Expanding its computing on-demand initiative up to the supercomputer level, IBM today announced a new option that allows corporate users to buy Unix- or Linux-based cluster solutions or simply access such resources on an as-needed basis.
The new E-Business On Demand supercomputing service is intended to act as a virtualized resource, helping users turn their fixed costs into variable costs by appropriately matching a supercomputer's power and capacity to an individual company's computing demands.

In a related announcement, IBM said the first company to choose the on-demand service is PGS Data Processing, a division of Norway-based Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, for a three-month-long seismic imaging project based in the Gulf of Mexico. Company officials said they chose the IBM service because seismic imaging services typically demand low-cost, but numerically intensive, applications.

PGS, one of the world's largest petroleum services companies, said it hopes to save $1.5 million a year in deploying the new service.

"PGS has been looking for a more flexible business model, which addresses peak computing requirements, can assure rapid response to our customers, but minimizes our long-term, incremental cost commitments," said Chris Usher, president of PGS Data Processing.

With the new on-demand service, PGS officials believe they can more effectively scale their computing needs to handle requests for the company's more urgent deep-water imaging solutions. They also said it should help stimulate time-to-market for various emerging technologies that need short but intensive periods of computing.

"Customers in some sectors want access to large-scale computing power in short bursts," said Dave Turek, vice president of Linux clusters and grid solutions at IBM. "We think this supercomputing offering can change how business is done," he said.

Certain industries, such as petroleum, digital media and life sciences, need the raw power of a supercomputer only at selected times. When they don't, their systems sit dormant. The new service is intended to help users resolve sometimes massive computational problems using the latest hardware and software.

IBM officials said they plan to create large Intel and IBM Power-processor-based supercomputer grids designed to support the e-business on-demand product offerings for customers. The first IBM supercomputing hosting facility will be based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with other national and international facilities scheduled to follow. All of the facilities will be linked.

The grid will be made up of hundreds of IBM's eServer p655 Unix-based servers that can hold up to 128 Power 4 chips in one server, along with a large Linux cluster built around the company's eServer x335 and x345 systems using Intel Corp.'s Xeon processors, IBM officials said.