Helmholtz Federated IT Services (HIFIS) is one of five platforms of the Helmholtz Incubator "Information & Data Science". With eleven partners, including the GFZ, the aim is to develop the needs of science for a modern information infrastructure within the Helmholtz Association and to serve them seamlessly with a high-performance IT infrastructure. This includes a secure, universally accessible and easy-to-use cooperation environment with information and communication technologies as well as the ability and promotion of professional software development with the high level of quality, visibility and sustainability that is customary in science. This takes place Helmholtz-wide in the HIFIS competence clusters Cloud, Backbone and Software Services. The Software Services are actively co-designed by the GFZ. Courses, infrastructure, consulting and an exchange network for communities should help to do justice to the importance of sustainable and high-quality software development in the research process. With its coordinating role in the community services in the Software Services, the GFZ focuses on the targeted promotion of scientific communities in which research software is developed. To this end, the Research Software Directory (RSD) is being further developed in collaboration with international partners and operated as the Helmholtz RSD, among other things.