The Council on Competitiveness and its research partner, IDC, released two new studies that identify the barriers large and small firms face in moving from desktop computers to High Performance Computing (HPC) servers. Both studies were co-sponsored by the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (USC-ISI), DARPA, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Free reports.

Previous Council reports show that businesses that have adopted HPC reap major competitive benefits. The new studies investigated why the many U.S. companies that use desktop computers (PCs, Macs, workstations) for product design and technical computing activities have not advanced to more-powerful HPC servers.

Users of HPC, also called technical computing, play a key role in designing and improving many industrial products -- from automobiles to airplanes, pharmaceutical drugs, microprocessors, computers, implantable medical devices, golf clubs, and household appliances -- as well as industrial business processes such as finding and extracting oil and gas, manufacturing consumer products, modeling complex financial scenarios and investment instruments, planning store inventories for large retail chains, creating animated films, and forecasting the weather.

The first of the two new studies, Reveal: Council on Competitiveness and USC-ISI Broad Study of Desktop Technical Computing End Users and HPC (free download from compete.org; registration not required), found among other things that:

• Most (57%) of the 77 surveyed firms have important problems they cannot solve with desktop computers.
• 34% of the sites see the benefits of using HPC, but one or more major barriers are keeping them from using HPC servers.
• 10% of the sites see the benefits of applying HPC and plan to deploy HPC servers in the near future. These sites have barriers, but feel that they can overcome these roadblocks.
• As a group, these companies face three major barriers to HPC adoption: uncertainty about the availability of software that will run their applications on HPC servers, lack of people skilled in using HPC hardware and software systems, and cost constraints associated with moving to HPC.
• The firms need an "enabling function," in the form of a larger outside party or parties willing to help overcome the systemic barriers to HPC adoption. The Council on Competitiveness believes that new partnership program with universities and/or national labs may be needed to provide this enabling function.
• 22 of the surveyed firms (29%) said they are willing to pay an outside organization to help them understand HPC and how it can lead to superior, better-selling products.

The second new study, Reflect: Council on Competitiveness and USC-ISI In-Depth Study of Technical Computing End Users and HPC (free download from compete.org; registration not required), focuses on a predefined group of desktop and entry-level HPC users in a specific domain to identify any significant differences from the broader Reveal study. The respondents for this study were representatives of 29 member companies of the Edison Welding Institute (EWI), a materials joining R&D organization that serves small and midsize companies in the aerospace, automotive, government, energy, chemical, heavy manufacturing, medical, and electronics industries.

This study's findings largely echoed those of the broad Reveal study and included these highlights:

• About half of the surveyed firms (48%) said HPC could dramatically boost their competitiveness.
• Most of these companies also have important problems they cannot solve with their current computers.
• These firms face the same barriers as those in the broad study: lack of strategic software, lack of adequate HPC talent, and cost constraints.

Overall perspectives

Both studies revealed that the key drivers for HPC adoption are customer requirements and competitive threats, but that even when these drivers are present, an enabling function is needed to help the companies overcome the barriers.

"HPC is a game-changing technology and earlier Council studies confirm that it is essential to the business survival of the companies that have embraced it. These studies reveal the opportunity to extend HPC's benefits to the broader industrial base," said Council on Competitiveness Vice President Suzy Tichenor, who heads the organization's High Performance Computing Initiative. "By addressing the challenges outlined, we will strengthen critical U.S. supply chains and the competitiveness of many U.S. industries. This will require continued cooperation between industry, hardware and software manufacturers, academia, and our national labs."

According to Jie Wu, research manager in IDC's HPC group, the market for high performance computing (HPC) servers grew 15% in 2007 to reach a record $11.6 billion. Over the five-year period from 2002 to 2007, the HPC server market grew an aggregate 134% at an average annual compounded rate (CAGR) of 18.4%. IDC projects that this market will reach $16 billion by 2011. Most of the market growth is from repeat buyers of HPC systems.

"IDC research shows that first-time users of HPC require 'ease-of-everything,' from software availability to HPC expertise and ready access to HPC systems," said Earl Joseph, IDC program vice president for HPC. "Although HPC is one of the fastest-growing IT markets and much of the growth is happening at the low end and midrange, these studies confirm that important barriers are limiting the migration of desktop technical computing users to HPC." IDC is ramping up its entry-level research in 2008.

About these studies

Tichenor will deliver a presentation on the two new studies at the HPC User Forum meeting, April 14-16, 2008 in Norfolk, Va. To see the agenda for this IDC-operated event, go to www.hpcuserforum.com. The new studies and the 2004 study can be downloaded without charge from the Council on Competitiveness website (link below).

Aout the Council on Competitiveness: The Council on Competitiveness is a group of corporate CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders committed to the future prosperity of all Americans and enhanced U.S. competitiveness in the global economy through the creation of high-value economic activity in the United States. A nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization in Washington, D.C., the Council shapes the debate on competitiveness by bringing together business, labor, academic and government leaders to evaluate economic challenges and opportunities. Conferences, seminars and special events are used to disseminate the Council's findings and recommendations to experts, policy makers, government officials, media and the general public.

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