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A new national survey of many of America's top High Performance Computing (HPC) corporate users reveals that this technology is essential to their survival, but that the lack of human and capital remains a key barriers to wider industry usage in the U.S. The survey findings were released today at a news conference by the Council on Competitiveness during the First Annual High Performance Computing Users Conference in Washington D.C. High Performance Computers are used to run or simulate large and highly complex technical challenges that businesses face in remaining globally competitive. "This survey clearly shows that access to high performance computing, as well as to people trained to use this critical tool, is key to U.S. industrial competitiveness," said Council President Deborah Wince-Smith. "In today's highly competitive global economy, the companies that dominate will be those that can shrink time-to-insight and time-to-solution through the use of high performance computers. The companies…and countries… that want to out-compete, must be able to out-compute." The new national survey explores the use and impact of current and future HPC resources across the private sector. Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers, and production and research managers from across the nation and from a wide range of business including aerospace, automotive, petroleum, electronics, software, financial services, companies, were asked about the financial and business benefits of using HPC. Chief among the survey's top findings: • High Performance Computing Is Essential to Business Survival - Nearly 100% of the survey's respondents indicated that that HPC tools are indispensable, stating that they would either not exist as a viable business or be able to effectively compete in the global marketplace without HPC tools. • Companies Are Realizing a Range of Financial and Business Benefits from Using HPC - Strategic competitive benefits included gains such as shortened product development cycles, faster time-to-market, and reduced costs, all combine to significantly improve a company's bottom line. • Business and Technical Barriers Are Inhibiting the Use of Supercomputing -The lack of human capital is the largest factor preventing more aggressive use of HPC. There is a lack of computational scientists. Also, budget constraints prevent companies from being able to hire these in-demand scientists. • Dramatically More Powerful and Easier-to-Use-Computers Could Add Billions to the Bottom Line -Survey respondents suggested that bottom line improvements from tens of millions to billions of dollars could be realized from more powerful and easier to use HPC systems. The survey, commissioned by the Council on Competitiveness and conducted by IDC, revealed important national trends in how U.S. companies are using high performance computers to enhance their business development, the resulting impact on their competitiveness, and the outlook from industrial experts on future use. Complete survey results are available at the Council on Competitiveness web site www.Compete.org Today's first annual HPC conference, titled High Performance Computing: Supercharging U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness, was co-sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Department of Energy's Office of Science. During the conference, attendees heard first hand from senior executives from a range of leading companies such as: DreamWorks, The Boeing Company, Livermore Software Technology Corporation, Procter & Gamble, and HNTB. Attendees heard about the importance of using high performance computing to accelerate competitiveness, as well as the obstacles to acquiring and accessing these systems. In addition, top government executives such as Dr. Anthony Tether, Director of DARPA, and Dr. John Marburger, Science Adviser to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, discussed the government's role in developing this technology and promoting widespread application. The Council on Competitiveness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose members are corporate chief executives, university presidents, and labor leaders dedicated to setting an action agenda to drive U.S. economic competitiveness and leadership in global markets. The Council helps shape the national debate on competitiveness by concentrating on a few critical issues including national and regional innovation, competitiveness and security, globalization, workforce development, and the benchmarking of U.S. economic performance against other countries. High Performance Computing: Supercharging U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Co-Sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness DARPA, and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Science