DuraSpace to Bring Cloud Storage Platform “Direct-to-Researchers”

The not-for-profit DuraSpace organization will develop a hosted, cloud-based data storage and management service aimed at meeting the specific needs of working scientists and researchers.  

The new service, an expansion of DuraSpace’s DuraCloud data management and archiving service, is being funded through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

"Scientists and researchers are under increasing pressure to archive and provide access to their data well beyond the grant funding period. The currently available commercial cloud services do not fully meet their needs and have no ties back to the research organization", said Michele Kimpton, CEO of DuraSpace. "We’re committed to providing a solution for managing research data that’s safe, secure, flexible, and most of all, easy-to-use for the scientist who does not have IT staff on hand to help tackle data management issues."

With ‘Direct-to-Researcher’, ‘catching’ the results of research at the source means that scientists and researchers have the ability to meet granting agency requirements for accountability in preserving and creating access to data.

Software development and user testing for the new service is being provided through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "DuraSpace has a proven record of working successfully with universities to meet their data management needs," said Joshua M. Greenberg, Program Director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Digital Information Technology program. "Expanding on that success to reach scientists directly is a very exciting project that could revolutionize how research data gets stored and shared."

"The DuraCloud Direct-to-Researcher model is compelling since it can bridge the researcher’s need for an easy solution for storing data with the institution’s interest in managing and preserving research data for the long term. The DuraCloud Direct-To-Researcher service has the potential to make a valuable contribution to scientists by providing an easy cloud-based platform for research data," said Mary Marlino, NCAR Director of e-Science.

Development will begin by soliciting input directly from scientists, university administrators, and other stakeholders in a workshop scheduled for the fall. Results of the workshop will help inform the first set of requirements for building a platform specific to the needs of researchers. The new service is expected to launch sometime in 2013.