It would make a lot of sense if grants covered such costs, even at current AWS prices.
Currently, I suspect a lot of IT-heavy grant-funded projects are basically relying on university infrastructure being provided without full (or in some cases any) project-based cost recoup, which universities are increasingly loathe to do. The indirect/overhead margin probably doesn't always really cover it. (And it's not like a university is going to let you use 'overhead' dollars for AWS, _even if_ it would actually be a cost savings compared to the local IT you are using instead!)
It's not really rational economic decisions being made all around.
Proper professional IT is expensive. People still think automating is supposed to save them money, but turns out, nope. Many industries are still relying on unprofessionally provided IT instead of paying for professional IT.
Currently, I suspect a lot of IT-heavy grant-funded projects are basically relying on university infrastructure being provided without full (or in some cases any) project-based cost recoup, which universities are increasingly loathe to do. The indirect/overhead margin probably doesn't always really cover it. (And it's not like a university is going to let you use 'overhead' dollars for AWS, _even if_ it would actually be a cost savings compared to the local IT you are using instead!)
It's not really rational economic decisions being made all around.
Proper professional IT is expensive. People still think automating is supposed to save them money, but turns out, nope. Many industries are still relying on unprofessionally provided IT instead of paying for professional IT.