In Cloud computing, both the public and private sectors are already offering Cloud resources as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). However, there are numerous areas of interest to scientific communities where Cloud computing uptake is currently lacking, especially at the PaaS and SaaS (Software as a Service) levels.

In this context, INDIGO-DataCloud (INtegrating Distributed data Infrastructures for Global ExplOitation), a project funded under the Horizon2020 framework program of the European Union and lead by the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), aims at developing a data and computing platform targeting scientific communities, deployable on multiple hardware and provisioned over hybrid (private or public) e-infrastructures. By filling existing gaps in PaaS and SaaS levels, INDIGO-DataCloud will help developers, resources providers, e-infrastructures and scientific communities to overcome current challenges in the Cloud computing, storage and network areas.