To request a cloud account, fill out the account request form.

•  Why do you ask what this account is being used for?
  • This question helps the public cloud team better understand the use case(s) for the account, so that we can provide appropriate advice or consultation.   We are also interested to learn about how these services are being used by campus, so that we can continually improve our offerings.   Information about your account is not used outside of these purposes or provided to entities outside of UW-Madison without your knowledge and permission.

•  Why do you ask whether this account is being used for research?
  • Much like the question about how the account is being used, we seek to better understand how technology can facilitate research.    The research cyberinfrastructure team has a dedicated cloud technician who can also help with consulting, best practices and proof of concept work around utilizing the cloud for research projects.   Researchers may also have access to cloud credits or discounts depending on their funding, and cloud vendors have teams with expertise in certain research domain needs who can consult on your project.
  • Information about your account or research is not used outside of these purposes or provided to entities outside of UW-Madison without your knowledge and permission.

•  Why do you ask about my grant information?
  • We ask this question in order to be of assistance with potential funder requirements around data lifecycle management or archival requirements.    Information about your account or research is not used outside of these purposes or provided to entities off campus without your knowledge and permission.   
  • Additionally, cloud vendors may have additional discounts, training, funding resources that are available to researchers or other staff working with particular grant or funding agencies.  Feel free to contact the research cyberinfrastructure team with any questions about these opportunities.     The [Link for document 109813 is unavailable at this time] are an example of these types of opportunities.

•  Why do you ask for multiple account contacts?   How many do I need?
  • We ask for multiple account contacts to guard against an account owner leaving the University and orphaning an account.    While you can list the same person for more than one contact, we require you to list at least two distinct identities.   We also strongly recommend that you not use a mailing list or service account for all the contacts, as those can also be orphaned.
  • Some academic departments have IT professionals who can assist you with these resources.   Please see Cloud Computing & Departmental IT for additional information.  
  • Additionally, different projects & departments have different needs regarding alerting & reporting, which is why we have created distinct contacts.   See below for information on specific contacts.

•  What does it mean to be an account "owner"?
  • The owner of the account is the primary stakeholder for projects or research being performed within this account, and should have the authority to make decisions and answer questions about the use of this account.   This should include knowledge of the funding source tied to the account request.   
  • The owner does not need to be the account administrator or be involved in day to day work within the account.

•  What does it mean to be an account "technical contact"?   What responsibilities do they have?
  • A technical contact is someone who will be by default granted administrative access to the account, but may or may not be the 'owner'.  
  • Examples of a technical contact could include your departmental IT staff ( Cloud Computing & Departmental IT), a software development group, or others who would be included in designing and configuring the services in your account.   
  • Depending on your use case and staffing, this may be the same as your owner, if they are also the decision maker for the account.

•  What does it mean to be an account "security contact"?   What responsibilities do they have?
  • The security contact is who the cloud team or Cybersecurity Operations Center will contact if we are notified of or detect a potential security risk.
  • A security contact is someone who will be by default granted administrative access to the account, but may or may not be the 'owner'.  
  • Examples of a security contact could include your departmental IT staff( Cloud Computing & Departmental IT), a compliance or security officer in your department, or others who would be included in implementing security controls or wants to receive notifications.
  • Depending on your use case and staffing, this may be the same as your owner, if they are also the decision maker for the account

•  What does it mean to be an account "financial contact"?   What responsibilities do they have?
  • The financial contact is who will get any alerts regarding spending.   We can add more than one person to this role if desired.
  • Note that in all cases, public cloud accounts provide alerting about spending thresholds, but spend is not limtied by those thresholds.   For detailed information for each of the 3 vendors, see the releated KB articles. (AWS - Tracking Costs Associated with an AWS Account , Azure - Tracking Costs Associated with an Azure Subscription , GCP - Tracking Costs Associated with GCP Projects )
  • Examples of a financial contact could include your grant administrator, an administrator of the business office in your department, or others who would be included in monitoring costs or wants to receive notifications.
  • Depending on your use case and staffing, this may be the same as your owner, if they are also managing budgets

•  What is a DoIT Number?
  • Your DoIT Number is the way that your cloud usage gets billed to the appropriate budget items or grant funds. You may have an existing DoIT Number that is used for other services, or may want to establish one specific to a new funding source.
  • You can learn more in the DoIT Numbers - Overview , or by contacting the DoIT Billing Office at billing@doit.wisc.edu

•  What is a UDDS Number?
  • A UDDS number or Department ID is a sequence of numbers that identifies a specific campus department, program, or entity. We ask for this number both to have an understanding of who on campus is using our cloud services. We will use this demographic data to better understand outreach & uptake, as well as potentially connect collaborators or identify potential economies of scale.
  • You can find your UDDS code here

•  What is a business level support agreement? Why would I need one?
  • Each cloud vendor has higher level support offerings that can be leveraged, oftentimes for an additional fee or surcharge.   These are particularly recommended for critical or high availability use cases.
    • AWS business level support is through the Internet2 reseller, DLT. 
    • Azure enterprise support is through the Microsoft enterprise contract, and includes free and paid levels.   
    • GCP support includes free and paid levels, currently support is enabled for all projects in the UW org adding charges of 3% of project spend..