Prying an Integrated HPC Cluster from Vendors’ Hands: ‘We Had to Force Them to Get into the Same Room’

Sometimes, vendors just won’t take customers’ money for a cluster no matter how hard the customer pleads. Last month, HPC technology strategist Ryan Quick, co-founder and principal at Providentia Worldwide consulting firm, told us that while vendors have technologies capable of delivering solutions across the stack, too often they have disconnects between business units that makes buying an integrated solution difficult, if not impossible. In this interview, Quick expands on those comments with problem scenarios and advice on handling vendors.