Research computing and data platforms

The University of Manchester has a number of high-performance computing platforms (HPC), underpinned by a robust Research Data Storage platform. However, the pace of technological development, and the scale of investment by competitors, in the UK and overseas, mean the University is at risk of missing out on research income because data science and data analytics capability is not sufficient to match those of competitors.

Alongside investments in new hardware resources, this workstream will look to augment the University’s capability in this area by making it easier to access HPC resources. This will include single points of access and guidance to the most appropriate platforms and training and support for those whose work has not routinely required HPC access.

Additional capacity, including on-premise HPC, research virtual machines (VMs) and cloud platforms, larger numbers of users and reduced wait times for system access will all be indicators of success in this area. As will an increase in the size and scale of problems that can be tackled.