Professor Tamas Kiss and the Centre for Parallel Computing is developing innovative cloud technology that has huge potential for creating greener operations across business, manufacturing, government and charitable sectors.
When it comes to reaching net zero, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face very distinct challenges. As global brands recruit sustainability professionals to lead their efforts, smaller enterprises often struggle to devote the time or budget needed for this massive undertaking. The first step to lowering carbon emissions is always greater efficiency. And this is where cloud technology comes in.
Professor Tamas Kiss, Dr Gabor Terstyanszky, Dr Antonis Michalas, Dr Gabriele Pierantoni and Huseyin Dagdeviren have tailored cloud technology to SMEs’ unique characteristics. The technology has special potential for building a greener manufacturing industry through enhancement efficiencies that can significantly reduce energy consumption, and its contribution to a circular economy aimed at reducing waste.
A cloud revolution for SMEs
The CloudSME Simulation Platform (CSSP) was tailored to support large-scale industry simulations on cloud resources – something particularly helpful in manufacturing and engineering businesses. Simulation and optimisation reduce costs and carbon emissions by creating more efficient development, production, procurement, logistics and even financial processes.
The CloudiFacturing Platform (CFGP) – a new and enhanced version of CSSP – takes this a step further, creating a dedicated Digital Marketplace for SMEs, particularly manufacturers.
As part of the H2020 European COLA (Cloud Orchestration at the Level of Application) project, led by Professor Kiss, the CSSP has been further extended with a secure cloud orchestration framework called MiCADO. MiCADO boosts efficiency by enabling companies to utilise the optimal amount of resources from across various clouds, and to enjoy significant flexibility when building their bespoke workflow models. For more information go to the MiCADOscale website.
CSSP/CFGP is primarily marketed and provided by cloudSME UG, a for-profit start-up company that also offers related expertise and consultancy to clients. As its CEO confirms, its product and service portfolio are “based and heavily relying on novel and innovative technologies” created and implemented by Kiss and his team.
Through the above research projects and the commercialisation of their results by cloudSME UG, the CSSP and CFGP have empowered 86 SMEs from over 20 European countries to generate an estimated cumulative turnover increase of €100m; the creation of approximately 550 new products or services; 650 new jobs; and 1,100 new business/commercial partners or customers by the end of 2020.
Watch this video on YouTube - a CloudSME consortium member describes how the technology has produced efficiency enhancements and energy savings at Hobson’s Brewery.
Helping the public sector
CloudSME technology has already successfully supported organisations pursuing environmentally friendly objectives.
SARGA, for example, is a public company of the Government of Aragon that acts as manager of all public infrastructures and services related to agriculture and environment, and which contributes to the aim of achieving sustainable development in Aragon, Spain.
SARGA collaborated as a project partner in the COLA project, to provide, the project manager writes, real-world “use-case scenarios of the Aragon Local Government and to explore how the outcomes of the project can be utilised for the long-term benefit of the people of Aragon”.
In doing so, Professor Kiss and his team developed aspects of the MiCADO framework with this sustainability work in mind and “helped to implement and improve some important technical features in the Aragón Government IT infrastructure”, which have demonstrably provided “better” and “highly personalized services to its citizens” – particularly farmers and those working in rural areas – and produced “higher general satisfaction within the people of the region”.
Based on the technical solution invented and developed by Professor Kiss and his team, the operational organization of our IT infrastructure has improved significantly, and we have achieved more efficient processes related to software development and public services delivery.
– The SARGA Project manager H2020 Cola project and Jefe de Servicio de Diseño y Desarrollo de Servicios Públicos
Giving SMEs space to innovate
Professor Kiss and his team at the Centre for Parallel Computing are currently working on further technologies with the potential to make businesses even more sustainable.
The DIGITbrain European project is extending the CloudiFacturing Platform to support the flexible creation and execution of Digital Twin applications. As per the project website, the "digital product brain" stores data over the entire life cycle of a production line or machine, making it possible to adapt, set up, and dynamically monitor machines/production lines as needed for very specific manufacturing tasks. By streamlining the manufacturing process, making predictions about expected machine failures and predicting maintenance needs, these significant efficiency enhancements aid the sustainability of SME operations through reduced energy consumption and waste. Over 40 companies are already using this enhanced version of the platform.
A further project proposal is on the table that would extend the technology to cover the entire lifecycle of manufacturing, including design, environmentally friendly operation, supply chain management and recycling. By supporting all Life-Cycle Management activities of participating companies, this technology can provide a holistic view of their full environmental impact.
Read more about this work at the DIGITbrain project website.
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