September 2004


HPC "critically important" to Canada's future

A new survey of industry experts is calling on Canada to boost its efforts to develop and support the high performance computing (HPC) industry, as “critically important” to the health of our country.

"The importance of high performance computing in sustaining Canadian competitiveness across all sectors cannot be understated," says the President of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA), John Reid.

The report, titled “A Survey of the State of Canadian HPC Readiness and the Need for Highly Qualified People” also determined that the industry itself has a difficult time defining precisely what constitutes high performance computing.

This preliminary survey was undertaken by CATA at the urging of the C3.ca Association (www.c3.ca) in attempting to quantify the HPC community's needs for its soon-to-be-released Long Range Plan.

“The Long Range Plan needs to have a strong educational component that C3 can and should set about achieving right away,” says C3.ca Chair, Jacques Lyrette, who indicates C3 will develop information materials to increase the awareness and understanding of the importance HPC can have on organizations’ bottom lines.

"The field of high performance computing is quite diverse and, as discovered through the differing views offered by respondents, not consistently defined or agreed upon," says Kevin Wennekes, CATA's Director, Policy Research and Advocacy.

"Many large firms, for example, were unable to locate a single, internal source who could speak to the entire range of HPC activities they conduct."

"There has been a very positive and proactive response towards taking this initial study further," says Wennekes. "Firms such as Bombardier, IBM, and Pratt and Whitney have all expressed a clear desire to sit down with CATA and define a means of furthering the work we have started with this preliminary discovery initiative."

Several companies said they need highly qualified people who possess the skills and knowledge needed to perform HPC functions. The survey showed the skill requirement cut across all sectors.

The momentum generated by this initial dialogue will continue to gather force, predicts Reid, who is calling on organizations interested in participating to contact CATA to signal their desire to be included in the process.

For more information, visit www.cata.ca or www.c3.ca.


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