Universities unite to buy computers

£38m to be spent on high-performance computing equipment

More than 30 UK universities are centralising the procurement of high-performance computing equipment to streamline purchasing processes and get better value for money.

The first stage of the programme will be to establish a relationship with between 15 and 25 suitable IT suppliers.

Once vendors have been selected and vetted for suitability, they will be eligible to pitch for the aggregate £38m that the universities plan to spend on high-performance computing over the next two-and-a-half years.

‘Once we have set up a group of suppliers, we will then break up our overall purchasing plans into tranches of different kinds of equipment,’ said Tony Newjem, director of purchasing and supply services at Edinburgh’s Heriot- Watt University, which is leading the procurement.

The first stage will cover the universities’ requirements for the rest of 2005, with subsequent tenders to be announced later.

By only dealing with pre-authorised suppliers, and by establishing a department with expertise in buying high-performance computing equipment, the tendering process will be far more efficient, says Newjem.

‘It establishes a centre of excellence for this kind of equipment,’ he said.
The collaborative purchasing programme plans to buy approximately 100 items of computing hardware, software and associated installation and maintenance services.

As many as 40 higher-education institutions across the UK are involved in the programme, including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London.
Newjem says similar schemes have been tried before, but not to this extent.

‘It is the first time we have done it on a scale like this,’ he said. ‘All savings achieved are ploughed back into research. Our aim is to get the maximum amount of science from the available funds.’

Funding for the programme comes from the Scientific Research Investment Fund (SRIF), which specifies a strong emphasis on collaboration between the universities that benefit from its backing. The SRIF funding stream extends from August 2005 to April 2008.