An open source private cloud for the University of Innsbruck

The Challenge

Many cloud strategies rely by default on providers such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. The University of Innsbruck deliberately chose a different path – aiming to retain full control over its own IT infrastructure.

The objective was clear: to create a modern IT environment that ensures complete data sovereignty, high flexibility, and long-term cost efficiency – without compromising on quality or performance.

The Solution

The team opted for a “greenfield” approach and developed a modern cloud environment completely free of legacy issues. The new platform combines local hosting structures with the flexibility and efficiency of typical public clouds - but with complete sovereignty.

Thanks to SONiC-based network technology and automated management systems, operations run smoothly. Particularly important: internal teams were involved right from the start so that the central know-how remains at the university in the long term.

A central element of this was the introduction of a self-service portal. In close cooperation with suXess-it, the kubriX tool was implemented - a flexible interface that allows IT resources to be booked easily, quickly and independently. kubriX offers an intuitive user interface.

The big advantage: the portal reduces technical entry barriers and speeds up everyday processes - for example for students trying out new technologies or employees setting up complex workflows. In this way, kubriX makes an important contribution to the democratization of IT access within the university and turns the platform into a real development environment for research and teaching.

Today, the University of Innsbruck not only operates its own cloud - it also continues to develop it independently.