Next generation middleware for big data processing and federated computing

This talk highlights challenges to distributed computing middleware posed by new technologies, new approaches in science and research as well as novel federation and collaboration strategies. The interplay between "technology push" and "applications pull" requires continous evolution and adaptation of the software. The talk presents technological advancements in the UNICORE middleware, which is currently preparing its next major release, UNICORE 7. This will include several new features as well as numerous performance, scalability and usability improvements. New applications and user communities beyond the traditional HPC centre use cases are presented, such as the Human Brain project. The talk gives an outlook into possible future directions for middleware development, standardisation activities and collaboration opportunities