Initializing the DataPLANT Service Provider Circle

Fri Sep 26 2025

With the start of DataPLANT Phase II, we are moving from building up to consolidating and professionalizing our infrastructures and services. A key objective is to make DataPLANT services more broadly available, leveraging the local networks of state-level initiatives on RDM and establishing an appropriate organizational framework, as outlined in the DataPLANT phase II proposal.

To support this, we are launching a “Service Provider Circle” for the operators of the infrastructures underpinning DataPLANT services serving the designated plant community and beyond. These services are not limited to the reference installation in Freiburg; multiple sites across Germany are involved in running DataHUB and ARChive, often relying on large-scale storage backends contributed by partners or associated projects. In addition, services in the de.NBI Cloud, especially Galaxy, are increasingly integrated into workflow execution. Storage base infrastructures are currently being expanded and developed for the long term through the NFDI storage call by the DFG.

DataPLANT enables local infrastructure integration, optimization, and compliance with funders’ policies and GDPR through locally deployed DataHUBs, realized at different locations by additional service providers. Storage requirements arise primarily from the two major user-facing RDM services—PLANTdataHUB and ARChive—and from linked computational workflow systems, especially for run-time scratch space, optimization processes, and intermediate results.

Building on the onboarding of our new co-applicant IPK in DataPLANT, the establishment and coordination of on-premise infrastructures will be jointly organized. In a next step, we aim to coordinate this approach with other NFDI consortia, for example within the BioData SIG. Additional consortia will contribute further services, making it even more important to bundle efforts via state-level initiatives and to maintain a clear overview of who is currently doing what and what resources are needed. The Service Provider Circle will serve as a platform for exchange, coordination, and mutual support among all infrastructure operators involved in DataPLANT and beyond.