Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Simplifying the Road to Artificial Intelligence 
Sponsored Content by Intel

HPCaaS, Cloud and optimized solutions accommodate new enterprise workloads, facilitate the implementation of AI on HPC infrastructure

According to IDC, over half of the world’s data was created in the last two years, yet less than two percent has been analyzed.1   This untapped data represents a potential treasure trove for enterprises which seek more comprehensive business intelligence, improved business process, and innovative ways to remain ahead of their competitors.

While high performance data analytics (HPDA), simulation and modeling, visualization, and other HPC workloads offer substantial business value on their own, augmenting those workloads with artificial intelligence (AI) derives even more benefit for a corporation.

AI in action

Today, AI supplements business approaches in multiple industry segments. Financial institutions use AI to detect fraud real-time. Energy companies can more easily interpret ground-penetrating scans to pinpoint underground fossil fuel reserves, minimizing the impact on the surrounding environment.

Product manufacturers tap AI to assist in the development of safer, higher quality products. Others use it in combination with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to monitor their machining equipment. If an AI-empowered system notices a slowdown in the spindle’s turning rate, for example, scheduled maintenance can avoid costly, unexpected downtime.

Other enterprises use AI and IoT to monitor delivery trucks, thereby predicting potential impacts on their supply chain.

One HPC system, many workloads

In years past, HPC systems had technical limitations which necessitated running one workload at a time. Modern HPC systems, though, have much more horsepower to run traditional workloads, like modeling, in combination with artificial intelligence.

These converged workloads can mine for patterns and insights which otherwise could go overlooked. For example, pharmaceutical companies can use AI to filter through thousands of molecules and identify those with potential for new medications.

Getting the right team in place

A seamless HPC rollout requires the right expertise. Some enterprises have skilled staff in-house, making HPC procurement, deployment, and management a straightforward process. For those organizations starting the journey to HPC and AI, though, obtaining outside assistance proves highly beneficial approach.

Systems integrators and OEMs have a long history of enabling HPC deployments. They help not only to obtain the needed physical infrastructure; they can also bring the expertise to implement it.  One way to streamline the deployment process involves the use of Intel® Select Solutions for HPC. Intel® Select Solutions feature optimized and validated systems for HPC applications. For AI use cases, Intel also provides a tailored Intel Select Solution for HPC and AI Converged Clusters.

HPC in the Cloud

The cloud offers paths for HPC as a Service (HPCaaS) to access performant, scalable, and even turnkey HPC solutions for demanding workloads.

HPCaaS provides end-users pay-as-you-go model that allows their virtual HPC system to grow in capacity as usage needs dictate. HPCaaS also enables supplemental resources for “sandbox” testing, or to offload secondary workloads.

While HPCaaS is available from large service providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, some smaller-scale providers host HPCaaS too. Iceland’s Advania, for example, is the first cloud service provider to offer HPCaaS instances based on the Intel® Select Solutions for HPC & AI Converged Clusters [Magpie*] with 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Platinum 9200 processors. The solution also features Intel® Omni-Path Architecture to speed communications among nodes.

Adopting HPC and AI today

Businesses today face a highly competitive marketplace, and data is the modern currency. Obtaining the most profound insights from data requires the adoption of the “right” HPC and AI solution for your organization’s needs. Those enterprises which invest in 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processor-based system already have AI “built-in” with enhancements like Intel® Deep Learning Boost to accelerate workflows.

Modern HPCaaS solutions offer an accelerated path to deployment. Either way, an AI solution is ready to advance your business. To find out which HPC solution is right for your organization, check out the white paper, Ease your organization into AI: A practical guide to building an insights-driven business.


  1. Source: Data Age 2025 sponsored by Seagate using data from IDC Global DataSphere, November 2018

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