Computing The Impossible: New Machines, New Possibilities

Thibaut Henry, Associate Director – Cloud Practice Lead at Accenture Luxembourg (Photo © Marion Dessard)

With the development of quantum computers, high performance computing (HPC) and bio-inspired computing, we are entering a new era of complex problem solving. Thibaut Henry, Associate Director – Cloud Practice Lead at Accenture Luxembourg, explains how advanced computers will help businesses solve problems faster, more efficiently and in a more sustainable way.

Solving complex problems faster

The final trend of Accenture’s Tech Vision 2022 report highlights how advanced computers are helping to find solutions to problems once considered very difficult or almost impossible to solve. As Henry explains, “we were able to solve them, but with a massive number of machines consuming a lot of energy. Now we have new machines that can process many types of commands, in a very quick and energy efficient way.”

For example, to better understand the impact of geopolitics on markets, the financial sector runs simulations. These simulations require a lot of computational power and, in the past, would run all night to generate a result. According to Henry, “when we do similar calculations with next-generation machines, we can get the same result in a couple of seconds.” An added benefit is that less energy is required to run the simulations, making it more sustainable.

And these sorts of benefits can be seen across many industries. For example, in the life sciences sector, increased computational power for running simulations can enable new vaccines to be found or new genetic illnesses to be mapped more quickly. And in the automotive industry, these new computers can help to simulate how autonomous vehicles might behave in the real world more efficiently. As Henry points out, “it’s in these kinds of areas that next-generation computers will be a game changer.”

Lack of awareness and skills is a barrier to adoption

As with any new technology, there will always be challenges. According to Henry, there are two major obstacles slowing down adoption in companies. First, while the technology exists, it’s not currently accessible to everyone. “There’s a need to raise awareness on the business side about where this type of technology can be used. Currently there’s a gap between the ‘techies’ who see the value of the technology, and business guys who do not yet understand what they can do with it.”

The second challenge is skills. “These new machines require specific skills, and today there is a real skills gap, not only in Luxembourg but everywhere. There is simply too much demand for these very specific, niche skills,” Henry explains. And while investments are being made in training and creating learning opportunities through universities, they are currently being outpaced by demand.

Alongside investments in skills and training, there also needs to be an investment in infrastructure so that the benefits of advanced computing can be accessed at scale. This investment currently comes from governments – for public research – and from large cloud computing companies, such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Through these companies, you can access increased computational power for a specific period by paying a subscription for the service.

Another way to access higher computational power is through Edge Computing – chips that are able to transmit information in a more energy-efficient way than traditional central processing units (CPUs). Henry explains, “bio-inspired chips are being developed for use in cars or phones to provide new types of services, for instance self-driving functionalities.”

How can Luxembourg companies benefit?

In Luxembourg, HPC is currently being used in a research setting. For example, Accenture Luxembourg recently joined a project to identify the optimal locations for solar panels on people’s homes. It used HPC to scan satellite images, identifying possible locations for solar panels, and then calculated the energy production of solar panels in each instance. “In the past, this work was very manual. Now, we can give all this data to one single supercomputer, apply machine learning and artificial intelligence, and receive very concrete results more quickly,” Henry explains.

And HPC has just become easier for Luxembourg businesses to access since the launch of MeluXina – a brand new HPC on a pay-per-use basis. Some companies have already started to experiment with advanced computing. For example, the satellite company, SES, is running algorithms on MeluXina to optimize the position of its satellites. And Husky Technologies is using HPC to create digital twins – accurate, virtual representations of real-world systems – to simulate the development of new products. So how should companies prepare for this new technology? According to Henry, it starts with communicating the benefits. “Companies need to build awareness on the business side. CEOs, CIOs really need to understand this technology and recognize the benefits it can bring.” Henry also recommends running labs and pilots around specific business problems that could be solved with advanced computers. “It’s only by doing that we really see the value, so I would recommend companies that already have ideas they want to test, to run pilots and experiment. In this way, they will discover how this technology can create business value in the next two to three years.”

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