D7.2: Final Report on Applications Enabling Services
Creators: name: Johnson, Chris
name: Lührs, Sebastian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Deliverable
HPC
Research infrastructure
Preparatory access
SHAPE

description: 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:<br> <em>T7.1.A Preparatory Access:</em><br> 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. In total nine Preparatory Access cut-offs have been carried out in PRACE-5IP and 17 projects received support within the context of the project.<br> 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 eight PA projects have finished their work since the last deliverable D7.1 and are reported within this deliverable.<br> <em>T7.1.B SHAPE:</em><br> This activity has continued the support for SHAPE (the SME HPC Adoption Programme in Europe) into the final year of the PRACE-5IP project. 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. Through a series of regular calls, 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.<br> In this document we report on the current status of each of the SHAPE projects as well as giving a summary of the proposals we have received. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the SHAPE programme in terms of the SMEs’ ongoing engagement with HPC, we have developed surveys which asks projects which finished around a year ago to report against key performance indicators described in section 3.3. For each project there is a survey both for the SME and for their PRACE partner. These surveys replace the more open-ended form which was distributed and reported on in last year’s report (PRACE-5IP D7.1) and were distributed to SMEs and PRACE partners from the 5th and 6th SHAPE calls and fully responded to by them. Due to the binary nature of the questions and restrictions put on responses (e.g. forcing numerical answers where appropriate), this has produced more quantifiable information than in previous years. This is presented in more detail in section 3.3. Reports are also given for the currently active and recently finished projects from the 6th, 7th and 8th calls.<br> As can be seen, SHAPE participants have reported many positive outcomes following taking part in the programme, including: Tangible measurements of the Return on Investment (ROI); Increasing HPC skills and HPC awareness of staff; Increasing sales and new business; lower costs; Continued HPC Access via in-house HPC systems or from other providers; Integration into the HPC ecosystem; Planned future engagement with other national and European industry programmes.