Business models for Cloud-based high performance computing service provision: Insights from the Swiss higher education sector

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 consumers 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.