If you pay any type of attention to tech news, you have heard about how cloud computing is supposed to change the face of how we interact with PCs, tablets, smartphones and more. Even game consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have cloud server features.
While cloud servers are used a lot for consumer products, what about for hard scientific research? Today, Microsoft announced a collaboration between Microsoft Research and its Windows Azure cloud server business called Windows Azure for Research with several different tiers that scientists can use for their projects that involve the cloud.
In a blog post, Microsoft said that starting this month it will begin training sessions around the world designed to help researchers use cloud computing. It will also offer technical resources, classes and sponsor an Windows Azure for Research workshop every year. Finally, there's the Windows Azure for Research Awards Program. Microsoft states:
We will be accepting proposals for sizable grants of Windows Azure resources. We expect to make up to 100 of these awards each year. The awards will be for individual projects or for community efforts to host scientific data and services.
While new entries will be accepted constantly, the deadline in order to be eligible for the first set of awards arrives on Oct. 15, with the actual grants to be announced two weeks afterwards. There will be six such grand awards every year. Microsoft hopes this new program will help "drive new discoveries and create new and innovative scenarios for using cloud computing."
Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft
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