Hewlett Packard (HP) has a workforce of 7,700 employees in Spain, with 40% of staff dedicated to international projects. The president of the multinational corporation for Spain and Portugal, José Antonio de Paz, spoke about HP's most emblematic project in Murcia: the supercomputer Ben Arabí. This innovative technology, which is now operating and located in the Murcia Scientific Park, will “create a new generation of talent" as well as attract firms to innovation.

1.- Supercomputer Centers are appearing in numerous cites. What advantages does the Murcia center offer?

Many, without a doubt. We at HP believe that innovation and research must be linked with the area, in other words, a researcher from the University of Murcia should not have to leave the Region to carry out their work. Our idea was to create a network of supercomputer centers, each linked to their respective Regions, in collaboration with universities, research and administration departments as well as local firms. Murcia is a very important supercomputing node within the network (Spain currently has 27 centers); the center will carry out local projects with the added advantage of being interconnected with the rest of the national and international nodes. Furthermore, the labs (HP laboratories), will take on a series of research and innovation projects for HP, which with a bit of luck, might win an award for Murcia.

2.- What are the benefits of this extensive supercomputer network?

The dynamic structure created by the network is very interesting and beneficial for modern day research. Distributed supercomputing allows communities to collaborate in a flexible way on research projects, for example, if information is lacking in Murcia, it can be supplied by Galicia or Leon.The center will be inaugurated soon with tests already being carried out, meaning, the amount of research and projects are about to increase as well as the number of services for firms located in the Scientific Park.

3.- Is a commitment to information technology what distinguishes a firm in today’s world?

If we analyze the main problem of competitiveness in the Spanish business weave, in the end it comes down to having the best product and service at the best price, results that can only be achieved through innovation. The fact is that innovation is not based on machines, but on people, and I believe that the fundamental idea behind this ecosystem being created in Murcia is talent.

4.- How is talent discovered?

The supercomputer center’s main objective, together with the universities, research centers and firms, is to generate talent. To instill new elements of innovation, local and remote, as well as collaborative, in young entrepreneurs and to let their talent develop for basic research, in not only the corporate world but also different environments. This talent, this knowledge of calculation, science and supercomputing matrixes, can then be used by local graduates of technical degrees for the innovation of the Regions industrial weave. Patience will be vital; we are going to create a generation of talent rooted in Murcia, working on national and international products that can then revert back to local firms.

5.- Is it more expensive to maintain that commitment to innovation than to innovate? What is going wrong then?

Information technology is a means to achieve objectives, to compete, to research, etc., and when you have a means it must be the most efficient possible. Firms should spend less money on maintenance and more on innovation projects. Efficiency in expenses must also be found since 60 or 70% of the budget in these technologies is purely for operating costs.

6.- HP is a model firm since in times of crisis it continues gaining marking shares. How are you achieving this?

We are not going to give our rivals any ideas, but there is something genetic in our company that we never forget. HP is a firm created step by step, we create and we consolidate. We were founded at the height of the 1929 crisis and not only do we have no debt on a corporate level, we have 11 billion dollars in the bank. We destine a lot of funds to R+D, but our maxim is to ensure competing is in our genes and that everything we do is based on market standards. Our competition is in every sector and when we open up for business, no one knows what will happen. Our assets are the people, values and culture and our people know what it is to compete.

7.- What does the future hold for Murcia?

We are faced with an enormous opportunity. Murcia has very good universities, an important population size, with a critical mass and a good geographic position. We have raw materials that need to be polished and talent that needs to be channeled. Citizens need to be motivated to encourage their children to study engineering or subjects related to information technology. Those students will have the supercomputer at their disposal to practice competitive and innovative techniques. HP will ensure that it is not just a machine, but a research project, allowing entrepreneurs to access networks with the help of the HP labs, and attract firms to Murcia and its new generation of talent.

 

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