Microsoft enters high-performance computing arena

BANGALORE

SEPTEMBER 14, 2006

Microsoft announced its entry into high-performance computing, a market
currently dominated by Linux and Unix based systems.

The Richmond, US-based IT giant is confident that it could build traction in
the market with the Windows Compute Cluster Server (CCS) 2003, which it claims
is simple and easy to deploy. The CCS is designed to run applications in complex
computing environments and aims at taking supercomputing to the mainstream. The
company is betting on its user familiarity and technology partnerships to make a
dent in the market.

Microsoft has already signed up partners like AMD, Dell, Intel, HP and IBM
and ISVs such as Abaqus, Ansys, MSC Software and the ESI group.

"Microsoft is making HPC technology more mainstream by bringing cost
advantages, ease-of-use and partner ecosystem of the Windows Server platform to
departments in commercial industry and public sector," said Kyril Faenov,
General Manager, High Performance Computing, Microsoft Corporation. Faenov added
that Microsoft hoped to bring high performance computing capabilities to a much
broader set of users.

Citing an example of how the price of HPC technology has fallen over the
years, he said that a 10 G Flops Cray machine in 1991 that cost around $40
million would cost less than $4000 in 2005.

Faenov said that the CCS would address pain points such as long set up times,
lack of integration between clusters and application availability. Microsoft is
targeting engineering, oil and gas, academia and public sector as the key
verticals.

Vaibhav Phadnis, Director - Server Business Group, Microsoft Group said that
the company has already identified around a hundred opportunities in India and
would also explore the market potential among SMBs.