High-performance computing provides value add for small and medium-sized enterprises
Interview with Dr. Oliver Tennert, Head of Technology at transtec AGTübingen, 6 August 2008. Dr. Oliver Tennert is Head of Technology at transtec AG. We interviewed him on the issue of IT decisions in SMEs.
Dr. Tennert, you have been Head of Technology at transtec since the beginning of 2008. What exactly does this mean?
As Head of Technology, I observe and evaluate technological developments in the area of IT. I also take care of Business Development. With the result that I always need to be on top of new developments as well as go to trade fairs and conferences for meetings, give speeches and presentations or simply take a look at what the competition is up to. In short: I know the current technologies and issues prevalent in the sector to enable transtec to implement them.
What are the major issues in the IT sector at the moment?
Cross-sector issues such as consolidation and virtualisation are important both in IT centre operations and in the workstation landscape of a company. Energy efficiency and simple management of the IT infrastructure are increasingly gaining in significance. Furthermore, high-performance computing (HPC) is a key pillar for transtec AG as we have a tradition of being very strong in this area as well as availing of many years of experience.
What are the current developments in high-performance computing?
Two developments are apparent in the HPC environment: On the one hand, the increasing integration density of current systems – in other words the increasing PC capacity per room – offers the possibility to drastically reduce existing computer systems. These are often Linux-based clusters. In the past, this would have been associated with significantly less PC capacity. What’s more, this greater integration density also saves space, electricity and cooling power – and ultimately money. For many companies, this is what makes high-performance computing attractive in the first place.
The second development is of a purely technical nature: for some time now, the ever-present demand for high speed in processors and network technologies has led to increased observation of so-called parallel file systems in order to comply with the growing requirements on storage systems in the HPC environment. Parallel file systems are designed to handle a large number of simultaneous access operations by several different processes and computers. transtec AG avails of extensive experience in realising very large parallel file systems with a total capacity of hundreds of TB and throughput rates well in excess of one GB a second.
And what are the requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of IT?
Although it goes without saying that this issue also affects large companies, it is of great importance for so-called SMEs in particular to keep an eye on their energy efficiency. Not so much to ensure that their IT is “green” – which is something we often hear – but simply to make sure that their electricity bills are lower. This is where modern virtualisation solutions as well as the use of highly-integrated blade systems offer the possibility to reduce operating costs while simultaneously saving space. As SMEs in particular often do not employ an extensive IT department, the focus is increasingly on simple management and a well-conceived operating concept for tailor-made IT solutions. Modern trends such as server-based computing confirm this view. Extensive customer consulting and the concept of a solution prior to purchase are therefore attributed a strong focus at transtec AG.
How can small and medium-sized companies prepare their decisions?
A purchase decision in favour of a new IT environment needs to be well-prepared. For small and medium-sized companies, which usually avail of limited budgets, it is particularly important that they obtain professional advice on what they actually need. One possibility of obtaining an overview in advance of consulting is offered by the transtec IT kompass. Around 80 pages summarise the most important details enabling the reader to obtain an impression of our service portfolio.
What can be found in the IT kompass?
Specialist information on a wide variety of issues: high-performance computing, high availability, IT infrastructure solutions. There are many sample applications concerning virtualisation and consolidation of server and storage systems, the use of HPC clusters or server-based computing. Furthermore, basic terms are explained in the IT Compendium at the end. The aim was to offer highly-complex solutions to a trade public and at the same time explain in such a way as to make them universally comprehensible.
Has this aim been achieved?
Yes, I hope so. But it goes without saying that each reader will have to decide that for themselves. The IT kompass can be easily downloaded from www.itkompass.eu. By the way, we’d be really pleased for any feedback from our readers. We want the IT kompass to keep developing. Who knows – perhaps it will one day be a standard reference for every editing board and occupy a firm place in every office cabinet!
More information on the IT kompass at: http://www.itkompass.eu
More information transtec IT solutions at: Solutions
This press release is available as a Word and a PDF document and can be found with a high-resolution photo for download at: http://www.panama-pr.de/download/transtecolivertennert_e.zip
As Head of Technology, I observe and evaluate technological developments in the area of IT. I also take care of Business Development. With the result that I always need to be on top of new developments as well as go to trade fairs and conferences for meetings, give speeches and presentations or simply take a look at what the competition is up to. In short: I know the current technologies and issues prevalent in the sector to enable transtec to implement them.
What are the major issues in the IT sector at the moment?
Cross-sector issues such as consolidation and virtualisation are important both in IT centre operations and in the workstation landscape of a company. Energy efficiency and simple management of the IT infrastructure are increasingly gaining in significance. Furthermore, high-performance computing (HPC) is a key pillar for transtec AG as we have a tradition of being very strong in this area as well as availing of many years of experience.
What are the current developments in high-performance computing?
Two developments are apparent in the HPC environment: On the one hand, the increasing integration density of current systems – in other words the increasing PC capacity per room – offers the possibility to drastically reduce existing computer systems. These are often Linux-based clusters. In the past, this would have been associated with significantly less PC capacity. What’s more, this greater integration density also saves space, electricity and cooling power – and ultimately money. For many companies, this is what makes high-performance computing attractive in the first place.
The second development is of a purely technical nature: for some time now, the ever-present demand for high speed in processors and network technologies has led to increased observation of so-called parallel file systems in order to comply with the growing requirements on storage systems in the HPC environment. Parallel file systems are designed to handle a large number of simultaneous access operations by several different processes and computers. transtec AG avails of extensive experience in realising very large parallel file systems with a total capacity of hundreds of TB and throughput rates well in excess of one GB a second.
And what are the requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of IT?
Although it goes without saying that this issue also affects large companies, it is of great importance for so-called SMEs in particular to keep an eye on their energy efficiency. Not so much to ensure that their IT is “green” – which is something we often hear – but simply to make sure that their electricity bills are lower. This is where modern virtualisation solutions as well as the use of highly-integrated blade systems offer the possibility to reduce operating costs while simultaneously saving space. As SMEs in particular often do not employ an extensive IT department, the focus is increasingly on simple management and a well-conceived operating concept for tailor-made IT solutions. Modern trends such as server-based computing confirm this view. Extensive customer consulting and the concept of a solution prior to purchase are therefore attributed a strong focus at transtec AG.
How can small and medium-sized companies prepare their decisions?
A purchase decision in favour of a new IT environment needs to be well-prepared. For small and medium-sized companies, which usually avail of limited budgets, it is particularly important that they obtain professional advice on what they actually need. One possibility of obtaining an overview in advance of consulting is offered by the transtec IT kompass. Around 80 pages summarise the most important details enabling the reader to obtain an impression of our service portfolio.
What can be found in the IT kompass?
Specialist information on a wide variety of issues: high-performance computing, high availability, IT infrastructure solutions. There are many sample applications concerning virtualisation and consolidation of server and storage systems, the use of HPC clusters or server-based computing. Furthermore, basic terms are explained in the IT Compendium at the end. The aim was to offer highly-complex solutions to a trade public and at the same time explain in such a way as to make them universally comprehensible.
Has this aim been achieved?
Yes, I hope so. But it goes without saying that each reader will have to decide that for themselves. The IT kompass can be easily downloaded from www.itkompass.eu. By the way, we’d be really pleased for any feedback from our readers. We want the IT kompass to keep developing. Who knows – perhaps it will one day be a standard reference for every editing board and occupy a firm place in every office cabinet!
More information on the IT kompass at: http://www.itkompass.eu
More information transtec IT solutions at: Solutions
This press release is available as a Word and a PDF document and can be found with a high-resolution photo for download at: http://www.panama-pr.de/download/transtecolivertennert_e.zip