IDC Wins HPC Contract in Europe

Market intelligence vendor IDC (News - Alert), working with supercomputing experts from Teratec, France, Daresbury Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Leibniz-Rechenzentrum in Germany, and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, was awarded a contract by the European Commission to develop a strategic agenda for high performance computing in Europe.

The study is scheduled to be a seven month contract, which will provide policymakers with an analysis of the HPC industry from 2010-2020, a view on the technology requirements from the HPC industry in 2020, and a strategic agenda for HPC in Europe.

The study is intended to provide the research and analysis needed to “increase the HPC capabilities available for the advancement of open science and to increase the competitiveness of the European Union in the supply and use of HPC systems,” IDC officials said.

“The study has a mandate to look at the key strategic developments in HPC through to 2020, as well as examining the investments, structures, and coordination needed to develop supercomputing e-infrastructures across Europe,” IDC officials added.

Last month, IDC released a new MarketScape report that profiles and ranks prominent providers in the HR business process outsourcing or BPO market.

For the MarketScape report, providers were evaluated using specific criteria including key factors contributing to vendor success in the global HR BPO market. A graphical representation of the market was created based on the results, after considering each service provider’s current capabilities and future strategies.

Chris Ingle, associate vice president of Consulting at IDC, said that this is “a critical moment for high performance computing leadership. Europe has been a leader in this field in the past and, with the right investments, can continue to develop a strong HPC industry and benefit from the use of HPC in science and throughout society.”

Gabriella Cattaneo, director of Competitiveness & Innovation Policies & Strategies, Europe, at IDC Government Insights, notes that a policy agenda for HPC “will help support the European Commission's goal to develop EU ICT infrastructures for e-science, strengthening the European scientific research and high-tech capabilities.”

The research contract requires a detailed comparative analysis of HPC investments and funding structures globally, as well as the impact of HPC on scientific and industrial leadership. Earl Joseph, program vice president of IDC's Technical Computing group, says that although the U.S. and Japan have vied for supercomputing performance leadership over the past few years, “other countries are quickly developing their own HPC industries and capabilities in order to increase their economic competitiveness and scientific leadership.”