MICROSOFT has announced new partnerships with NICTA, ANU and CSIRO as part of its Global Cloud Research Engagement Initiative.
The program will provide scientific researchers across Australia with access to advanced client plus cloud computing resources and technical support.
Each grant will provide researchers supported by these organisations with three years of free access to Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud computing platform, as well as access to technical support and client tools being developed by Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, the researchers will be able to access the power of the cloud from their desktops for various projects, including an analysis of online social networks, a cloud-based geophysical imaging platform, computational chemistry and other e-science applications.
Microsoft says with access to the Windows Azure platform, scientists around the world can tap into increased computing power with their own desktop tools to more easily explore and share their complex research.