We live in an era of cloud computing. Many of the services in the life sciences are keenly planning cloud transformations, seeking to create globally distributed ecosystems of harmonised data based on standards from organisations like GA4GH. CINECA faces similar challenges, gathering cohort datasets from all over the globe, many of which are pinned in place, due to their size, legal restrictions, or other considerations. But is “bringing compute to the data” always the right choice? In this webinar, based on experiences from the Human Cell Atlas Data Coordination Platform and other projects from EMBL-EBI, we will explore the concept of “data gravity”: The idea that whilst there are forces that may hold data in one place, there are others that require it to be mobile. We’ll consider how effectively planning a cloud strategy requires consideration of the gravity of datasets, and the impact it may have on team skills required, incentives for good practice, and storage and compute costs.

The CINECA webinar series aims to discuss ways to address common challenges and share best practices in the field of cohort data analysis, as well as distribute CINECA project results. All CINECA webinars include an audience Q&A session during which attendees can ask questions and make suggestions. Please note that all webinars are recorded and available for posterior viewing. CINECA webinars include an audience Q&A session during which attendees can ask questions and make suggestions.

This webinar took place on 12th November 2020 and is part of the CINECA webinar series. It is best viewed in full screen mode using Google Chrome.