and people working together across borders. This requires digital tools that function reliably, are open and can be operated independently in the long term. We are delighted to contribute our expertise to the EOSC EU Node and to work alongside our European partners on an open research infrastructure,” says Klaas Freitag, CTO of OpenCloud.
The new framework agreement is set to run for four years. Operations under the new contractual structure are due to commence on 14 February 2027 and may continue until the end of 2030, subject to appropriate commissioning and funding.
We look forward to working alongside PSNC and our other European partners on a research infrastructure that supports the open exchange of knowledge and strengthens Europe’s digital independence.
