Sweden’s Örebro University selects Proact solution for AI computing initiative
Örebro University in Sweden has ordered a high-performance computing system for AI applications from Proact. This investment provides new capabilities to some 60 scientists directly involved in AI research, while also supporting the university’s initiatives for knowledge-sharing to businesses and public entities.
This investment provides Örebro University with a central high-performance computing resource to support its Artificial Intelligence research, a field where the university has been active for than two decades. At the heart of the new system is a supercomputing server powered by tens of thousands of GPU (graphics processing unit) cores. The new system also includes an upgrade of an existing storage solution, which will be expanded with all-Flash arrays, adding capacity and increasing performance. The solution will be deployed in early 2020.
”Our new AI system from Proact is a state-of-the-art solution for serving the university’s needs which is also cost-effective. The intention is that it will be used not only by our scientists who develop AI algorithms and models, but that it also becomes a resource for other fields of research which can benefit from using AI and machine learning,” says Daniel Skipper, IT Manager at Örebro University.
The new system will immediately benefit ongoing projects in several research areas, including image analysis, robotics and crypto analysis, improving their access to massive computing power. By transferring data management and access control to the IT department, it also brings security benefits. For instance, centralised management is a key factor in the university’s ability to comply with security and integrity requirements for research in healthcare and social sciences.
”It’s very rewarding for us to assist Örebro University on their mission to build further on their expertise and grow as an AI research node. Our solution offers the latest in AI infrastructure, while also being cloud-ready and lets the University leverage the storage platform already provided by Proact,” says Lena Eskilsson, Managing Director at Proact IT Sweden AB.
”One of the reasons why Proact’s solution is a really good fit for us is that it scales easily. It also fits into the hybrid cloud environment that we envision, where it is easy to migrate data and compute workloads between the University data centre and various cloud services. Although the new AI system adds a lot of computing power, we may encounter tasks that require even greater capacity, which is available from the cloud,” says Daniel Skipper.
Örebro University has engaged in Artificial Intelligence research since the 1990s. At the Institution for Natural Sciences and Technology, about 60 scientists are working at the internationally-recognised research centre for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems (AASS). In addition, Örebro University has initiated knowledge transfer and collaboration with businesses and public organisations within its region – for the purpose of sharing AI expertise and to make AI models more accessible as tools for business and government.
For further information, please contact:
Daniel Skipper, IT-chef, Örebro universitet, tel. +46 19 301 008, daniel.skipper@oru.se
Lena Eskilsson, Managing Director, Proact IT Sweden AB, tel. +46 733 56 67 01, lena.eskilsson@proact.se Danny Duggal, VP Commercial & Communications, Proact IT Group AB, tel. +46 733 566 843, danny.duggal@proact.eu
About Proact
Proact is Europe’s leading independent data centre and cloud services provider. By delivering flexible, accessible and secure IT solutions and services, we help companies and authorities reduce risk and costs, whilst increasing agility, productivity and efficiency. We’ve completed over 5,000 successful projects around the world, have more than 3,500 customers and currently manage in excess of 100 petabytes of information in the cloud. We employ over 1,000 people in 14 countries across Europe and North America. Founded in 1994, our parent company, Proact IT Group AB (publ), listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in 1999 (under the symbol PACT).
For further information about Proact’s activities please visit us at www.proact.eu
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