July 3 — Wales’ national supercomputing network has announced the launch of 17 local access workstations installed across the country, along with the software, training and support to fully exploit them.
High Performance Computing (HPC) Wales has installed the new workstations to provide access to advanced supercomputing technology to businesses suffering from poor broadband speeds and limited connectivity.
The local access workstations will also allow the venture to engage with local businesses directly, providing on-site supercomputing training and support along with sophisticated commercial and open source software packages.
The additional workstations will be a welcome addition for many businesses in Wales, after a recent study by uSwitch found that Wales suffers with some of the slowest download speeds in the UK. The report found that some areas in Wales are experiencing download speeds as low as 0.6 megabits per second (mbps), in stark contrast with the UK average of 18mbps.
HPC Wales’ supercomputing network is accessible to researchers and businesses across the globe that have access to high speed broadband, and these new workstations will bridge the connectivity gap for hundreds more businesses across Wales.
The new local access workstations are located at the Pembrokeshire Business Innovation Centre (BIC), Parc Menai Business Park, Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre, Welsh ICE in Caerphilly, Swansea University’s Life Sciences Hub, Swansea Metropolitan University and the Springboard Business Innovation Centre in Torfaen.
Matthew Boat from Silverwing UK, a Swansea-based firm benefiting from the new workstations, said, “Being able to use HPC Wales’ computer power via the new workstation has produced results and conclusions that otherwise would have taken months or even years to collate and collect – and made those readily available. The time saving has been immense. ”
“Given these results we have then been able to examine more complex problems and so improve our product and maintain our market leading position.”
Professor Sian Hope, CEO at HPC Wales, said, “The installation of our network of local access workstations across Wales is an exciting development that will provide world class supercomputing technology to many businesses for the first time. These advanced workstations will ensure high bandwidth connectivity for businesses struggling with low broadband speeds.”
“Supercomputing can help improve business competitiveness by supporting research and innovation, and this will open the door to opportunities for hundreds of businesses across Wales.”
Part-funded by £24 million through the Welsh Government, including support from the European Regional Development Fund, HPC Wales is committed to boosting the Welsh economy by providing academic researchers and businesses with some of the most advanced supercomputing technology in the world.
About HPC Wales
High Performance Computing (HPC) Wales is Wales’ national supercomputing service provider. Host to the UK’s largest distributed supercomputing network, HPC Wales provides businesses and researchers with local access to world-class technology, as well as the support and training necessary to fully exploit it. HPC Wales is a unique collaboration between Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff University, Swansea University, the University of South Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.