What comes after Blue-Cloud for EOSC Beyond and EOSC Mesh

The evolution of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation requires a deliberate transition from localised data successes to an interconnected digital ecosystem. A perfect example of this trajectory is the Blue-Cloud 2026 project, which concluded last month and successfully supported the transition into the current Digital Twin Ocean EOSC Node.

For EGI, this success also serves as a practical springboard, a real-world proof of concept that demonstrates how specialised marine data components can be federated. Rather than an end in itself, this experience feeds directly into EGI's broader strategic goal: architecting a mature, multi-disciplinary federation. 

At the project's final conference in May, this forward-looking vision was highlighted through two of EGI's coordinated initiatives designed to help advance the EOSC Federation: EOSC Beyond and the upcoming EOSC Mesh, both featured in the panel “A federated digital research environment in support of European Research.” The discussion focused on how technical federation services and interoperable data spaces need to evolve together to support the next phase of EOSC.

"By managing the overlapping months of EOSC Beyond and EOSC Mesh as a coordinated effort, we are going to ensure that the foundational technical core and the interconnected data fabric progress hand-in-hand," noted Diego Scardaci, Technical Solutions Lead at the EGI Foundation and project director for both initiatives. "This dual approach allows us to scale the practical successes of specialised environments, like the Digital Twin Ocean, into a unified, cross-disciplinary platform for all of European science." 

To support a truly scalable federation, the underlying technical infrastructure must evolve ahead of scientific demand. This is the driving force behind EOSC Beyond, an EGI-supported initiative running through March 2027 that focuses on introducing new, scalable features to the EOSC Core, as well as upgrading existing ones. 

In a video interview captured at the conference, EGI Software Architect Nicola Fiore outlined how the project is actively injecting new, dynamic capabilities into the architecture. By focusing on technical agility, better scalability, and novel integration tools, EOSC Beyond ensures that developers and diverse research communities can easily deploy applications and collaborate across borders, solidifying the operational baseline of the entire federation.

While establishing a robust core is essential, the ultimate value of the EOSC Federation lies in how effectively independent data environments can communicate. This is where EGI’s next coordinated endeavour, EOSC Mesh, comes into play to exploit the structural work of EOSC Beyond. Scheduled to launch this September 2026 (kick-off at EGI2026 in Ghent), the project shifts the focus toward connectivity. 

In his interview, EGI Cloud Community Manager Gianni Dalla Torre introduces the vision for this upcoming initiative, which aims to pioneer a decentralised "mesh" architecture. Instead of leaving valuable data stranded in thematic or regional silos, EOSC Mesh will weave these independent data spaces into a unified, interoperable fabric, making cross-disciplinary research across Europe more effective.

By anchoring these initiatives in the practical lessons learned from domain-specific successes like Blue-Cloud, EGI is demonstrating a clear, continuous path toward a sustainable digital ecosystem. The transition from the core engineering advancements of EOSC Beyond to the expansive EOSC Mesh network represents a highly coordinated strategy for the future of European infrastructure. 

Through projects such as these, and our other coordinated effort, EOSC Data Commons, EGI is actively contributing to the growth and transformation of the EOSC Federation to ensure researchers have a stable, powerful, and interconnected platform for scientific discovery.

Want to stay updated on the progress of EOSC Beyond and the upcoming launch of EOSC Mesh?