Research IT Services

The Georgia Advanced Computing for Research Center (GACRC) is a collaborative partnership between the Office of Research and the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology. The GACRC, administered by EITS, provides high-performance computing and AI services and solutions for UGA researchers.

Visit gacrc.uga.edu for more information.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a secure Virtual Desktop environment that can be coupled with Secure Institutional File Stores for working with sensitive data. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), EITS is accountable for central hosting activities.

Visit the EITS Secure VDI service details page for more information.

The UGA Research Institute (UGARI) supports researchers on select mission agency efforts from project development through execution. This includes facilitation for projects requiring security compliance, including Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Export Control.

Visit research.uga.edu/ugari for more information.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud-based computing services suite. The scope of initial services available can be found at aws.amazon.com. AWS third-party professional services are not available under this program. Departments and units at UGA may purchase AWS through UGAmart, but must first complete a CESS approval form to participate.

Visit the EITS AWS service details page for more information.

EITS offers virtual server hosting at cost recovery. Virtual server setup, configuration, and hosting responsibilities include hardware, firmware, VMware software updates, infrastructure issue diagnosis and resolution.

Visit the EITS Virtual Server Hosting service details page for more information.

The Boyd Data Center hosts physical servers that contain critical systems and data for many UGA colleges, departments and administrative units. With a 16,000 square foot center supported by an enterprise class generator, remote camera monitoring, secure card access, two commercial UPS units, and a gas-based fire-suppression system, the Boyd Data Center provides peace of mind for securing crucial data.

Visit the EITS Physical Server Hosting service details page for more information.

Microsoft 365 Applications offer eligible students, faculty and staff access to several popular collaborative tools within the uga.edu domain. UGA students, employees and others will have access to 1TB of storage in OneDrive for Business. Tools available in the O365 license include:

• • Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

  • Microsoft OneDrive for Business

  • Microsoft Teams

  • Microsoft PowerBI

Visit the EITS Microsoft service details page for more information.

Google Workspace is a secure alternative service available to students, faculty, and staff with their UGA MyID. In Google Workspace, you can easily access multiple Google tools, including Drive, Docs, Sheet and Slides, and collaborate on files from those tools with colleagues and classmates. UGA users have access to 3GB of storage in Google Workspace.

Visit the EITS Google Workspace service details page for more information.

Copilot is Microsoft’s online AI Chatbot, which can be accessed using your UGA MyID and password. Unlike other generative AI tools found online, Copilot is housed within UGA’s instance of Microsoft Office 365, and when these tools are accessed through your UGA account, data are not shared with outside entities or used to train external models.

Visit the EITS Microsoft Copilot service details page for more information.

Visit the AI @ UGA Hub for more information about resources and AI-related activities at the university.

Gemini is Google’s online AI Chatbot, which can be accessed using your UGA MyID and password. Unlike other generative AI tools found online, Gemini is housed within UGA’s instance of Google Workspace, and when these tools are accessed through your UGA account, data are not shared with outside entities or used to train external models.

Visit the EITS Google Gemini service details page for more information.

Visit the AI @ UGA Hub for more information about resources and AI-related activities at the university.

NotebookLM is Google’s AI-powered research and note-taking tool, which can be accessed using your UGA MyID and password. Unlike other generative AI tools found online, NotebookLM is housed within UGA’s instance of Google Workspace, and when these tools are accessed through your UGA account, data are not shared with outside entities or used to train external models.

Visit the EITS Google NotebookLM service details page for more information. 

Visit the AI @ UGA Hub for more information about resources and AI-related activities at the university.

SendFiles is an encrypted file service that allows users to securely share sensitive documents or large files to other UGA users or people not associated with the University. Attachments in SendFiles can total up to 2GB in size.

Visit the SendFiles service details page for more information.

Globus is a data transfer management platform that facilitates the transfer and sharing of research data in an efficient, reliable and secure manner. An overview of Globus can be found on their website. UGA has an institutional subscription to Globus, managed by the Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center (GACRC). Globus can be used by any research group on campus, independent of the GACRC if needed. The GACRC also has a number of end-points configured for data transfers to/from GACRC storage. 

Visit the GACRC Wiki for more information about Globus.

Research IFS is an affordable option for researchers who want centrally managed file storage for backup/archive purposes. This is not intended for production copies of data, but rather for redundant copies for emergency purposes. Other IFS options include Standard IFS for basic file storage and sharing needs and Secure IFS for storage of sensitive data.

Users of Research IFS have 1TB minimum of space that is intended for use as a target for backups of research data.

Visit the EITS Institutional File Storage service details page for more information.