Microsoft aims to bring supercomputing to the masses

Software giant launches Technical Computing initiative

Microsoft wants to take high performance computing to the mass market

Microsoft has announced the launch of a Technical Computing group in a bid to bring supercomputing to the mass market.

Tagged as Modelling the World on the initiative's web site, the focus will be on cloud-based supercomputing services, simplifying development of software for multiple core processors, and making simpler supercomputing access tools.

Microsoft's UK product manager for High Performance Computing (HPC), Dr Michael Newberry, said, "We designed this initiative to bring supercomputing to a much wider group of scientists, engineers and analysts working on the world’s most difficult challenges."

Microsoft's worldwide director for HPC, Jeff Wierer, said in a recent interview with Computing that people thought of HPC as technically demanding, and that such a view could restrict its uptake.

"We want to make HPC easier to use and we think we can take HPC and make it mass-market – like we did for personal computing," said Wierer.

Microsoft hopes the initiative will boost uptake of its Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 software, which Wierer said would "definitely ship this summer".