This is my first editorial for Bull Direct, and I am especially delighted because I can use it to share some particularly good news with you, with the announcement of a superb accomplishment that Bull has achieved with the French Atomic Energy Authority, the CEA: Tera 100, Europe’s most powerful supercomputer. With its theoretical computing power of over one million billion operations a second (1.25 Petaflops), or more operations every second than the whole population of the world could carry out in 48 hours…! This giant is 20 times more powerful than Tera 10, which went into service at the CEA in 2005, as well as being seven times more energy efficient. This clearly shows the genius of our capacity for innovation, and the relevance of our commitment to the environment.
Another success story that highlights our expertise in this field of Extreme Computing is the contract we have just won with the AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment), who has chosen Bull to supply two huge bullx supercomputers, destined to help guarantee the UK’s security against the backdrop of a total ban on testing nuclear weapons.
Nowadays Extreme Computing is establishing itself as a key strategic asset in the knowledge economy, where the key to competitive advantage is innovation. The UK, France and Germany are at the forefront of the European nations in this race for power; but Europe (with only 26% of the world’s computing power) is still well behind the USA (which has 57%), and China is investing heavily in this area.
Given the vital importance of these kinds of systems for sovereignty and sustainable development, these success stories are a huge source of pride for us, which I was especially keen to share with you. They are also irrefutable proof that Bull has the talents and skills needed to continue on its present path and win over new customers. As a major European player in today’s digital economy, Bull has a solid and coherent portfolio of products and services aimed at both the business world and computer simulation. The successive announcements we have made this Spring – whether they involved our bullx supercomputers or our large-scale enterprise servers, novascale gcos and bullion – are drivers for growth, both for Bull and its customers.
So you can rest assured of our total commitment to support you. On behalf of everyone at Bull, I would like to thank you for the confidence you have shown in us, and for your continued loyalty.
Philippe Vannier
Chairman and CEO, Bull
