What It Can Do, How It Does It, and Whether We Can Afford It? Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about AI. Not just the “wow” moments when it does something uncanny, but the deeper questions: how it works, why it works the way it does, and what it’s going to cost … Read more
The Red Oak Approach The Feedback That Sparked a Reflection During a feedback session at project close, a recent customer remarked to me that Red Oak consultants were ‘humans who can talk technical’ and he contrasted this with other HPC suppliers who were ‘techies talking to humans’. I took this piece of feedback as a … Read more
The Transformative Impact of High-Performance Computing (HPC) in Academia High-Performance Computing (HPC) has become a pivotal force reshaping scientific research and academic discovery. From advancing climate modelling to accelerating drug development, HPC is no longer just a technical resource; it is a strategic enabler for innovation and global collaboration. Why HPC Matters More Than Ever … Read more
Schooling and Spitfires My career started with an electrical engineering apprenticeship. Although I did not realise it at the time, this gave me invaluable skills and knowledge that I would use my entire career. The company that I served my apprenticeship with was an aluminium company in Banbury by the name of Alcan. It is … Read more
Roco’s Guide to the Unexpected Power of Supercomputing Hello Again, Humans! Guess what? I’ve just had my circuits well and truly blown. Again. I mean, I always thought HPC (that’s High-Performance Computing, for those of you still confusing it with “Hot Potato Club”) was just for the big, brainy science stuff – nuclear fusion, weather … Read more
Buying High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure is not like picking out a new laptop. It is a strategic decision, one that can shape an organisation’s ability to innovate, compete, and grow. But with that strategic weight comes complexity, and with complexity often comes hesitation. Long, drawn-out decision cycles are common. That is where a great supplier, with … Read more
After a successful proof-of-concept (PoC) phase, the natural next key milestone is a pilot deployment. But have you ever wondered why many pilot projects stall before becoming operational? In this post, we’ll walk through the essential stages, questions, and best practices for running a production-grade Cloud HPC Pilot following a successful PoC. A pilot bridges … Read more
Why These Teams Must Stop Working in Silos When I speak to people in sustainability roles, I often hear about the battles they face with finance teams. The conversations rarely go well, and in many companies, the inability to get finance on board becomes a major roadblock to securing top-level buy-in. I lead something of … Read more
Introduction Last year, I was faced with a user issue that initially confused me. A user running open-source CFD software told me they had installed the same software on their laptop, and it was running much faster on their 8-core workstation compared to a 120-core HPC-optimised machine on a cloud HPC cluster. Could we have … Read more
Innovation, Efficiency, and a Few Thousand Steps In our pre-ISC blog, we looked ahead with excitement at what ISC 2025 might bring. Now, with the event behind us (and our feet finally recovering), it’s time to reflect on what turned out to be a packed, insightful, and energising few days in Hamburg. Vendor Showdown … Read more
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