Cloud Foundations Service
Public Cloud Broker provides access to centrally provisioned public cloud services for administrative, teaching & learning, and
![depiction of ways to utilize services](/rc/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-08/Screenshot%20%2867%29.png?itok=bjXGQhDd)
research needs. This includes new and existing applications, big data workloads and other workloads well suited to the major public cloud services.
OIT is continuing to build a more robust cloud foundations service (see table below for details), with the following offerings:
- Choosing Cloud
- Baselines (e.g AWS Public Data Hybrid)
- Consulting (e.g. Architectural consultation, Cost Optimization)
![Snapshot of Cloud Services on campus](/rc/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-08/Screenshot%20%2869%29.png?itok=Ncb5oSD4)
Features & Benefits
Public Cloud Foundations benefits, in general, include:
- All the benefits of public cloud
- Scalable and elastic compute
- Fractional consumption
- Eliminates need to purchase hardware for “peak” consumption
- Improves speed of delivery
- Allows for innovation – quick successes and quick fail trials
- Shortened time to market
- Improves service levels
- Improves access to data
- Managed services to simplify usage
- Support for Speedtype/PO based billing (no more need for PCARD reconciliation)
- Cost Monitoring/Management
- Integration with Identikey, MyGroups and other CU Boulder tools for managing access
- Optional network connectivity back to campus (for access to campus hosted data, or other applications)
- Basic security and fraud detection monitoring
How to get it
In the current state of the cloud foundations service, faculty and staff can request the following services:
- AWS account setup: For assistance with creation of AWS accounts for departments for hosting Public Data and for any of the three networking options (Cloud Only, Campus Only, Hybrid), please contact rc-help@colorado.edu
- Azure subscription setup: For assistance with creation of Azure subscriptions for departments for hosting Public Data and for any of the three networking options (Cloud Only, Campus Only, Hybrid), please contact rc-help@colorado.edu
Not every workload is well suited to cloud foundations, please review Choosing Cloud for important considerations when making this decision.
Cost
Cloud Foundations services generally have publicly available cost calculators. All costs for cloud services are paid by the department or unit utilizing the cloud service - there is no central funding available for public cloud services.
OIT does not plan to add to these costs for basic services but may at a later time offer value added services that would have additional charges.
Where possible (e.g. networking, cost management, etc.) OIT will look to provide shared services that may save on the overall campus cost for use of a particular cloud platform.