BIG DATA

Ohio Supercomputer Center officials have announced that the Center has entered into an agreement with Nimbis Services Inc. to connect a regional industry supply chains to OSC’s Blue Collar Computing computational and expertise resources. OSC and NIMBIS have partnered to achieve the following:

• Broaden and grow the value of OSC’s high performance computing (HPC) research and development services, computing centers and Blue Collar Computing initiative for government R&D organizations and regional companies;
• Provide a strategic regional new customer supply-chain incubator (market channel) and source of domain-specific web portals. In addition, OSC will provide early feedback and support as an early evaluator, adopter and user of NIMBIS clearinghouse services.

OSC and NIMBIS will work on underserved markets in HPC utilization, a situation known as the “HPC Gap” where industry users have not been able to access available HPC resources to meet their needs. According to a 2004 survey by the Council on Competitiveness – a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization of business, labor, academic and government leaders – 97 percent of major companies could not function without high performance computing and computational science. “OSC has been a critical partner in national industry HPC initiatives for many years, and I am pleased that OSC has selected NIMBIS to help address the HPC Gap,” said Robert Graybill, president and CEO of Nimbis Services. “We share a similar vision with OSC as to the potential for HPC to be integrated into business operations and plan to realize that vision with this partnership.” Several objectives outlined in the OSC and NIMBIS partnership include:

• Removing industrial barriers to entry by creating a Blue Collar Computing Supply Chain Alliance Community comprised of Tier 1 companies and their supply-chain counterparts;
• Encouraging joint academic and industry collaborations to eliminate software license obstacles;
• Commercializing routine usage of OSC resources and accelerate industry R&D;
• Developing domain-specific web portals;
• Providing remote access to shared instruments and storage and analysis of resulting data; and
• Publicizing solutions that address the HPC Gap.

“NIMBIS and OSC services will be integrated so that companies can access our web portals and R&D interfaces in a seamless fashion,” said Ashok Krishnamurthy, Ph.D., director of research at the Ohio Supercomputer Center. “By providing a common interface, many companies will receive a needed ‘one-stop’ shop for their computational and software needs.” Computer technologies provide companies with innovative tools that allow for the virtual development of new and improved products, such as cars, pharmaceuticals and financial products. Virtual modeling and simulation also provide companies with a competitive edge through improved manufacturing process design to bring products to market quicker, reducing development time, cost and labor. Simulation makes choosing between alternative processing methods far easier. Better analysis and documentation of capabilities helps with efficiency. Improved factory and workflow layouts increase productivity. All of these factors can dramatically improve a company's bottom line and increase its competitive edge in the global marketplace.