Open source tools for research and education

2i2c believes that open source infrastructure and tools are the best choice for researchers and educators. We also believe in giving back to these tools and their communities to ensure that they continue to thrive.

2i2c integrates an entirely open stack with hosted infrastructure that is tailored for research and education, running in the cloud infrastructure of your choice. This gives you the right to replicate your infrastructure. It also contributes back to the communities that develop and grow these tools, keeping the ecosystem healthy.

What is open source?

There are many kinds of open source projects out there. The ones that 2i2c supports are developed, controlled, and owned by the community. We believe in the importance of tools that are built by a diverse community of multiple stakeholders, in order to build tools that are powerful for all of us, and in an equitable and inclusive manner.

Open source tools exist across all parts of the data science stack - from the domain-specific libraries you use to analyze data, to the interfaces that allow you to interact with the computer, to the software that orchestrates your workflow in the cloud. 2i2c believes it is crucial that research and education has access to open source tools across all layers of this stack.

Why open source infrastructure?

Using open infrastructure has several advantages:

• Powerful, flexible, and dynamic. Open source tools are the best for accelerating research and empowering improving education.
• Flexibility and freedom. Open source tools run on many kinds of infrastructure and help you avoid vendor lock-in. You can run the entire 2i2c stack on your own if you wish!
• Standards in data science. Open source tools are the most-common toolchain across all research fields as well as outside of academia.
• Align with your values. Open source tools are controlled and owned by a broad and diverse community that is dedicated to the public good.
• Accessible to all. Open tools are free to use and deploy, making research and education more accessible to people around the world.

Open tools that we use and support

All of the tools that 2i2c uses in its hubs are open-source and community-owned. A core mission of 2i2c is to give back to these communities by providing support, maintenance, and development. Below are a few tools and projects that we are particularly involved with, though the list of open source projects to which we contribute is much larger.