Wirth Research set to race into the future with Bull High Performance Computing

Hemel Hempstead, UK 20 January, 2012: Innovative engineering consultancy group, Wirth Research has signed a partnership agreement with IT solutions provider, Bull Information Systems, which will help streamline its engineering design and development capabilities.

Under the terms of this long term contract, Bull will deliver high performance computing (HPC) solutions; Panasas ActiveStor™ storage and services to Wirth Research. Bull will also provide consultancy, enabling Wirth to optimise its use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) within the Bull HPC environment and streamline the design process.

Wirth pioneers the use of advanced virtual engineering technologies, developed in-house, and, as part of a partnership with Honda Performance Development Inc (HPD), uses CFD for the design, development and manufacture of its multi championship winning ARX sports cars.

Nick Wirth, founder of Wirth Research, says, “in choosing Bull, we are moving away from the simple procurement of computing equipment, to instead work in partnership with Europe’s leading HPC provider. In so doing, we are focused on supporting what is important to us: success both on and off the race track.”

“By partnering with Bull, Wirth will ensure that they receive a complete end-to-end solution including consultancy and HPC expertise and a provider focused on the outcome of the project rather than the equipment in isolation,” says Andrew Carr, sales and marketing director, Bull Information Systems. “We will focus on what matters to Wirth which is delivering superior CFD technology, in turn adding to its tally of 33 race wins.”

The first tranche of Bull solutions are expected to be delivered to the Wirth Research headquarters before Christmas. The Bull IT team will then work with Wirth’s CFD team to understand the potential value and application performance impact of Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors, alongside Wirth’s Panasas ActiveStor parallel storage, with a view to upgrading processors early in 2012.

Carr adds, “Bull recognises the importance of HPC to the high end engineering design sector in the UK. HPC gives engineering companies like Wirth Research the opportunity to drive innovation, understand more complex issues and make product development faster and more efficient.

“Ultimately, this kind of project has the potential to translate to renewed economic recovery by showing a positive impact on GDP,” he continues.

“Wirth symbolises the typical Panasas customer – an industry leader that drives innovation by maximising both performance and productivity,” says Anthony Yeates, vice president of sales, Panasas. “Furthermore, Panasas has made a significant investment in providing equipment to Bull with the goal of helping the industry understand the impact of leading edge technology on CFD performance. I am certain that this partnership will deliver benefits not only to Wirth, but industry-wide.”

In addition to its work on race car design, Wirth is also now starting to focus on evaluating the impact of aerodynamics on both the architectural world and the haulage industry, an initiative which has the potential to deliver extensive business and environmental benefits in the future.
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About Wirth Research
Wirth Research is a group of innovative engineering companies specialising in research, development, design and manufacture for the motor racing industry and other high technology sectors. The companies pioneer the use of advanced virtual engineering technologies, developed in-house, which enable the use of a complete simulated vehicle design, development and testing process that reduces the need for costly and wasteful development models and prototype manufacture. For more information visit: http://www.wirthresearch.com

About Bull, Architect of an Open World
Bull is an Information Technology company, dedicated to helping Corporations and Public Sector organisations optimise the architecture, operations and the financial return of their Information Systems and their mission-critical related businesses. Bull focuses on open and secure systems, and as such is the only European-based company offering expertise in all the key elements of the IT value chain. For more information visit: http://www.bull.co.uk

About Panasas
Panasas, Inc., the leader in high-performance parallel storage for technical computing applications and big data workloads, enables customers to rapidly solve complex computing problems, speed innovation and accelerate new product introduction. All Panasas storage products leverage the patented PanFS™ storage operating system to deliver superior performance, data protection, scalability and manageability. Panasas systems are optimised for demanding storage environments in the bioscience, energy, finance, government, manufacturing, and university markets. For more information, visit www.panasas.com.

For further information please contact:
Hayley Goff / Chris Harris
The Whiteoaks Consultancy
Phone: +44 (0) 1252 727313
Email: [email protected]

Panasas Media Contact:
Zoe Mitchell
Account Manager, Napier Partnership Ltd.
[email protected]
Phone: +44 (0) 1243 531123

Wirth Research Media Contact:
Simon Crompton
Managing Director, Wirth Research
[email protected]