In recent years, High-Performance Computing (HPC) has become a common requirement in international research projects and applications involving Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence or Big Data Analytics technologies. As the application areas become more numerous, setting up, operating, and developing an HPC cluster requires massive investments in parallel computing infrastructure. This means expensive equipment, higher maintenance costs, and hard-to-find specialists with the right skills. These are just some of the limitations that organizations can now overcome by turning to HPC-as-a-Service (HPCaaS).
In this article, we will try to find out why an organization should use HPCaaS instead of investing in developing its own HPC infrastructure.
In-house Solution Versus HPCaaS
There are currently two major problems that arise when deciding to develop a high-performance computing solution “in-house”: the lack of financial resources required for a complete state-of-the-art HPC project, and the lack of expertise in this niche area. The design, implementation, management, and maintenance of HPC systems is quite different from the traditional approaches to distributed computing. Operating parameters, performance indicators, and usage differ from the expertise of the average company’s IT department. In turn, the transfer of know-how requires intensive training and qualification of employees, which is time-consuming and costly. The HPC system is not just a collection of interconnected servers installed in one or more racks.
In order to get the maximum computing power from an HPC infrastructure, several technical aspects have to be considered at compute node and system levels, interconnection mode and, the optimization of the interaction between simulation applications and the HPC system. All these aspects require advanced knowledge and practical experience in implementing such systems, which is far beyond the resources of small businesses, most of which do not even employ IT specialists.
A complete HPCaaS solution eliminates these two main problems and provides a complete solution with dedicated support, allowing the user to focus exclusively on running the desired applications.
What Are the Main Benefits of Adopting HPCaaS?
Efficiency
Accessing an HPC system delivered as a service to solve the issue that requires this resource is much faster than traditional methods and solutions, saving both time and money.
Scalability
Some issues are too big to be solved with traditional solutions. The flexibility of HPCaaS facilitates access to some projects that cannot be addressed with the available traditional resources.
Cost Efficiency
With HPCaaS, you only pay for what you use, you don’t invest in equipment that will become obsolete quite quickly, and costs can be easily controlled.
How Should I Choose a Provider?
When you compare the offers of different providers, you should pay attention to some specific aspects. First, make sure the vendor offers dedicated resources, so that performance is guaranteed and predictable—there shouldn’t be fluctuations in the level of contracted computing power.
Then, choose providers with predictable costs: you should not have to deal with unpleasant surprises in the form of hidden costs or in/out traffic. A top-notch solution should also be easy to use, while offering high data security. Select a service that complies with the legal requirements of your country. Another aspect you should consider is customer support. Try to find a provider with lightning fast support, without “bots” or complicated customer escalation policies.
The Global HPCaaS Market Is Expected to Reach $20.62 Billion by 2029
According to a Data Bridge Market Research report, the global HPCaaS market was valued at $6.41 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $20.62 billion by 2029, seeing a CAGR of 12.40% during the 2022-2029 forecast period. Platform as a Service (PaaS) is expected to witness high growth in the component segment of the market, due to high demand for cloud-based versions of their offerings.
“North America dominates the high-performance computing as a service (HPCaaS) market due to the introduction of computing technology along with prevalence of various market players within the region. Europe is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period of 2022 to 2029 because of the adoption of cloud services along with increasing number of organizations based on cloud services in the region,” according to the same report.
