What is the SWITCHhub?
In today’s world, the availability of digital solutions is a key to academic success. Universities in Switzerland now use a wide range of digital services in their day-to-day work. The universities are organised independently of each other, and their digital solutions are spread throughout the academic community. The SWITCHhub combines digital solutions for research and teaching with input from the entire university landscape.
The SWITCHhub combines a range of services:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Software licenses
Governance
The higher education community offers the ideal landscape for ambitious partnerships. The SWITCHhub thrives on innovations coming out of a broad-based community in which needs can be identified by tapping into work and interest groups in an optimal way.
Guidelines Board:
The core of the business model is the Guidelines Board, whose members have the following two key roles:
- Discussing the relevant needs of academic end users and using these insights for further decision-making.
- Defining, prioritising, and adopting the criteria that must be met by a digital solution in order for it to be offered on the SWITCHhub (e.g. service level agreements, legal, security).
SWITCH examines digital solutions to see whether they meet these criteria and takes on a leadership role in the areas of quality assurance and security.
By participating in the Guidelines Board, the partner institutions have an influential role in structuring these offerings, which generates added value for the entire university and research landscape. Within this ecosystem, SWITCH is a neutral operator, a coordinating intermediary, and a consultant in a wide range of areas.
