Share

Giving super computer power to ordinary entrepreneurs

Cape Town - Big data, analytics and sophisticated computer modelling may be the way of the future.

Their costs, however, make them business tools that can be expected to remain the exclusive preserve of major corporations that have the budgets to run super computers with massive processing systems needed for crunching the numbers.

In South Africa, this expectation is being turned on its head as innovative owners of established small and medium-sized businesses manoeuvre their entrepreneurial skills to exploiting sophisticated niche markets, according to Ethel Nyembe, head of small enterprise at Standard Bank.

“It is smaller enterprises that have the agility, niche expertise and truly innovative spirit that are helping make a difference in the South African economy,” she said.

Taking an example from The Growth Engines, a DSTV programme that Standard Bank sponsors, she said the relationships between major businesses and smaller suppliers are important.

“How the two entities collaborate to their mutual benefit and use innovative approaches to solve issues – an example is the availability and cost of super computer processing capacity - makes fascinating viewing [on the TV series]," she said. "It also serves as a source of inspiration to others who may be thinking about building a business around a very specific business demand.”

A case study from The Growth Engines

A case in point is the innovative approach by a Johannesburg company, CrunchYard, that used its founders’ highly-specialised knowledge to create an avenue that opens the world of super computers to just about anyone who needs processing power.

The brainchild of CrunchYard’s electrical engineer, Dr Renier Dreyer, the SME has adopted a unique approach to democratising access to the world of supercomputing. Nothing could be more democratic than the internet, and it is this platform that CrunchYard has used to provide a service that allows sophisticated simulations to be run off the internet on a “pay-for-use” basis.  

The service allows big businesses to test the viability and structural integrity of their projects - tasks which require enormous amounts of computing power.

The users are primarily engineers and scientists working in fields as diverse as antenna design, exploration geophysics, fluid dynamics and even swimwear design. The common denominator of these big businesses, until now, had always been a lack of in-house computational power to run simulations.

The system at CrunchYard is made up of 320 computer cores that have been joined to cope with large amounts of data. The task of testing is vastly simplified and considerably cheaper - so much so that demand for the service is growing and CrunchYard is already gearing up to add more core processing power to their facilities.

“The idea for this unique super computer service was born when the founders realised that only major corporations with deep pockets could afford the processing computers needed for most complex simulations,” said Nyembe. “The question was asked why a service catering for the needs of this niche market could not be offered over the internet?”

Benefit goes beyond SA's borders.

The ultimate benefit stretched far beyond South Africa’s borders, said Dreyer, adding that super computer power was now available to anyone who wants to use it.

“Looking at Africa, the tendency would be to rely on a first-world power doing research into an African problem,” he said. “This allows Africans to solve Africa’s problems. It allows the people at the places where challenges arise to begin looking at them and developing home-grown solutions.”

“This innovation illustrates just how outsourcing from a large company to a specialised smaller company can produce huge benefits.

“The company that uses the facility does not need to have the computing power or support staff required for a dedicated facility, whilst the company providing the service doesn’t require special skills to interface with the client. They just need to be experts in their own systems.

* The Growth Engines can be viewed on Business Day TV (DSTV channel 412) on Tuesdays at 21:30, with repeats on Wednesdays at 10:00 and Thursdays at 14:00. For more information and to view in-depth articles on the key themes explored on the programme, log on at bizconnect.standardbank.co.za

Watch the first two episodes:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.9%
Rand - Pound
24.10
-0.9%
Rand - Euro
20.59
-0.7%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.42
-0.9%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.8%
Platinum
915.75
-0.8%
Palladium
1,028.36
-3.5%
Gold
2,159.96
+0.2%
Silver
25.03
-0.6%
Brent Crude
85.34
-0.1%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,431
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders