Industry and government leaders in India are anticipating an even stronger focus on cloud computing, HPC and big data technologies over the next year as businesses seek out more efficient and cost-effective ways to drive productivity and profit. According to Intel South Asia Director Sales Suryanarayanan B, India will have more supercomputers listed on the TOP500 and increased collaboration between research organizations and industry will propel high-performance computing applications.
Suryanarayanan identifies several key trends that he expects will dominate IT spending in 2014. Among these are mobile device proliferation, including the use of mobile devices in the classroom, the spread of the Internet of things, and the twin technologies of high-performance computing and big data. All these advances will create channel opportunities in Suryanarayanan’s opinion.
Suryanarayanan observes that cloud deployment in the APAC region is at turning point with cloud users driving the market for standardized, open, interoperable platforms for general enterprise use. Companies dealing with the challenges of legacy RISC infrastructure are welcoming the new model.
The Intel rep maintains that increased Internet penetration has paved the way for the triple trends of social media, cloud and mobile, begetting a new generation of connected users. Increased connectivity and the proliferation of cloud services have contributed to an explosion of data. Big data is a main focal point for enterprises looking to turn massive amounts of user data into actionable insight. Customizing products and services to improve the user experience is the name of the game.
“We believe that having 15 billion connected devices in the next few years is achievable,” he states. “The question is where the data will go when these devices connect and the best way to use that information. This will prompt a whole industry to grow around predictive analysis and raw data. Big data will help make companies smarter, more progressive and give them a business advantage. Governments will soon follow.”
As for his HPC outlook, Suryanarayanan expects that India will continue to grow its TOP500 list presence in 2014. As of the latest edition of the TOP500 list released in November 2013, 12 supercomputers were from India. This is a 100 percent jump from the year before, when only six Indian systems made it onto the much publicized list. He attributes this progress to continuing tech innovations and increased collaboration among such stakeholders as Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Department of Science and Technology (DST) together and key industry leaders. The outcome is that scientists and researchers will benefit from greater access to parallel computing clusters.