30 May 2017     

Sparkle provides GÉANT with cloud solutions to support pan-European research and education community

Cloud solutions will be offered by Sparkle together with TIM Nuvola Italiana and Amazon Web Services

Sparkle, the international service arm of TIM Group and among top 10 global operators, has signed a Framework Agreement with GÉANT, Europe’s leading collaboration on e-infrastructure and services for research and education, to provide cloud services powered by Sparkle, TIM Nuvola Italiana and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the pan-European research and education community.

Sparkle will support GÉANT in 30 countries, specifically as an Original Service Provider (OIP) in 12 countries offering Sparkle and TIM Cloud Solutions, while in the remaining 18 countries Sparkle will act as a reseller of Amazon Web Services.

Cloud platform provides virtualized computing resources and offers highly scalable resources that can be adjusted on-demand, representing an ideal solution for academic research characterized by workloads that are either temporary, experimental or subject to unexpected change.

As part of the cloud solutions Sparkle will support service authentication through eduGAIN, the global research and education infrastructure for single sign on access.

Sparkle will also provide a direct network peering between GÉANT and its own data centers, reducing data transport-related costs. Furthermore Sparkle will guarantee a 24x7 Service Desk which includes a Contact Center and a Cloud Competence Center.

Delivering Sparkle’s services through GÉANT significantly reduces cost and complexity, while providing higher security and better integration of the online services. 


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About GÉANT 
GÉANT is Europe’s leading collaboration on network and related e-infrastructure and services for the benefit of research and education, contributing to Europe’s economic growth and competitiveness. The organisation develops, delivers and promotes advanced network and associated e-infrastructure services, and supports innovation and knowledge-sharing amongst its members, partners and the wider research and education networking community. To learn more, visit www.geant.org or follow us on Twitter @GEANTnews