SYSTEX: Changing the Game for HPC

It wasn’t too long ago when high-performance computing (HPC) was largely considered to be a tool just for scientists and engineers to solve compute-intensive problems. With the advent of big data and cloud computing, however, HPC has begun making inroads into the enterprise world. When combined, HPC and cloud offer several unmatched benefits to customers. While HPC, with its ability to manage huge volumes of data, helps solve complex data problems efficiently and quickly, cloud can scale on-demand and enable users to pay per use. In other words, with HPC in the cloud, organizations will only have to pay for the capacity they use, and there is no risk of on-premises infrastructure becoming obsolete or being poorly utilized.

Despite these advantages, HPC has yet to see widespread use because of the significant upfront investment and indirect operational expenditure associated with running and maintaining HPC infrastructure. In addition, integrating the HPC cluster with legacy infrastructure and managing it while ensuring better system performance and user experience through seamless data transfer is challenging. On-premise HPC clusters—traditionally designed in a monolithic way—are capable of meeting the typical workflows but struggle to handle unexpected peak demands. At the same time, procuring and installing a new HPC cluster can take at least six months, which means the IT department will have a system that might already be outdated by the time it is installed.



The need to analyze the growing data, support complex simulations, and overcome performance bottlenecks demands reliable software. To that end, Taiwan-based SYSTEX, a value-added IT services company, has developed a new HPC management solution that eliminates wait times and long job queues, helping businesses run tasks in the shortest possible time and achieve optimum results faster. SYSTEX’s technology combines HPC with cloud computing to deliver the fastest speed, lowest latency, smart accelerations, and the highest efficiency and resiliency for clients. Jay Hsueh, Head of AI and Cloud Center, SYSTEX, says, “What makes our solution unique is its converged architecture, which enables the optimization of computing resources for various roles. SYSTEX HPC Solution provides the computing services through its GAIA service portal.”

Breaking New Ground

Established in 1997, SYSTEX was initially renowned for its leading position in the Taiwan financial industry with a 90 percent market share in the financial information system, trading, operation, and management services. The firm slowly began integrating IT services to its ecosystem by merging with and investing in other IT companies. Today, SYSTEX is ranked as one of the leading information technology service providers in Taiwan.

Over the last 23 years, the firm has assisted over 30,000 enterprise and government clients in accelerating their digital transformation with the help of its abundant solutions, including HPC solution. “We empower our clients to adopt innovative technologies, such as AI, HPC, and cloud to enhance their business operations and growth,” informs Terry Tai, Assistant Vice President, AI and Cloud Center, SYSTEX. The firm is currently recognized as one of the professional HPC service providers in Asia with sufficient resources to serve the customers in the APAC region.

Leading By Design

Through its HPC solution, SYSTEX brings to the table the GAIA service portal, which acts as a central management console built to reduce the workload of an IT administrator. The platform is not only designed to benefit administrators but also other teams. The converged architecture allows users to maximize capital investment as well as system performance without isolating computational resources from the data center. The portal enables individuals to create and administer a variety of HPC-related tasks, such as setting up users and groups or managing resources to interpret the performance of the system. It hides the complexity of HPC, allowing people who are not HPC experts to access all of the management and operation features to provide a consistent experience. Moreover, the converged HPC and cloud infrastructure optimizes CAPEX investment in computation resources consolidation for different roles and tasks. With the SYSTEX HPC Solution, there is no queuing up to run a task or waiting for the installation of additional hardware and software. Based on a workload’s parameters, the system chooses the best available resources to run the individual task in the least amount of time and at the lowest possible cost.

Talking about SYSTEX’s venture into the HPC space, Hsueh says, “One of the biggest drivers is data and AI.” Today’s enterprises are already struggling with a tsunami of data, and this is only bound to increase in the coming days. In fact, Gartner forecasts that the enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) market will grow to 5.8 billion endpoints in 2020—a 21 percent increase from 2019. To that end, HPC will provide the architecture and technology that businesses need to meet the massive data analysis tasks. “Our HPC solution will not only deliver the speed and efficiency required but also the cloud computing architecture necessary to accelerate research processes and offer a simple computing environment that is easy to learn and replicate,” adds Tai.

SYSTEX recently presented its converged architecture model at a well-known university listed the top 100 worldwide higher education by Times. The university is currently conducting biotechnology research related to COVID-19, and they have built multiple data centers that can receive, process, manage, store, and transmit research data. But the client wanted a common storage pool to collect data from the different data centers and a computation resource for their HPC computing service. SYSTEX is designing an innovative solution for the university - a central storage system that not only allows researchers and students to capture, store, and shares data but also use AI computation to quickly and effectively research and study an antiviral antidote for diseases like the novel coronavirus.

Delivering True Value

SYSTEX adopts a clearly-defined strategy when it comes to engaging with clients. The firm maintains a solid connection with all of its partners and leverages the expertise of both parties to ace amid market competition. SYSTEX continues to lead the integration of the data economy, playing the role of an ‘orchestrator’ using the power of software and data to assist clients in enhancing their marketing performance and accelerating their digital transformation. And a large part of this success can be accredited to SYSTEX’s employees. “We encourage a culture of courage; we inspire our employees to take responsibility, risks, and face setbacks,” mentions Hsueh. “As long as we are willing to share and cooperate, connect people, and integrate resources, we can create value.”

Paving the Way Forward

That said, SYSTEX’s expertise and services do not stop there. The firm also offers data processing, value-added networking, system integration, and professional consulting services. SYSTEX recently launched a new brand, Garaotus, to broaden the focus of its AI, HPC, and cloud applications. By providing a converged HPC and cloud computing platform, Garaotus enables clients to benefit from edge computing and AI-enabled IoT (AIoT). The converged HPC and cloud architecture will deliver the benefits of flexibility, high performance, and easy management to customers. It will help optimize and save CapEx for users while offering high ROI. “We aim to become a world-leading AI cloud integration solution provider that delivers extraordinary experiences for our clients, and Garaotus is our first step toward achieving it,” adds Tai. Over the last few months, the Garaotus brand has acquired approximately 20 HPC projects across different fields, including higher education, biotech research, and government agencies.

"SYSTEX continues to lead the integration of the data economy, playing the role of an ‘orchestrator’ using the power of software and data to assist clients in enhancing their marketing performance and accelerating their digital transformation"

For the road ahead, SYSTEX is planning on expanding its geographical footprint and delivering its services worldwide. To that end, the firm is working in collaboration with Intel in the U.S. Alongside, SYSTEX aims to redefine information services. “With our positioning of ‘ecosystem integration,’ we will cultivate and make connections with businesses that are well-versed in exponential technology to help customers speed up digital transformation and create a second wave of growth and become an ‘exponential company,’” informs Hsueh. SYSTEX will continue to strengthen its software and data capabilities and set up data integration platforms to help businesses understand consumer behavior patterns through online and offline data integration in a cloud-based environment. This will allow companies to provide precise marketing and services and bolster their marketing strength. In parallel, the company is also looking forward to growing its Garaotus brand. “We created Garaotus to help our customers shape their business from the digital transformation wave, and we will continue to support them in achieving this goal with great results,” wraps up Hsueh.