Innovations Software Technology on Ulitzer

Seems a tad hands-on for an outfit that's supposed to objectively collect data, but IDC is leading a consortium of supercomputing experts from Teratec in France, Daresbury Laboratory in the UK and Leibniz-Rechenzentrum and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany that's gotten a contract from the European Commission to develop a strategic agenda for high performance computing (HPC) in Europe.

The seven-month study is supposed to provide the research and analysis needed to increase the European Union's competitiveness in winning HPC contracts. It's supposed to look at the key strategic developments in HPC through to 2020 and examine the investment, structures, and coordination needed to develop supercomputing e-infrastructures across Europe.

That'll mean a detailed comparative analysis of HPC investments and funding structures globally.

According to IDC's associate VP of consulting Chris Ingle, "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."

The EC want to develop infrastructures for e-science and strengthen Europe's scientific research and high-tech capabilities.

According to IDC research VP Steve Conway, "The link has been firmly established between HPC and scientific and economic advancement. The investments needed for the next generation of HPC systems will be substantial. Deciding on the optimal areas of investment - systems, storage, software and people skills - that are most valuable to European HPC users, and the wider economy is critical to the EU's success in developing its HPC agenda. Many countries are installing multiple petascale supercomputers today and are laying the foundation for using exascale systems in a few years."