A recent user survey conducted by e-INFRA CZ confirms the essential role its computing services play in advancing research across the Czech Republic. With 297 respondents from 50 institutions, the feedback highlights both the popularity and the importance of services such as MetaCentrum GRID, OpenStack Cloud, Kubernetes, Sensitive Cloud, and HPC resources provided by IT4Innovations.
Key Insights from the Survey
”Without e-INFRA CZ, we’d be up the creek without a paddle,” one researcher commented, reflecting the widespread reliance on the infrastructure.
The MetaCentrum GRID is emerged as the most widely used service, with 223 respondents (users), followed by HPC at IT4Innovations (96), OpenStack Cloud (55), Kubernetes (41), and Sensitive Cloud (15).
A vast majority of respondents (over 90%) are engaged in natural sciences or technical sciences, represented institutions like the Czech Academy of Sciences (66), Masaryk University (54), or Charles University (45).
Survey participants were also asked to rate the importance of e-INFRA CZ services on a scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (absolutely essential). Results showed a notable increase in perceived value and satisfaction compared to previous year, reinforcing the significance of these national resources in research workflows.
The graph below shows how frequently each service is used. Many users utilize more than one service. Only one respondent reported using all five services.
Feedback and Suggestions
The survey also collected valuable feedback and suggestions on how to improve our services. The most frequently mentioned requests included:
• Clearer instructions and video tutorials
• A comprehensive overview and comparison of all available services
• Enhanced documentation and a more user-friendly interface
• Broader software offerings and actualization
• Better visibility of available computing resources
• More effective communication of news and updates
We sincerely thank you for all your feedback and suggestions. Some improvements have already been implemented, and we are actively working on addressing the others.
Upcoming Developments
We are currently preparing the first issue of the e-INFRA CZ newsletter, which will keep you informed about news, updates, and event invitations several times a year.
We have also recently launched the e-INFRA CZ Blog, where you can find insights, announcements, and articles about our services and developments .
All documentation is now centrally accessible at https://docs.e-infra.cz, and we are continuously working to improve its clarity, structure, and content.
AI Chatbot
The survey also indicated users interest in AI chatbots as a support tool.
Feedback was mixed—some users are enthusiastic about faster and easier access to information, while others prefer direct human interaction. Rest assured, our existing user support team is not going anywhere.
You may already be familiar with AI-powered assistants available in programming tools within our Kubernetes service (e.g., Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio), which help with code generation and error resolution.
To further enhance AI access, we’ve introduced Open WebUI—a secure, on-premise platform running on our own infrastructure. It offers conversational AI, coding assistance, and image generation through advanced language models.
All deployed models are also accessible via REST API, allowing seamless integration into your own tools and workflows. Learn more in our recent article.
Gratitude and Appreciation
The survey also received many expressions of gratitude and appreciation from respondents, who value the services provided by e-INFRA CZ and recognize their importance for their research. Some of the comments included:
• "Thank you for the excellent services, you have saved my work many times."
• "I couldn't imagine my work without them."
• "You are doing a great job, keep it up!"
• "I would like to thank you for the top-notch services, without them I wouldn't be able to imagine my work."
We greatly appreciate your kind words and support—it motivates us to keep improving.
Conclusion
The survey results demonstrate the importance of e-INFRA CZ's computing services for researchers in the Czech Republic. We will continue to collect user feedback to refine our services and ensure they align with the evolving needs of the scientific community.
We plan to expand future surveys to include feedback on additional services and tools. This will help us better tailor all components of e-INFRA CZ to the needs of our users and the broader research environment.
Acknowledgement
We would like to sincerely thank all respondents who took the time to participate in the survey and share their valuable feedback. Your input plays a key role in helping us enhance our services to better support your research needs.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with you.
For more information about the survey results, please contact support@e-infra.cz
