High performance computing (HPC) is a strategic resource for the future of Europe in order to preserve and enhance its technological sovereignty, scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness. HPC is widely used in research and industrial processes, and it is behind systems that support various commercial applications such as product design, financial analytics, personalized medicine, marketing automation, fraud detection, autonomous vehicles, etc. HPC enables high-speed parallel data processing and complex computer simulations by usage of supercomputers, while cloud technologies make it technically and financially available to SME.
Within the EuroCC project, the University of Donja Gorica conducted market research to analyze the potential and possibilities of using advanced HPC technologies to improve business and competitiveness of Montenegrin companies, institutions and organizations. Based on HPC4SME automated tool, markets survey on 53 companies was conducted, self-assessment company reports were generated (based on multi-criteria decision-making model) and three-dimensional approach (Readiness, Cloud potential, HPC capacities) was applied on the market perspective.
Regarding Readiness to use Cloud and HPC technologies in Montenegro, there are multiple positive indications: 8 out of 10 companies have a positive attitude on applicability of computer simulations in their industries; 80% of companies believe in possible and crucial impact on the development of new products; >50% of companies expect possible marketing and positive business effects; 2/3 of companies expect positive financial effects in the next 5 years; 45% of companies allocate >5% of revenues for R&D and innovations; 7 out of 10 companies are ready to rent HW and SW solutions; >50% companies are concerned about the lack of internal HPC expertise and 40% of companies about insufficient/expensive external HPC expertise.
There is a high potential to use Cloud services as cost-effective solutions as the most surveyed companies: have reasonable requirements for confidentiality treatment of input and output simulation data (40% at a restrictive level); need to transfer moderate amounts of data to a remote Cloud location (sufficient internet connection in the range of 10-100 Mbps) and assume normal level of real-time interaction during remote data processing (“response time” up to 10 min acceptable).
There are modest performance of computer simulations in Montenegrin companies, which currently don’t require critical HPC capacities and resources. But 19% of market sample comprise active or potential HPC users, which already use at least 16-128 cores when performing simulations, require time-critical simulations (<1h), perform computer simulations on a daily or weekly basis, require >10 design reiterations, and measure computer simulations at level of 10,000 Core hours and more.
Further operationalization of the innovative HPC ecosystem in Montenegro is driven by intensified cooperation between academia and the business, provision of HPC education and expertise, and partnership between targeted companies and HPC NCC (providing access to the European supercomputers).