In June 2025, InCommon Academy hosted more than 50 community members in a Thread Meetup to discuss identity and access management (IAM) modernization. Over the course of an hour, participants covered a range of topics, including emerging technologies, resource constraints, and more.

The InCommon Academy team distilled the conversation into six key points that all institutions and IAM practitioners should consider before embarking on their IAM modernization journey.

Join the Next Thread

Want to be part of the conversation? Join the next Thread Meetup on Aug. 6, 2025, at 3 p.m. for an interactive discussion on Navigating Hybrid IAM & Entra ID Integration.

Register Today

Case Study: Streamlining Researchers’ Access to Shared Resources

Researchers shouldn’t waste time managing multiple logins when they could be advancing knowledge.

Cirrus Identity, an InCommon Catalyst, and the InCommon Federation manage all the complex identity management infrastructure between organizations, enabling researchers to get to their work quickly and securely.

Read our newest case study to learn how Cirrus and InCommon have helped organizations like Duke University, EDUCAUSE, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and UNC Chapel Hill enable access to shared applications for researchers.

ICYMI

• Reflecting on InCommon BaseCAMP: Four Essentials to Consider
• Kickstart TechEX: Transform Your Learning Experience at this Premier Pre-Conference Event

The Internet2 NET+ program is excited to announce the addition of NET+ Portkey to the NET+ services portfolio. 

This latest service offering empowers research and education (R&E) institutions with governed, scalable access to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

NET+ Portkey, a flexible AI Gateway solution, was selected through a community-driven Request for Information (RFI) process to identify solutions for managing large language model (LLM) interactions safely and efficiently across classrooms, research labs, and administrative environments.

Curious about the NET+ Portkey AI Gateway tool?
Hear all about it at the NET+ Portkey webinar on Aug. 7.

Sign Up for the Webinar

NET+ PORTKEY IS A GATEWAY FOR INSTITUTIONAL AI ENABLEMENT AND CONTROL

As institutions explore AI adoption, many face similar challenges, including inconsistent access controls, budget constraints, and compliance concerns. 

Portkey simplifies AI enablement by acting as a gateway between LLMs and institutional systems, offering a single, unified API with granular control features.

Key capabilities of NET+ Portkey include:

• Unified access to multiple GenAI models via a single API
• Real-time budget controls and usage tracking
• Role-based access for faculty, researchers, and students
• Institution-wide prompt filtering and behavioral guardrails
• Comprehensive logging for auditing and governance
• Flexible deployment options: SaaS, hybrid, on-premise, or open-source

WHY NET+ PORTKEY? WHAT MAKES THIS OFFERING UNIQUE

NET+ Portkey is differentiated by its community-driven process and alignment with R&E procurement, security, and compliance standards.

Here’s why NET+ Portkey is distinct:

• Community-sourced: Selected via a competitive, community-led RFI process
• Vetted technology: Reviewed by R&E institutions as part of the NET+ service evaluation process
• Negotiated terms: Includes a contract and pricing shaped by R&E institutions
• Standards-ready: Includes completed HECVAT and VPAT documentation
• Scalable and aligned: Meets enterprise-grade requirements and institutional policy expectations

This offering reflects the unique value proposition of NET+: services shaped for the R&E community by the R&E community. These features empower CIOs, infrastructure leaders, and AI practitioners to enable and manage AI safely at scale, while procurement and legal teams benefit from reduced risk and pre-developed documents.

COMMUNITY-REVIEWED, INSTITUTION-TESTED

Seven institutions participated in the NET+ Service Evaluation process for Portkey. Their work included functional assessments, security reviews, and terms negotiation. Some institutions were already Portkey users and contributed real-world feedback to improve onboarding and adoption readiness.

This process ensures the final offering is both technically robust and contractually aligned with R&E needs.

Internet2 member New York University sponsored Portkey for its Service Evaluation, and the institution currently utilizes the Portkey AI Gateway.

“The Internet2 NET+ Service Evaluation process for Portkey has been a demonstration of collaboration and efficiency,” said Stratos Efstathiadis, senior director of Research Technology Services at NYU. “The synergy among peer institutions ensures Portkey meets the diverse AI requirements of higher education.”

JOIN THE NET+ PORTKEY LAUNCH WEBINAR – AUG. 7 AT 1 P.M. ET

We invite you to join our upcoming webinar, “Portkey Service Evaluation and Release.” You will hear from your peers about bringing this new NET+ service to the R&E community and how they currently use Portkey. 

Speakers include:

• Sajid Ali, Senior Research Software Engineer, NYU
• Mark Ratliff, Director of Cloud Infrastructure Services, Princeton
• Vrushank Vyas, Head of GTM, Portkey
• Tiffany Frank, Internet2

The event will conclude with a live Q&A, where you can ask peer institutions, Internet2, and PortKey representatives questions about the product, the service evaluation, or even approaches to AI implementation.

HAVE QUESTIONS?

The Internet2 NET+ service portfolio represents a selection of cloud solutions requested by you, vetted by you, and more applicable to R&E because of you. 

Portkey’s addition to the NET+ portfolio reflects our mission to empower the R&E community by enabling the responsible adoption of emerging technologies delivered at scale, vetted by peers, and aligned with the unique needs of R&E institutions.

Internet2 NET+ continues to expand its AI portfolio through multiple strategic initiatives designed to support the R&E community’s growing AI needs. There are currently more AI services under NET+ Service Evaluations, and the Internet2 Generative AI Working Group is directly supporting the effort to bring additional AI tools to NET+ subscribers.

Want to explore how NET+ Portkey could work for your institution? Email the NET+ team to learn more about licensing, deployment options, or joining the community of early adopters.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NET+ Portkey Service Page
• NET+ Portkey Wiki
• Portkey Cloud Scorecard
• Portkey Website
• Update on NET+ AI Initiatives

ABOUT THE INTERNET2 NET+ PROGRAM

The Internet2 NET+ program delivers cloud services vetted by higher education institutions for R&E. NET+ powers the R&E cloud with cloud services, contracts, and communities made for the R&E community. The 20+ cloud services that comprise the NET+ portfolio are leveraged by 650+ subscribing institutions. NET+ optimizes for features and functionality, technical integration, security and compliance, pricing, contract terms, and deployment. NET+ makes the cloud work better for R&E. 

For more information, visit Internet2 NET+ Services.

Chris Hyzer, the Grouper Lead at Internet2, explores some of the possibilities for generative AI tools and their interaction with Grouper. In his blog, Hyzer provides some examples on how to integrate generative AI into your institutional Grouper environment, including setting up AI support tools on Grouper Web Services.

The Grouper team now wants to hear from you. A Slack channel was created so interested parties in the research and higher education (R&E) community can join the discussion and explore the possibilities of integrating AI into Grouper. If you would like to join the conversation, please email help@incommon.org and request to be added to the new “incommon-grouper-ai” Slack channel.

Exploring AI Within Grouper

AI Insights from InCommon Catalysts

The Summer 2025 edition of the InCommon Q&A column, Catalyst to Catalyst, is now available to read. In the latest edition, two catalysts discuss the potential impact AI may have on identity and access management (IAM). 

Aside from the new tools available to IAM staff in R&E, one of our catalysts discusses the potential of AI as a security threat. Check out the new Catalyst to Catalyst column to learn more about those threats — and what AI technologies are on the horizon.

ICYMI

• Transforming Access Chaos: How Three Universities Are Solving Authorization Complexities with Innovative IAM Approaches 
• Learning from the Past, Building for the Future: InCommon’s 2024 Year in Review

There are several avenues to deepen your understanding of identity and access management (IAM) topics and trends affecting the research and education (R&E) community. But of all the possibilities that exist, there’s none quite like InCommon BaseCAMP.

BaseCAMP is a virtual learning experience that can be enjoyed from the convenience of your office but packs the punch of an in-person experience. It is chock-full of sessions, breakout room presentations, and conversations that help attendees better understand InCommon, the fundamentals of the federation, and how to address challenges related to IAM.

This year’s BaseCAMP, hosted by InCommon and Internet2 staff, was a weeklong sharing of frameworks, ideas, data points, journeys, and frustrations. Members of the R&E community presented sessions intended to help participants of InCommon see and optimize InCommon’s value.

“We had a great number of first-timers,” said Clara Broomfield, training program manager of InCommon. “Members of the community were thoroughly engaged, asking questions and participating in candid and deep discussions. We covered a lot of ground. It was an incredible success.”

As with all learning experiences, there is more knowledge than there is brain space to hold it, and we can’t digest this knowledge all at once. We must unpack new learning in small bites to put it into the context of our day-to-day.

That said, here are four essentials that would make reflecting on this year’s BaseCAMP more seamless as you consider a time well spent:

1. The BaseCAMP Survival Guide: If you still haven’t wrapped your mind around important terms, platforms, or the nuts and bolts of BaseCAMP, consider the BaseCAMP Survival Guide. It’s a handy reference that covers the basics of InCommon, Internet2, the InCommon Federation, and key programs like eduroam. This lightweight resource includes a link to a glossary of essential terms and details about BaseCAMP activities like CAMP Fires and games.
2. InCommon BaseCAMP’s Sessions: Fear you missed important snippets of information when you stepped away? Don’t worry! Each session was recorded so you can go back and review content you may have missed or want to revisit. Whether you took a break during a session or simply want to reinforce what you learned, these videos let you absorb the material at your own pace. We’ve also included links to each session’s slide decks for easy review of the session materials presented. These resources are available to this year’s BaseCAMP attendees through the end of the year.
3. The InCommon BaseCAMP Slack Channel: Your direct line to the BaseCAMP 2025 community long after the event ends. This is where conversations continue, connections deepen, and fellow CAMPers can continue to share their wins and challenges. The Slack channel serves as your bridge to the broader InCommon community and the supportive peer network that understands your IAM journey.
4. InCommon BaseCAMP’s CAMP Fires: These casual, themed discussion sessions at the end of each day provided some of the most valuable networking and knowledge-sharing moments of the week. Whether you explored IAM trends, shared deployment experiences, or discussed current challenges, the CAMP Fires created intimate spaces for deeper conversations with peers and presenters. While these sessions weren’t recorded, the connections you made and insights you gained during these relaxed discussions often prove to be the most lasting takeaways from BaseCAMP.

Though the conference is over, the learning doesn’t end. Stay connected as we forge ahead and learn from each other.

First-time attendees and newer participants want to hear from you!

As a first-time CAMPer, do you have ideas or suggestions to take next year’s BaseCAMP to the next level? Email Clara Broomfield or interact with InCommon staff members in the BaseCAMP Slack channel to share any comments or feedback that would help improve next year’s experience.

David served as principal trumpet with the Seoul Philharmonic, the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, and the Sinfónica de Asturias in Spain, which included concert and television performances with tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Equally active as a soloist and clinician, David has presented concerts and master classes in New York, Dallas, Cleveland, Istanbul, Scotland, Italy, and throughout Asia.

NPAPW25: Join Us in New York!

Are you an artist, performer, tech professional, or arts administrator interested in using cutting-edge networks and tools for arts education and performance? You’re invited to shape the future of Performing Arts at NPAPW25! 

Registration is now open for NPAPW25, taking place Nov. 12-14 in New York, New York, at The New School, College of Performing Arts.

Internet2 is planning to implement a new policy aimed at significantly enhancing the security and efficiency of routing with its international research and education (R&E) peer networks. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to enhance routing integrity in the U.S. and global R&E space.

Global R&E networks have long served as intermediary transit networks, facilitating the flow of traffic between other R&E networks, without the traffic originating or terminating within the transit network itself. This role is crucial for connecting disparate networks, enabling communication across geographical and organizational boundaries. Internet2’s new policy will strengthen routing security while maintaining this functionality. 

Below is a summary of the current draft plan, including the policy objectives, implementation phases, and projected timeline. Internet2 invites feedback from its members and R&E network peers worldwide, with the plan subject to change based on the community’s valuable input.

Objectives of the New Routing Policy

The new policy focuses on the following four objectives:

• Prevent the Propagation of Leaked Commercial Routes: Stop unintended commercial routes from being propagated to Internet2 and other R&E peers, thus preserving dedicated R&E network paths.
• Preserve Zero-Touch Mutual Backup Transit: Maintain existing mutual backup transit arrangements that are crucial for robust global connectivity among the R&E community and require no manual intervention or configuration changes.
• Enhance Intentional Best Path Selection: Implement a more deliberate and optimized path selection process, particularly during normal operations when backup transit is not required.
• Maintain Current Route Announcements: Ensure that these routing security improvements do not disrupt or modify existing route announcements to Internet2’s peers. Instead, these changes will enable Internet2 to function as a protective firewall, preventing the propagation of leaked routes. Additionally, the route filters used to implement these changes will be published as Internet Routing Registry (IRR) objects, allowing other networks to adopt complementary policies.

Implementation Phases and Timeline

The phased rollout of this policy will start in early 2026, with all three phases expected to be completed by year’s end.

Phase 1: Preventing Commercial Route Leaks

Initially, Internet2 will collect and compile snapshots of typical routes announced by our international R&E peer networks. We will use these snapshots to create a common prefix filter applied to all Internet2 international R&E peers. This proactive filtering will prevent leaked commercial routes from entering the R&E ecosystem while still supporting automatic backup transit in the event of path failures. 

We will update filters regularly and as requested by our direct peers. To support this, Internet2 is collaborating with CAIDA to further automate the detection and validation of new legitimate routes.

Phase 2: Enhancing Path Selection for Peers with IRR AS-Sets

For peers that publish their customer Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) as IRR AS-sets, Internet2 will introduce peer-specific routing policies. These policies will prioritize paths from within each peer’s customer cone. Routes that match the common R&E filter but fall outside a peer’s AS-set will continue to be accepted as backup routes with a lower local-preference.

Phase 3: Full Transition to AS-Set-Based Filtering

The final stage will begin once all of Internet2’s R&E peers have fully adopted comprehensive customer cone declarations via IRR AS-sets. At that point, the common prefix filter — currently based on routing snapshots — will transition entirely to an AS-set-based model. This method will further simplify route management, reduce the risk of errors, and maintain minimum necessary exceptions.

Looking ahead to future standards, RPKI Autonomous System Provider Authorization (ASPA) may also become an option to support automated filtering and validation.

Your Feedback is Critical

Internet2 recognizes the importance of community engagement in policy formation. We encourage and value feedback from members of the international R&E community as we finalize and implement this policy.

Additionally, Internet2 will continue working with the Global Network Advancement Group (GNA-G) Routing Working Group to ensure the new policy complements the approaches utilized by other global partners. 

Please send your thoughts, concerns, or suggestions to Steven Wallace, ssw@internet2.edu. Your input is crucial in ensuring that our routing policies effectively enhance the security, performance, and reliability of our shared global R&E network infrastructure.

ICYMI

• Internet2 Insight Console Now Reveals Your Network’s Routing Intentions
• What the Research & Education Community Learned From Three Impactful Routing Security Incidents in 2024

While the general conference officially opens Dec. 9, you have an exclusive opportunity on Dec. 8 to sharpen your skills, share strategies, and collaborate with your peers across the research and education (R&E) community. The day before TechEX, the Sheraton Denver Downtown will be buzzing with active full and half-day tutorials designed to deepen your expertise or introduce you to a relevant but unfamiliar topic in the field—you choose. 

Facilitated by community voices, this year’s tutorials run the gamut in subject matter and in upscaling tangible skills that will make a substantial impact at your institution. Imagine tackling real-world challenges, taking a peek inside Large Language Models (LLMs), and learning to build your own chatbot. Envision a GameDay AWS simulation where you acquire business and technical skills applicable to the day-to-day.

These interactive sessions allow a unique experience to collaborate with peers as you dive deeper into Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to understand advanced routing, unpack the use of SmartNICs for workload offloading, explore AI tools and their roles in campus operations, and loads more. These immersive experiences are designed to transform your understanding and provide skills you can implement the very next day!

Need help “making the case?” Check out our Make The Case resources to help you make a solid case for why you should attend this premium event and how you’d leverage your time and institution’s resources to make the most of TechEX.

Read More

This pre-conference series offers morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, and 18 distinct opportunities to participate in practical workshops, giving you the freedom to engage whenever it suits you—morning, afternoon, or throughout the entire day—all at a fraction of the cost of traditional professional development programs.

Full-Day Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. MT

• Beyond the Core: Deploying IPv6 Networks to End Users – Boost your understanding of IPv6 deployment! Engage in practical lab exercises that enable you to confidently and securely implement effective IPv6 solutions for end-user environments using transition technologies and Layer 2 protections.
• Get Good with GitOps – Master your software deployments with GitOps! Learn GitOps techniques, how to build a serverless web app, how to define infrastructure-as-code, and implement a robust CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions.
• perfSONAR Tutorial  – Discover the latest in network measurement and unlock perfSONAR’s full potential! Led by perfSONAR developers, this hands-on experience guides you through installing, using, and customizing the platform, including setting up measurement hosts and building your own custom dashboard.

Morning Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 8-11:30 a.m. MT

• A Hands-on Tutorial on BGP – Curious to explore Border Gateway Protocol in a safe, virtual environment? Learn how to create pathways for data to reach its destination in this pragmatic workshop as you manipulate BGP assets, deploy internetworks, and acquire advanced routing skills. 
• AWS GameDay: Migration – Want to learn about AWS through a low-stakes simulation? This session places you in a startup called Unicorn and teaches you best practices in AWS migration and modernization, allowing you to gain hands-on experience in a gamified environment.
• BGP For Data Centers: Designing, Deploying and Troubleshooting BGP in a Leaf-Spine Architecture – Learn BGP and its role in modern data centers! This workshop offers practical experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting BGP in leaf-spine architectures, covering essential topics such as eBGP/iBGP and route reflectors, suitable for both beginners and intermediate skill levels. 
• Google Cloud Foundations Tutorial – Establish a solid foundation for understanding the cloud! This tutorial teaches you to build secure and scalable environments in Google Cloud. By launching your own cloud project, learn pertinent skills, configure essential services, and understand core components of a secure landing zone.
• Hands-On Tutorial on Infrastructure Workload Offloading Using SmartNICs/DPUs – Unlock prime performance by offloading intensive workloads! This hands-on tutorial models how to configure and manage DPU-based solutions to enhance output, reduce inactivity, and improve the scalability and security of your computing infrastructure using SmartNICs.
• Multi-Cloud Networking with Internet2 Cloud Router – Connect your cloud universe! This hands-on tutorial guides you through establishing direct and secure multi-cloud connections using Internet2 Cloud Router, providing practical experience with its Insight Console and routing functionalities. 
• Network Troubleshooting with Generative AI – Transform your network troubleshooting with AI! This tutorial guides you in building a chatbot using a common LLM, LangGraph, and Streamlit, empowering you to leverage generative AI for querying network states and making inferences to solve problems faster.
• Rethinking Campus Connectivity for Higher Ed – Want to learn how to overcome the limitations of traditional Wi-Fi and solve campus connectivity challenges to drive innovation? This session equips higher education IT leaders with a strategic understanding of advanced wireless solutions like Private 5G and Neutral Host.

Afternoon Tutorials at TechEx25 Run From 1-4:30 p.m. MT

• BGP and Route Policy for R&E Networks – Is your BGP route policy optimized for security and performance in your R&E network? This hands-on tutorial guides you through multiple activities, helping equip you with best practices and a troubleshooting tool for configuring BGP. 
• Building Your Institution’s AI-Powered Future: A Hands-On Cloud Analytics Tutorial – Move beyond theoretical discussions! This hands-on workshop, ideal for technical and strategic leaders, will teach you how to deploy and configure cloud-based solutions using real-world datasets to address challenges such as student engagement and success. 
• DWDM Fiber Optic Networking Concepts and Technologies – Decode the complexities of Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) and enhance your network’s capacity! This tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of DWDM, from fiber principles to optical switching, troubleshooting, testing, and more!
• Gemini Code Assist Essentials – Looking to excel in software development? This intermediate tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of Gemini Code Assist, unpacking its core features of productivity and collaboration, helping you explore its capabilities.
• Hands-On AWS Networking for Non-Cloud Majors  – Want to learn AWS networking by building a small network? This workshop bridges the gap between on-prem and cloud networking by teaching you to build, route, and connect AWS networks to your campus, providing hands-on experience with VPCs, routing, and hybrid connectivity.
• Implementing CI/CD Pipeline in a NetDevOps Environment – Transform your network engineering with the power of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment! This hands-on tutorial delves into the theories and practices of CI/CD in a NetDevOps context, guiding you through building pipelines with GitLab and automating network tasks.
• Mobility Day at TechEX – Stay “in the know” of evolving mobile network technologies! This tutorial provides updates and discussions on critical topics like eduroam, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and IoT, ensuring you’re informed on the latest advancements and initiatives in mobility.

Take a Deep Dive Into These Tutorials

Check out a complete description of goals and objectives for each tutorial occurring at the 2025 Internet2 Technology Exchange. Learn the practical skills you’ll take back to your institutions. Visit the TechEX25 website to learn more about this event, session offerings, and to register for your tutorial as you sign up for the conference. Explore registration information and travel information to secure your spot at TechEX25, an event you don’t want to miss.

According to a recent survey, more than 80 percent of people plan to road trip this summer. Members of the NET+ team will be right there with them as we head to various locales to attend important cloud community gatherings. Summer is always a busy time for the NET+ Program, and this year’s no different. We’re on the road again – both literally and figuratively – as we continue our work to ensure the best cloud services are available for research and education.

To avoid wrong turns and work around traffic jams, it’s essential that we stay connected as a community. Keeping up with AI is a good example. R&E institutions might feel like they need GPS, a map, and a compass to stay headed in the right direction. We hope you have added the Cloud Scorecard to your roadside toolkit. It can help you find the right tools faster as higher ed navigates the future of AI. 

While the future holds uncertainty, one thing is certain. All roads lead to maintaining an active R&E cloud community. Our success and sustainability comes from our continued collaboration through NET+ service advisory groups and other community-driven activities. As Cloud Superhero Charlie Escue explained, “Crowdsourcing our talent for the collective good strengthens our community and advances the professional development of its members.”

In April, during National Volunteer Week, we recognized NET+ community volunteers for the great work they do. We really can’t say thank you enough. Our commitment to traveling this road together, uniting the R&E cloud community, is unwavering and rests on the foundation of the community’s continued involvement. Take it from Cloud Superhero Jack Suess, “Saying yes to opportunity when it calls is important, especially when it’s supporting our community.”

In this spirit, getting and giving support when you need it most, explore our initiatives and available resources to map out a productive and enjoyable summer road trip to the cloud.

Our Next Stops 

Whether virtually or in person, we’re coming to a neighborhood near you soon. Each of our events has been designed to keep you moving down the road towards your cloud services goals. We hope you’ll join us for our upcoming community events or catch up with us at an upcoming conference.

Webinars

Campus Leadership: Unlocking Strategic Value with LabArchives | July 15

Register

AI That Works: Carnegie Mellon’s Google Gemini Success Story | July 23

Register

Conferences

The NET+ team will be at Instructure’s annual InstructureCon conference July 22-24 in Spokane, WA. Please reach out to us if you would like information about our Happy Hour hosted by the NET+ Instructure Service Advisory Group, on Wednesday, July 23. 

You can also catch up with some members of the NET+ team at AWS Imagine in Chicago, July 29-30. 

If you plan to attend either of these conferences, please let us know, so we can connect in person.

Postcards from the Road

The NET+ team is committed to literally meeting you wherever you happen to be on your cloud journey. It’s been wonderful to connect with so many of you personally over the last few months as team members traveled to critical cloud community gatherings.

The 11th annual Higher Ed Cloud Forum took a bite out of the Big Apple. More than fifty institutions from the U.S. and Europe attended this year’s forum hosted by New York University. The event kicked off with the presentation of the Cloud Super Hero Award to UMBC’s Jack Suess and continued with a wide-variety of excellent presentations for the cloud strategy and enablement audience. Check out this recap of the event.

The NET+ team hosted the Higher Education (HE) Summit at Knowledge25, bringing together higher education peers, administrators, and leaders to explore how ServiceNow is being used to streamline operations and enhance campus services. You can read the full recap of the event here.

Members of our team also attended the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference. You can read a reflection on the event here.

We’re staying on the road in the community working on your behalf.

Navigation at Its Best: NET+ Service Updates

Stay up to date with these important highlights about the services in the NET+ Program portfolio. Our program management team has its eyes on the road ahead to help you navigate today and tomorrow.

• The NET+ Instructure Service Advisory Group demonstrates that when service providers, research and higher education institutions, and the Internet2 NET+ team work together within the SAG framework, they co-create impactful solutions. Read the full case study: Bridging the Gap: The Internet2 NET+ Instructure (Canvas) Service Advisory Group Fosters Collaboration and Impact.

• The NET+ Zoom Service Advisory Group resumed regular meetings this year. SAG members collaborated with Zoom AI subject matter experts and product development Zoom leads to present an AI focused Town Hall in April for the NET+ Zoom subscriber community. Zoom AI panelists shared best practices for AI implementation, data privacy, AI data storage and handling, and security. Visit our wiki space for additional program information.

• The NET+ Lumen Collaboration and Unified Communications Service will be expanding its offering of Zoom Phone to include Zoom Contact Center. The Zoom Contact Center offering is an omni-channel, highly personal customer care platform that leverages Zoom’s commitment to AI in the agent and customer experience. Learn more. 

New and Next

Check out the new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Finder website.

Here are the new Internet2 Cloud Scorecard participants in the past quarter:

• BoodleBox
• cielo24
• Coursedog
• FileCloud
• LogicMonitor
• Six Red Marbles

If there is a cloud service you would like to see listed, please reach out to us with your suggestion(s).

Spotlight on NET+ Service Providers

We’re pleased to continue inviting NET+ service providers to share articles, blog posts, webinars, or other content relevant to cloud practitioners in the R&E community. Take a look at the resources they shared this quarter:

• Globus – New and existing NET+ Globus subscribers can include Globus connectors in their Globus subscriptions as well as streamline the procurement process. Globus connectors simplify end-to-end data management for researchers and storage managers alike, and now with 20+ storage options to choose from, Globus users can store their data practically anywhere. Learn more about Globus NET+ offerings.
• Google –  Gemini and NotebookLM are generative AI tools from Google that can be your AI assistants for education; check out the New Quickstart Guide to Gemini and NotebookLM for Education. Google is partnering with the University System of Maryland to provide access to Google Career Certificates and AI training across 12 campuses statewide. Interested in adding new admin settings to control Google Form responses? You can read more about this and other announcements on the Google Workspace Updates blog and subscribe to receive future updates. 
• 1Password – Explore how a proactive SaaS governance strategy can reduce risk, optimize spend, and strengthen compliance without slowing down your operations. Join 1Password for a webinar on July 15. Register here. 
• Panopto –  A new feature, “Save As,” will be available to Panopto creators in July that enables them to create short microlearning clips from longer recordings. Watch our video to learn more. Also, check out our guide to demystifying content retention. We break down four reasons to clean up your video library. From reducing storage costs to making it easier for users to find relevant content, content hygiene isn’t just about tidiness – it’s about efficiency. Headed to InstructureCon or D2L Fusion in July? Schedule a meeting or stop by to see the latest in AI-powered tech designed to help you bring learning to life.
• Pathify –  Check out Pathify’s new GenAI Chatbot, connecting directly to ERP systems and delivering verified, real-time information like grades, GPA, schedules, and more.

This is a regular feature in our quarterly newsletter, so be sure to keep an eye out for it!

Keep Up With the Cloud

As always, we welcome your ideas and appreciate your contributions to our cloud programs! Interested in participating in one or more NET+ service evaluations? Or have feedback for other prospective services for the program? Don’t know where to start? Email cloud@internet2.edu.

Catching Up on the Cloud brings you all the latest Internet2 cloud updates. Whether you’re supporting the academic enterprise, research domain, or anything in between, these timely announcements and updates will help you with the best solutions for implementing cloud services at your institution.

Join Us in CLASS This Summer

CLASS provides in-depth cloud training and workshops specifically geared to help the higher education and research community develop their skills. Check out our upcoming lineup of Cloud Learning and Skills Sessions:

• Networking in the Cloud | July 9
• Container Orchestration for Research Workflows | July 17
• Automating Research with Globus: The Modern Research IT Platform | August 18

If you have any questions about our upcoming sessions, contact us. The CLASS curriculum is driven by community needs. What CLASS cloud training would you like to see offered in the future? Share your suggestions.