# Cloud vs on-prem TREs: costs, constraints, pros & cons

## Overview

### Summary

The main decision drivers are security and cost.
Cloud is more flexible for projects with different funding sources and does not require an expensive data centre for research institutions but does not offer the highest levels of security.

A potential solution is a hybrid model where you get a cloud-like infrastructure on an on-prem compute.

Cloud provision via Jisc (as oppose to direct with the cloud provider) can be cheaper and it also handles SSO: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/forms/uk-access-management-federation-sign-up#
Resources: Google RADLab: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/public-sector/googles-new-rad-lab-solution-helps-spin-cloud-projects-quickly-and-compliantly

### Next steps

- Develop a roadmap plan for a hybrid, cloud-agnostic model

## Raw Notes

- Compute capacity/ data centres for advanced ML projects is expensive for research institutions
- Credits make it easier to use cloud for projects with different funding sources
- Could a good solution be a hybrid model where you get a cloud-like infrastructure on an on-prem compute
  - So could be completely disconnected from internet for high security
  - Google have set something like this up at Sanger
- Factors determining on-prem vs cloud
  - security
  - cost
- Cloud provision via Jisc (as oppose to direct with the cloud provider) can be cheaper and it also handles SSO: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/forms/uk-access-management-federation-sign-up#
- Resources: Google RADLab: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/public-sector/googles-new-rad-lab-solution-helps-spin-cloud-projects-quickly-and-compliantly

### Roadmap plan

#### Questions

- What would a solution to this problem look like?
- What resources would be needed (people, time, funds, infrastructure etc.)?
- How can this community support you in getting them?
- What working groups/orgs are already working on this, if any? How can we collaborate with them effectively?

#### Notes

- hybrid model (see above)
- Solution that is cloud-agnostic and could also run on on-prem hardware