Datanami
EnterpriseAI
HPCwire Japan
QCwire
HPC & AI Wall Street
A study by Hyperion Research finds that high performance computing generates $44 in profit for every dollar of investment in HPC systems.
Anyone who uses high performance computing systems to drive scientific discoveries and technical innovations understands the inherent value in the technology. With the combination of HPC, large datasets and techniques like machine learning, users can now generate insights that would be all but impossible to achieve without the power of extreme computation.
But how do you prove the returns on investment in HPC? This has historically been a challenge for organizations that buy HPC systems, from departmental solutions to supercomputers. Everyone understands the value, but how do you prove that value in financial terms?
Today, organizations have a clearer view of this ROI story thanks to research conducted by the firm Hyperion Research and guided by insights developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Hyperion investigation and analysis examined both the financial benefits and the impact of scientific discoveries made with HPC systems.
Financial benefits were modeled based on revenues, cost-savings or profits, and jobs created as a result of HPC investments, the firm notes in a white paper covering its findings. The title of the paper pretty much jumps to the conclusion: “HPC Investments Bring High Returns.”
So what’s the bottom line? We’ll let Hyperion answer that question:
“The financial ROI of HPC database consists of over 150 use cases worldwide that show an average revenue of $463 dollars per dollar of investment in HPC, as well as $44 of profit for every dollar of investment in HPC,” the firm reports. “To put that into context, for an HPC system purchased at $100,000 by a private corporation, the analysis estimates that the profit will be around $4.4 million.”
Hyperion says that while ROI is high across the entire HPC ecosystem, certain sectors get even more bang for their buck.
“The transportation sector reported the highest average revenue per dollar invested in HPC,” Hyperion says. “But, the more impactful number in identifying the value of HPC is the profit or cost savings, where the finance and oil and gas sectors reported the two highest average profit or cost savings per dollar invested in HPC ($61 and $54 respectively). Thus, in finance use cases, a $100,000 system, considered to be part of the workgroup segment, could result in a profit or cost savings of more than $6 million.”
Here’s a look at the industry-by-industry picture:
| Industry | Average Revenue $ per HPC $ | Average of Profit or Cost Saving $ per HPC $ |
| Finance | $834 | $61 |
| Insurance | $71 | – |
| Life Sciences | $160 | $41 |
| Manufacturing | $83 | $20 |
| Oil and Gas | $416 | $54 |
| Retail | $30 | $12 |
| Telecommunications | $211 | $30 |
| Transportation | $1,804 | $16 |
In addition to looking at financial returns, the Hyperion study looked at the impact and value of projects geared toward advancing science, and not designed to deliver financial returns. Here the study looked at the number of top innovations in a field over a period of time. Most such organizations reported 5 to 10 top innovations in the field, and relatively widespread usefulness of the discoveries.
Clearly, no matter how you quantify the returns, HPC investments pay off in big ways for both profit-driven and science-driven organizations.
To learn more
For the full story, read the Hyperion white paper “HPC Investments Bring High Returns.” And for an even deeper dive, check out the Hyperion Research webinar “Return on Investment for HPC.”
