< Key Hightlight >

Supercomputers have existed since the 1960s, but there has been renewed interest in high-performing machines in the last decade. Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the exponential growth in data mean that businesses need access to computers capable of performing complex workloads. Every day, businesses, governments, and individuals generate huge volumes of data. This data can only be a source of value if it can be stored, processed, and analyzed, which requires powerful computing.

Scope

This report provides an overview of the high-performance computing (HPC) theme. 

It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months, split into two categories: technology trends and macroeconomic trends. 

It includes comprehensive industry analysis, including data on HPC patent filings, M&A deals, and a timeline showing key events in the development of HPC. 

The detailed value chain shows comprises four segments: components, equipment, data center solutions, and end-users.

Key Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the spotlight back on HPC as a research resource. High-performing computers have played a part in tackling the pandemic. HPC helped scientists understand how the virus interacts with the human body and how it passes from human to human. It had a role in genomic sequencing and, importantly, it enabled advancements in therapeutics and the production of life-saving vaccines. All this was only made possible by collaboration between governments, academia, and the private sector. 

Until recently, HPC systems ran in local data centers, but new solutions are emerging. Among them, HPC deployed in the cloud is the most prominent. Vendors, including HPE, IBM, and Huawei, report that cloud is the fastest-growing segment within HPC, which is itself one of their fastest-growing business units. Like everything else, HPC is moving to the cloud because of the flexibility that cloud solutions offer. Cloud computing can be used in two ways: to increase the capacity of in-house infrastructure or to increase the agility of a company that shares data across more than one site. 

Several leading IT infrastructure vendors told GlobalData that HPC represents around 15% of their annual revenue. Even though HPC is not their main source of revenue, all IT infrastructure vendors that GlobalData spoke to reported that HPC was among their fastest growing business units. Leading players report double-digit growth rates in the 10% to 20% range, substantially faster than their overall business. Some expect HPC’s revenue share to grow from the current average of 15% to 25% in the next five years. 

Deployment of HPC at the edge is likely to boost growth in the near future as it will make HPC more attractive to new verticals, including entertainment and retail. Commercial-scale quantum computing is likely to emerge towards the end of the decade. Therefore, HPC is expected to get another growth boost in the late 2020s and early 2030s.

Reasons to buy

In the last decade, HPC’s commercial use cases have grown, and the technology has become more accessible. This report is an invaluable guide to a theme that is increasing in importance, including identifying in components, equipment, and data center solutions. 

This report includes a comprehensive technology briefing, which not only explains what HPC is but also describes the evolution of supercomputers to computing clusters, analyzes the growing importance of the cloud to HPC, and evaluates the future role of quantum computers. 

The value chain identifies leading vendors and notable challengers across all segments, including components, equipment, and data center solutions. 

It also includes analysis of prominent use cases in markets such as government, financial services, entertainment retail, and academia.

Companies mentioned

Accton 

Adtran 

AMD 

Analog Devices 

Arista 

ASM 

Baidu 

Bitmain 

Cambricon 

Centec Networks 

Cerebras 

Ciena 

Cisco 

Citrix Systems 

Companies 

Dell 

Ericsson 

Extreme Networks 

Fujitsu 

Horizon Robotics 

HPE 

Huawei 

IBM 

Infineon 

Inspur 

Intel 

Juniper 

Knowles 

Lenovo 

Micron 

Microsoft 

Nokia 

NoviFlow 

Nutanix 

Nvidia 

NXP 

Omron 

Oracle 

Phytium 

Pluribus 

Pure Storage 

QCT 

Qualcomm 

Quanergy 

Quanta 

Samsung Electronics 

Scality 

Seagate 

SK Hynix 

Sony 

STMicroelectronics 

Sugon 

Supermicro 

TDK 

Texas Instruments 

TidalScale 

Toshiba 

Velodyne 

Virtuozzo 

VMware 

Western Digital 

ZTE