CS3 2027 - Data Services for Open Science, Society and Industry

Scientific Programme

The 2027 CS3 Conference will take place on 9-11 March 2027 in Bologna.

Historically, CS3 is rooted in open-source enterprise cloud storage and file sync and share (EFSS) services, and it has become the EFSS community of reference for the research, education and public sector.

Today it covers the wider data ecosystem: federated storage and S3 interfaces, interoperable collaboration through open standards such as OCM, and the integration of data services with HPC, AI and user-facing applications in scientific computing communities.

Technical topics include EFSS and beyond – data storage services and related ecosystems.

Beyond technical topics, the community also exchanges on user experiences & requirements, changes of policy and technology landscape in Europe and globally.

In addition to the scientific computing, open science and open source community, the conference also welcomes industry contributions: big tech, SMEs and startups.

The list of past speakers includes representatives of Dropbox, Amazon, Oracle, DDN, IBM, Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenCloud, pydio, powerfolder, Cubbit and others.

Submissions are welcome and can take the form of brief lightning talks, conventional 15-20 minute presentations, or one-hour keynotes.

We look forward to meeting old and new colleagues within the CS3 community. Reconnect, inspire and get inspired, learn from each other and have some fun together, too.

AI for storage and data services

AIS

This track explores the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning to revolutionize data storage and collaborative services: from concrete examples of specific improvements to bold new ideas.

Topic of interest include:

• AI-assisted capabilities for research services, EFSS and beyond: new features and functionality
• AI-driven service operations and operational intelligence: monitoring, telemetry, logging, anomaly detection and remediation, automation, troubleshooting
• AI-assisted community and user support
• Machine learning for enhancing storage performance and efficiency
• Automated data organization, data management and access
• Improving user experience.
• Security measures powered by AI

Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, AIOps, AI-assisted user support

Research data lifecycle and use cases

RDA

Research data moves from acquisition and analysis through to publication, preservation and Open Data, and storage and sharing services are present at nearly every step.
This track looks at how file storage and sharing platforms connect with the wider ecosystem of research services to support the full data lifecycle: interactive notebooks, metadata aggregators, data repositories, preservation services, specialised data viewers, collaboration and documentation tools, and more.

We are particularly interested in practical experience. How can our services make FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) practices part of everyday research, rather than an afterthought at publication time? And what is the right balance between human interfaces and machine APIs?
The track is also a place for novel applications and user scenarios built on CS3 services: new ways of accessing, sharing and reusing data that were not possible before.

Keywords: FAIR, Zenodo, OpenAIRE, RDM, Open Science, DOIs, data preservation

Data science at scale

DSC

Scientific data processing and advanced analytics increasingly depend on seamless integration of storage services, collaborative data platforms and scalable computing resources. This track looks at how file storage and sharing platforms connect with data processing environments to enable data science at scale.

Data services, including EFSS solutions, enable researchers to access, synchronize and share research data across teams and institutions, while data science environments such as JupyterLab and notebook-based workflows provide interactive tools for data exploration, visualization and analysis.

Integrating these environments with high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, GPU-accelerated resources and AI factories can further enable large-scale data processing, AI/ML model training and advanced analytics.

Keywords: Jupyter, Machine Learning, AI applications, Analytics, HPC, AI Factories.

Sensitive data & privacy

SEC

Secure and compliant data handling is essential when processing sensitive information such as medical research data and personal data.
Effective data classification and protection require a combination of technical measures, including encryption, access control and auditing, and organisational policies and user awareness, all aligned with applicable local legislation.

As the data management solutions, including EFSS, become increasingly prevalent across organisations, how can existing platforms and services be leveraged to meet these requirements while preserving the flexibility and ease of collaboration that researchers and users need? What lessons has our community learned from implementing these approaches in practice?

This track aims to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned and best practices covering real-world deployments, policy frameworks, tooling and the challenges that remain open.

Keywords: encryption, access control, privacy, GDPR, data classification, data protection, personal data

File Sync & Share Solutions (EFSS)

FSS

Open–source EFSS products presented by software companies: latest releases, evolution and plans, new features, and roadmaps, with a particular focus on scalability, technology evolution, interoperability, operational costs, etc.
How are software companies responding to the changing needs of research, education and enterprise users, from growing data volumes and hybrid deployments to integration with collaborative editing, data science and AI tools? Which architectural choices are shaping the next generation of sync and share platforms?

This session is an opportunity for the community to give direct feedback to developers and ask questions about the most popular EFSS solutions on the market, fostering a constructive dialogue between users and providers.
Past speakers: Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenCloud, Powerfolder, Pydio, Seafile, Syncany.

Keywords: EFSS, open source, roadmaps, scalability, interoperability, user feedback, sync and share

Scalable Storage Backends

SSB

This track explores scalable storage architectures and technologies across all data tiers: from high-performance, low-latency storage for machine learning to disk storage for large-scale data processing and analysis, to nearline and archival storage (tape). This includes file, object and block storage, distributed and parallel filesystems, and S3-compatible storage services.

This track provides a forum for storage providers, developers and integrators to share innovative solutions, operational experience and emerging approaches to scalability, performance, reliability and cost efficiency.

Keywords: filesystem, object, block, S3, tiering, redundancy, reliability, performance, heterogeneous storage, disk, solid-state, tape.

Collaborative Applications

CAP

Over the last decade, data storage platforms have grown into spaces where people gather to work together in real time. This track focuses on the collaborative applications built on or integrated with those products: online office suites and groupware, real-time co-editing, interactive notebooks, whiteboards, project and knowledge management tools, communication and video conferencing, and more. Open and self-hosted, these tools let institutions keep control over their data and reduce dependence on large cloud providers.
We welcome contributions on both the technical and the user side. How can collaborative applications be integrated cleanly and interoperably, across platforms and across institutions? And how can we ensure they are ultimately adopted by the end users?

Keywords: online office suites, productivity, groupware, real-time collaboration, WOPI

Digital Sovereignty

DSV

Retaining control over scientific data means decisions about where it is stored, how it is accessed, and under which conditions it is shared and processed. For service providers, it is essential to retain the autonomy to decide how digital infrastructure and services are deployed, managed, and used, while having the flexibility to leverage both on-premises resources and external cloud services.

In science and research in particular, this autonomy enables institutions to provide diverse applications and computing environments that meet researchers’ needs and support the analysis of scientific data, while avoiding vendor lock-in and minimizing their exposure to geopolitical instability and other external factors.

How can open-source software, open standards and federated approaches help institutions stay in control of their data and services? How can they provide exit paths from closed alternatives?

We invite application developers, site managers and policy owners to share their experiences, challenges and perspectives on enabling digital sovereignty in research services.

Keywords: digital sovereignty, on-premise, hybrid deployments, vendor lock-in, open source, open standards, exit strategies

Large Scale Data Infrastructures

LDI

Large-scale research increasingly relies on interconnected data infrastructures that span institutions, scientific disciplines, and geographical boundaries. This track explores the development and evolution of these infrastructures, federated services and interoperability.

Examples of research infrastructures include thematic federations (WLCG, SKAO), transversal federations (EGI, EOSC), European Research Infrastructures (ERICs) as well as science cluster projects such as ESCAPE, SSHOC or PANOSC. These infrastructures and their data services integrate with the wider research ecosystem, including the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

We invite contributions on data management, content distribution, federated services, interoperability, integration of data platforms, and collaboration across distributed infrastructures.
This track includes technologies and services for managing, sharing, replicating, and distributing scientific data at scale, and EFSS services that support secure data sharing and collaboration across research communities and across institutional and administrative boundaries.

Keywords: EOSC, ERICs, european research, open science, federated services

OpenCloudMesh (OCM)

OCM

The CS3 community has been the laboratory where federations of EFSS systems were first prototyped and built, and where efforts to ensure interoperability between vendors and systems began and progressed. Examples include OpenCloudMesh (OCM), the CS3APIs and Reva.
OCM has become the community’s flagship effort in that field: it is now being standardized by the IETF and is already recognized as an essential foundation of the EOSC federation (European Open Science Cloud).
This track is dedicated to the current status of OCM: the progress of the standardization process, adoption and implementation by the EFSS platforms, joint community efforts to maintain interoperability and future directions for the standard, as it extends beyond its original use case.

Contributions are welcome from software companies, service providers, developers and users involved in building, deploying or relying on OCM-based federations.

Keywords: OpenCloudMesh, OCM, IETF, standardisation, interoperability, federation, CS3APIs, Reva

Emerging tools & best practices

EMT

Behind every service lies a set of building blocks, tools and practices that are rarely visible to users but essential to their experience. This track is dedicated to technical presentations of these components and the practices that make CS3 services secure, robust and easy to operate.

Topics of interest include:

• AAI - authentication and authorization infrastructure, implementation
• Resiliency & security measures, cyber threats
• Service reliability and data integrity
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR)
• Innovative integration ideas and new user interfaces
• APIs and command-line tools for automation and service management.

Keywords: AAI, authentication, security, cyber threats, reliability, data integrity, business continuity, disaster recovery, automation, APIs

Community experiences & site reports

CER

This track gives sites the opportunity to share the current status and plans of their services, discuss user feedback and exchange operational experience. We particularly encourage newcomers to the community to introduce themselves and present their systems, whatever their level of maturity: an initial plan, a prototype or an established service. This is a chance to connect with an experienced community and explore potential areas for collaboration.

The results of the annual site report survey will also be presented, offering a “family photograph” and a competence map of all CS3 services. How are deployments evolving across the community, and where do common challenges and opportunities lie?

Contributions are welcome from sites of all sizes, from small institutional deployments to large national and international services.

Keywords: site reports, operational experience, user feedback, service deployment, community survey