Authors:
Markus Eurich
and
Roman Boutellier
Affiliation:
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Keyword(s):
Business Model, Cloud Computing, High Performance Computing, Higher Education, Public Sector.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Applications
;
B2C/B2B Considerations
;
Business and Social Applications
;
Business Models
;
Cloud Technology
;
e-Business
;
Education/Learning
;
Enterprise Engineering
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Software Agents and Internet Computing
;
Technology Platforms
Abstract:
In 2013, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and the University of Zurich jointly set up a Cloud stack in order to experiment with high performance computing (HPC) service provision in higher education institutions and its corresponding business model alternatives. This project demonstrated that Cloud-based service provisioning is possible for HPC and can be applied to big data problems as well. On this basis and against the background of new public management reforms, this study aims to foster the understanding of the business model aspects: value proposition and revenue mechanisms. Therefore, 14 interviews were conducted on the potential use of Cloud HPC services and revenue mechanisms. The results show that HPC service providers appreciate Cloud computing providing shorter time to service and more customized services; and eventually becoming more transparent and efficient, i.e. complying with new public management concepts. However, the service consu
mers do not see a real need to consume Cloud-based services as there is hardly any "Cloud-only" application at the moment. Finally, the three revenue mechanisms ‘pay per use’, subscription, and ‘pay for a share’ are discussed.
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