Academic institutions house some of the world\u2019s most important data generated from years of research. Yet centralized data storage models are becoming a concern for many universities looking to keep critical information safe and accessible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Danny O\u2019Brien, a senior fellow at the Filecoin Foundation and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) \u2014 an independent organization that facilitates governance of the Filecoin network and funds development projects \u2014 told Cointelegraph that data stored by academic institutions is at risk of vanishing due to centralized storage models. To put this in perspective, a recent Filecoin Foundation survey<\/a> found that 71% of Americans have lost information and records due to challenges like deleted hyperlinks or locked online accounts. <\/p>\n To combat this, O\u2019Brien explained that a handful of educational institutions have begun using decentralized data storage models<\/a> to preserve data sets. \u201cA growing number of higher education institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of South Carolina, and others, are all using Filecoin to store, preserve and archive their most important data on the blockchain,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n For example, O\u2019Brien pointed out that MIT is currently working on a three-year project with the FFDW to explore how decentralized technology can support its Open Learning <\/a>programs. MIT\u2019s Open Learning programs include \u201cOpenCourseWare,\u201d which is designed to provide free online materials from over 2,500 MIT courses. This will allow anyone worldwide to access MIT courses on the internet. <\/p>\n Recent:\u00a0Will BlackRock\u2019s ETF slingshot Bitcoin\u2019s price skyward?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n O\u2019Brien explained that through the support of the FFDW, MIT\u2019s Open Learning programs will use decentralized storage to house cataloging, while preserving its OpenCourseWare materials. He added that MIT would soon host public seminars about the challenges and opportunities of the decentralized web. \u201cEducation\u2019s ongoing embrace of decentralized Web3 data storage offers, via cryptographic proof, a guarantee that data remains available and unchanged over time, preserving their critical data for as long as they want,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The University of Utah also uses decentralized storage to protect and democratize<\/a> access to large data sets. Valerio Pascucci, professor of computer science at the university, told Cointelegraph that the institution\u2019s Center for Extreme Data Management Analysis and Visualization recently adopted a solution from Seal Storage \u2014 a decentralized cloud storage platform powered by Filecoin \u2014 to complement its current centralized infrastructure.<\/p>\n Pascucci explained that the model provided by Seal Storage allows the National Science Data Fabric (NSDF) \u2014 a pilot program working with institutions to democratize data \u2014 to further its goal of creating new mechanisms for easy access to scientific information. <\/p>\n \u201cTraditionally, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), small colleges and other disadvantaged organizations cannot be part of scientific investigation endeavors because they cannot access the data necessary to do the work,\u201d he mentioned. The NSDF\u2019s use of decentralized storage will change that. <\/p>\n According to Pascucci, the NSDF-Seal Storage partnership has already demonstrated the possibility of distributing massive data collections to different communities without needing to deploy special servers or other complex processing capabilities that may be impractical for many institutions. <\/p>\n \u201cFor example, NASA stores on its largest supercomputer, \u2018Pleiades,\u2019 an open climate data set that is over 3 petabytes in size. Yet anyone who wants to use the data would need to have a special account on Pleiades and require the training needed to process the data,\u201d he explained, \u201cNSDF has adopted an \u2018OpenVisus\u2019 approach that has reorganized NASA\u2019s data so that its distribution through decentralized storage allows for interactive processing and exploration virtually without any local resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Pascucci added that this might be the first time a data set of this size has been made available for interactive exploration directly from the cloud. Moreover, he believes that the decentralized approach has enhanced security.<\/p>\n Although several universities have begun leveraging decentralized storage models, challenges that may hamper adoption remain. <\/p>\n For example, Pascucci pointed out that to distribute NASA\u2019s open climate data set, NSDF\u2019s OpenVisus data format had to be extended from traditional file systems to meet the storage model provided by Seal Storage. Jacques Swanepoel, chief technology officer at Seal Storage, told Cointelegraph that mapping and tagging data on the blockchain is a very complicated undertaking.<\/p>\n \u201cIdentifying which block on the blockchain contains specific information is key to fully utilizing the benefits of decentralized storage technology. In order to overcome these challenges, providers need to properly track where customer data is on the blockchain with creative software strategies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yet it remains notable that academic institutions are using decentralized storage models. \u201cOften considered slow-moving, academia has proven to be an early adopter of blockchain-based technologies, including decentralized storage, and continues to be a leader in adopting and deploying these tools,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.\u00a0<\/p>\nDecentralized storage helps secure and distribute data<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nDecentralized storage is beneficial, but challenges remain<\/h2>\n