Why Departmental HPC Solutions should meet Enterprise IT Requirements

Why HPC Solutions Integration is So Important

Departmental HPC Solutions are here because the needs of different business units vary. Maybe the marketing department needs to conduct a thorough competitive analysis to understand the current marketing landscape around it. Maybe your data team needs lots of analysis to find patterns in the data, not only gleaning insights from the past but modeling predictions for the future. Maybe someone on your team simply wants to run an accurate simulation about what’s coming next in your industry.

If you have localized systems offering ad hoc solutions, there can be some immediate benefits, sure. But this approach to the problem also means you’re building a fragmented organization. Without a properly integrated HPC solutions paradigm, each department will be a different “silo,” unable to connect and integrate with other systems for a synergistic effect. In short, you’ll split your business up into less-efficient fragments rather than functioning as a cohesive whole. 

The more unified your HPC solutions, the better.

Why? If you don’t align your HPC solutions with enterprise-wide IT standards, you’ll face a few problems:

• Security vulnerabilities. If your HPC systems are isolated from one another, then it’s possible that some won’t have the rigorous security protocols you need to establish at the enterprise level. There may be a weak link in your chain. This can expose all sorts of sensitive data to new risks.
• Compliance issues. Different departments may have to handle different industry regulations. If each department is operating on its own standards, there could be legal ramifications to this. You ensure better chances of meeting compliance requirements with integrated HPC solutions because this approach will connect the entire enterprise.
• Resource inefficiency. If you don’t have a cohesive strategy for your HPC solutions, then your organization may have to duplicate efforts without knowing it. After all, fragmented departments don’t always know what everyone else is already doing. If you duplicate your efforts, you’re wasting both energy on resources running similar projects when you could focus all your energies on a single task.

Clearly, integrating departmental HPC solutions is the answer to all of these challenges. But that still leaves some key questions: how do you approach such an integration, and what do the individual steps look like?

Key Considerations for Your Departmental HPC Solutions Integration

Establish Governance Frameworks

Start with a governance framework. What is a governance framework? It will outline the roles, responsibilities, and processes for integrating your HPC into the overall enterprise structure. It’s essentially a map for how the integration will take place, carefully defining each person’s role in getting it done. Here’s what your framework needs to include:

• Steering committees. This will involve the key stakeholders from everyone who needs a say. Think about people from IT, for example, or from compliance. They need a stake in how the integration takes place so they can raise key points and help guide the process. You should also involve each departmental leader to ensure a diverse set of perspectives.

• Standard operating procedures, or SOPs. Define your clear SOPs for deploying, managing, and maintaining HPC systems so you reach enterprise standards. What do you want the SOPs to look like after you properly integrate each piece of the HPC solutions into your enterprise?

Conduct a Compliance Assessment

Next, you’ll want to check the compliance requirements relevant to your industry. Think about data protection regulations like GDPR or HIPAA. Are there any more industry-specific guidelines you need to include at this stage? Throw them into the mix. You’ll want to map these requirements against your existing HPC practices so you can identify the key gaps.

Thanks to the work you did in the previous step, this compliance assessment will be much easier to run. You’ll know which stakeholders are involved, who’s responsible for compliance at which stages, and which stakeholders to talk to who need input on the standards you need to reach.

Implement Standardized Security Protocols

This is the step that may yield some of the most immediate practical benefits: standardized security protocols. Security, after all, is vital when you’re integrating HPC solutions. To make sure all of your departmental systems are adhering to enterprise-wide security measures isn’t just a good idea, it’s a benefit of integrating Departmental HPC solutions.

First, make sure that the access controls are universal. You can implement role-based access to sensitive data and computing resources. This will make sure that your data is well-protected with a standard security protocol.

Next, implement data encryption. Encryption protocols are key for your data “at rest and in transit,” which protects your data at every stage.

Encourage Collaboration and Communication

The Departmental HPC Solutions integration will only go as well as the team implementing it. So foster a culture of collaboration between IT and departmental teams. There are all sorts of benefits to this, as regular communication can help you identify potential issues early on, share the best practices and innovations that are working, and align all your departmental goals with key enterprise objectives.

Use Cloud Solutions

Cloud-based HPC solutions will support integration as part of their inherent features, helping you ensure your existing IT infrastructures work with the new integration. Look for cloud platforms that feature built-in compliance features and scalability. These will help your enterprise include more flexibility as it aligns with the enterprise standards that comprise your new goals as an organization.

Monitor and Evaluate Performance

After integration, establish metrics you need to evaluate how well your integrated HPC systems are performing. Schedule regular assessments. This will help you make sure that all your changes are helping you meet compliance standards as designed.

Making Integrated Business Unit HPC Solutions Work

Integrating these departmental HPC solutions will help you meet enterprise IT standards and compliance requirements. But it’s not just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a strategic imperative. Given how quickly today’s digital workplace is changing, you’ll need to implement these flexible solutions to stay at the head of the pack. 

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