D7.1: Periodic Report on Applications Enabling Services

Task T7.1 “Applications Enabling Services on PRACE Systems” in Work Package 7 (WP7) of PRACE-5IP aims to provide HPC enabling support for the applications of European researchers and small and medium enterprises to ensure the applications can effectively exploit the various PRACE HPC systems. Task T7.1 within PRACE-5IP is an ongoing activity which was already established and described in deliverables of former PRACE-IP projects. There were two activities in T7.1:
T7.1.A Preparatory Access:
This activity provides code enabling and optimisation to European researchers as well as industrial projects to make their applications ready for Tier-0 systems. Projects can continuously apply for such services via the Preparatory Access Calls Type C (PA Type C) and Type D (PA Type D) with a cut-off every three months for evaluation of the proposals. PA Type C provides support and access to a PRACE Tier-0 system while PA Type D provides support and access to a PRACE Tier-1 system to finally reach Tier-0 scalability. Five Preparatory Access cut-offs have been carried out in PRACE-5IP so far and eleven projects received support within the context of the project.
Beside the statistical overview about the cut-offs and all supported PRACE PA Type C and Type D projects, the report focuses on the optimisation work and results gained by the completed projects in PRACE-5IP. In total four PA Type C projects have finished their work since the last deliverable D7.2 in PRACE-4IP.
T7.1.B SHAPE:
This activity continued the support for SHAPE (the SME HPC Adoption Programme in Europe). SHAPE aims to raise awareness and provide European SMEs with the expertise necessary to take advantage of the innovation possibilities created by High-Performance Computing (HPC), thus increasing their competitiveness. It holds regular calls, and successful applicants to the SHAPE programme get support effort from a PRACE HPC expert and access to machine time at a PRACE centre. In collaboration with the SME, the PRACE partner helps them try out their ideas for utilising HPC to enhance their business.
This document reports on the status of the SHAPE projects: status reports for the currently active and recently finished projects from the 4th, 5th and 6th calls; and follow-up reports from the SME projects completed last year, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the SHAPE programme in terms of the SMEs’ ongoing engagement with HPC, including measurements against key performance indicators.
SHAPE participants have reported many positive outcomes following taking part in the programme, including tangible measurements of the Return on Investment: new staff hired, increasing sales and new business, lower costs, continued HPC Access, in-house HPC systems deployment, integration into the HPC ecosystem and engagement with other national and European industry programmes.