Real-time computing. Real-time news.
June 25, 2007
Customer Demand Driving HPC on Wall Street
Capital markets firms are rapidly adding capacity for their
high-performance computing environments to meet increased customer
demand, and performance, not price, is the primary purchase factor,
reports a new survey released by Microsoft Corp. at the 2007
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
Technology Management Conference & Exhibit.
The "Microsoft
High-Performance Computing Capital Markets Survey 2007," sponsored by
Microsoft and conducted by New York-based GfK Custom Research North
America, found that 78 percent of respondents plan on expanding their
high-performance computing capacity in the next 12 to 18 months. This
increase is being fueled by customer demand for faster
computer-simulated modeling, testing and analysis of financial data.
"High-performance
computing is a critical success factor for capital markets firms to
expand their businesses, and we're seeing a real investment in
innovative software to make that happen," said Craig Saint-Amour,
director of capital markets solutions in the U.S. Financial Services
Group at Microsoft. "This research confirms what we've been witnessing
in the market -- that capital markets firms remain on the cutting edge,
and that the dot-com bust of the early 2000s has now turned into a
period of reinvestment for firms seeking technologies to help them
grow."
The online survey was conducted in June 2007 and includes
responses from high-performance computing users in the capital markets
industry. Significant findings include these:
- Forty-five percent of respondents reported that customer demand is currently driving the growth of their firm's high-performance computing needs.
- Twenty-four percent of respondents reported that they plan on increasing the capacity of their high-performance computing environments by 1,000 nodes or more in the next 12 to 18 months.
- Forty-seven percent reported that performance is the most important factor when purchasing an operating system to run high-performance computing applications.
- Eighty-three percent are considering a Microsoft high-performance computing solution for their next appropriate project.
- Sixty-two percent report that Microsoft Office Excel is the most widely used application in their high-performance computing environment.
- Sixty percent are currently using a 64-bit operating system to run their high-performance computing projects.
- Sixty-three percent report that they deploy their high-performance computing environments as a centralized or shared utility.
Recent
hardware and software advances, such as more powerful, lower-cost
processors and the launch of Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server
2003, have made it easier for analysts, traders and portfolio managers
to access high-performance computing tasks. As a result, these
professionals can easily ascertain the relationship between risks and
profitability and quickly perform high-value business functions.
"With
the correct high-performance infrastructure in place, capital markets
firms can handle larger volumes of data faster and with greater
agility," said Jeff Wierer, senior product manager for high-performance
computing at Microsoft. "In addition, firms can reduce time-to-market
for innovative product solutions; make smarter, faster trade and risk
management decisions; reduce investment and operational risk; and
improve profitability."
GfK Custom Research North America
conducted the Microsoft High-Performance Computing Capital Markets
Survey 2007 in June and garnered responses from 154 qualified
high-performance computing users at capital markets firms. Survey
respondents work for investment banks, brokerage firms, hedge funds,
online investment companies, financial advisory companies and financial
planning companies. Each respondent is a user, application manager,
developer, evaluator, recommender or authorizer of purchase decisions
for hardware and software related to technical computing.
About GfK Custom Research North America
GfK
Roper Public Affairs & Media is a division of GfK Custom Research
North America specializing in customized public opinion polling, media
and communications research, and corporate reputation measurement in
the United States and globally. In addition to delivering a broad range
of customized research studies, GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media
draws from GfK's syndicated consumer tracking services, Roper Reports
US and Roper Reports Worldwide, which monitor consumer values, beliefs,
attitudes and behaviors in the United States and 30 other countries.
Headquartered
in New York, GfK Custom Research, North America is part of the GfK
Group. With home offices in Nuremberg, Germany, the GfK Group is among
the top-five market research organizations in the world. Its activities
cover five business divisions: Custom Research, Retail and Technology,
Consumer Tracking, Media and Healthcare. In addition to 13 subsidiaries
in Germany, the GfK Group has more than 130 subsidiaries and affiliates
in over 70 countries. For more information, visit www.gfkamerica.com/.
About Microsoft in Financial Services
Microsoft's
Financial Services Group provides software that helps financial firms
transform the customer, employee and operations experience so they can
maximize opportunities for increased market share and profitability.
Microsoft software helps empower people and IT staff within financial
firms -- and across key focus areas such as advisor platforms, channel
renewal, insurance value chain, enterprise risk management and
compliance, and payments. Through a combination of Microsoft- and
partner-provided solutions, customers enable their employees to turn
data into insight, transform ideas into action and turn change into
opportunity. More information about Microsoft's Financial Services
Group can be found at www.microsoft.com/financialservices.
About Microsoft
Founded
in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and
solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
-----
Source: Microsoft Corp.
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Source: Microsoft Corp.
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