GA4GH Connect - Key takeaways and next action items - The Cloud Work Stream Roadmap 2026 and Beyond

[Reggan Thomas]

Hi all,

Thank you for joining us for the "The Cloud Work Stream Roadmap 2026 and Beyond" session at the GA4GH October Connect meeting 2025!

We've updated the agenda document with the following key takeaways and next action items from the session.

Key takeaways:

 

1. Cloud Workstream Overview and Evolution

• The Cloud Workstream began eight years ago to develop cloud abstraction APIs — TRS, WES, TES, and DRS — which became GA4GH standards around four to five years ago.
• The focus has now shifted from developing individual APIs to using them together as an integrated ecosystem.

2. 2025 Achievements and Strategic Focus

• Two central initiatives for 2025:
• FAIR data discovery and access through DRS.
• Democratizing compute via GA4GH APIs.
• The DRS map now includes 23 servers and 72 PB of data.
• The Federated Compute Initiative launched with a bi-monthly working group and a dedicated Slack channel.

3. API-Specific Updates

• DRS 1.5 released, adding cloud metadata, storage status, and self-reporting.
• 2026 goals: DRS publication, registry collaboration, and geolocation support.
• TRS received maintenance updates and seeks new collaborations, including AI integration and support for multiple workflow languages.
• WES is focusing on interoperability with DRS and TRS, validation tools, and a planned community paper(potentially through a write-a-thon).
• TES aligns with broader compute resource management goals.

4. Emerging Standards and Interoperability

• Mesh cards describe federated systems of repositories; an implementation exists in Gen3.
• PFB supports tabular data interoperability and is used in Gen3 and other systems.
• Plans include creating formal PFB specifications and expanding community engagement.

5. Engagement and Collaboration

• Open houses and GIF spotlights proposed to welcome newcomers and celebrate progress.
• Hackathons and collaborative sessions emphasized as key to innovation.
• Champions are needed to lead specific initiatives and maintain momentum.

6. Strategic and Cross-Stream Themes

• Growing focus on federated data and compute ecosystems and a potential mesh initiative.
• Proposal to adapt self-assessment tools for cloud repositories.
• Exploration of data stewardship and cost-sharing, including compensation models for data producers.
• Recognition of the need for standardized access control and data-use ontologies across APIs.
• Interest in developing fair use principles and AI-based scoring to improve data sharing and reproducibility.

7. Collaboration with New Contributors

• Engagement and exploring semantic web and AI technologies that complement existing GA4GH infrastructure.

Next steps:

1. Publications and Specifications
• Draft and submit DRS and WES papers.
• Develop and circulate PFB specifications for community review.
2. Community Engagement
• Launch open house sessions and AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) events.
• Organize WES write-a-thon and hackathons focused on federated compute and interoperability.
3. Initiative Development
• Define the structure and goals for Federated Compute and Mesh Ecosystem Initiatives.
• Identify champions to lead and coordinate efforts.
4. Cross-Stream Collaboration
• Collaborate with AI and Data Use & Governance workstreams on access control, ontology, and fair-use scoring.
• Coordinate with registry and metadata teams for DRS geolocation and integration.
5. Technical Enhancements
• Extend TRS to support AI models and multiple workflow languages.
• Build validation services for WES and improve interoperability testing.
• Develop frameworks for managing compute and storage usage across APIs.
6. Long-Term Exploration
• Evaluate cost-sharing and incentivized data contribution models.
• Refine self-assessment tools for cloud repositories.
• Explore multi-use ontologies for fine-grained data access control.

 If you missed out on the Connect sessions, don't worry! You can catch up by watching the meeting recording here (passcode: 2T*+E66X)and reviewing the notes here. And if you have any further questions or want to continue the discussion, feel free to hop onto the slack channel #cloud_ws

Please take a moment to complete our Feedback Survey: https://forms.ga4gh.org/t/qjHm9R1EGmus

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Looking forward to staying connected!

On behalf of Brian and Venkat

Regards,

Reggan Thomas

Work Stream Manager

reggan...@ga4gh.org

www.ga4gh.org

Please note there is no obligation to respond to emails from me outside of your typical working hours.