Intellect: Grid Computing Now! competition
Intellect: A Hotwire case study – bringing a misunderstood technology to lifeStudents and young professionals across the UK have worked hard in 2006 to win the Grid Computing Now! competition.
The nationwide competition, run in association with the British Computer Society, was only one grassroots element of a broader campaign by Hotwire. The goal was to promote UK leadership in the adoption and exploitation of grid computing - a much misunderstood technology resource – on behalf of Grid Computing Now!, the UK’s task force funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The campaign aimed to achieve not only the immediate adoption of grid computing but also to excite tomorrow’s IT leaders about the huge potential it offers.“Hotwire shaped a slick strategy for Grid Computing Now! that has allowed our UK government funded project to be taken even more seriously by businesses considering the adoption of new grid technologies. We are now well on our way for Grid Computing to becoming an accepted practice in business and the public sector. Hotwire's flexibility, attentiveness to client needs and influence in the media are simply impressive.” Tara Kelly, ICT Programme Manager
Grid computing allows the construction of virtual supercomputers by linking under-used computing resources. The vast computing power attainable through grid computing is so great that scientists can only dream of the huge calculations they could make using it. In fact, it remains a dream for so many scientists and commercial organisations because although the resource exists, there are many misunderstandings surrounding it that prevent adoption. In the summer of 2005 Grid Computing Now! set out to champion UK commercial leadership in grid computing and called in Hotwire to run a campaign to explain the vast benefits it offers and to clear up misconceptions. Hotwire’s campaign had four objectives:
- Grid Computing Now! needed to be established as a trusted source of information on grid computing
* - Awareness of the links between scientific research and grid technology advances needed to be raised among key audiences, especially the media
* - The IT user community needed to be made more aware of the real potential offered by grid computing
* - The UK ICT industry, users and government, needed to be prepared for grid computing
One of Hotwire’s first challenges was to overcome media apathy towards grid computing, which was regarded as an over-hyped technology. There was also widespread confusion over the benefits and even the actual definition of grid computing. In such an environment, it was little wonder that the whole area had taken on negative connotations, with key audiences concerned about the potential for security threats and related licensing costs. It was key to turn scepticism into understanding, serious consideration and adoption.The campaign was launched in August 2005 and the first priority was to educate the media. This generated coverage in key target media such as The Times Online, Personal Computer World and IT Week.
This built up to a series of high-impact events to demonstrate the sheer power of grid computing and its real-life application. One of the highlights included a series of site visits to demonstrate how grid computing is helping science and industry solve some of the biggest challenges in the field in March 2006. For example, one visit included Oxford University Computing Laboratory where software engineers and e-scientists are using the grid computing system for a number of initiatives, including the creation of in-silicon models of heart failure and cancer to help develop revolutionary treatments in the future. This resulted in national coverage. The latest phase in Hotwire’s campaign included negotiating a partnership between the DTI-funded Knowledge Transfer Network, Grid Computing Now! and the British Computer Society. The three partners launched a nationwide competition for young professionals and students offering the winner a six-week paid project Internship hosted by Intellect in 2007 among other glittering prizes, and awards for runners-up.
With the backing of the National e-Science Centre, Intel, Microsoft and academia the competition will have a long lasting influence on the grid users of tomorrow who will have seen and understood first-hand the power of this technology.
