Project Aims To Support Uptake Of Cloud Computing In Europe

Procurement Innovation for Cloud Services in Europe (PICSE) is a newly-launched project seeking to support the uptake of cloud computing in Europe.

PICSE is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, which is making €80bn of funding available from 2014-2020 for research and innovation.

With funding from the project, PICSE will set up a European Procurers’ Platform which it claims will raise the level of understanding of the issues surrounding procurement of cloud services.

The project is also developing a simpler innovative procurement model for public national and international organisations, aiming to set out a realistic roadmap for cloud procurement over the next five years.

PICSE intends to become the central point for the Public Sector Pre Commercial Procurement (PCP) and a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) community.

Ideas Shared At Launch Event

An event held in Frascati, Italy and hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA ESRIN) saw the Helix Nebula Initiative (HNI) and newly-launched PICSE introduced to the public.

Over 50 managers, cloud providers, policy makers, procurement and researchers attended the workshop Enabling a Dynamic Cloud Ecosystem.

At the event, an example of a PCP was present by Linda Strick, co-ordinator of the European Commission-funded Cloud for Europe project.

According to Strick, Cloud for Europe can be considered an instrument to boost cloud adoption in the public sector.

Pre-commercial procurement, a research and development process performed by the public sector with several suppliers in parallel to develop new solutions, could be a way to simplify the adoption of cloud computing in the public sector.

The public sector can define specifications together with the suppliers, performing a pre-procurement market consultation and then buy the services needed in an easy way.

© 24N.biz