Amazon Web Services is acquiring NICE Software, a company that specialises in High Performance Computing software and services.
The Italian company offers services that include application grid-enablement, data exchange, remote visualisation, grid intelligence and a grid portal for HPC job submission, control and monitoring.
The company calls its flagship product the EnginFrame grid portal, which is designed to give HPC clusters, data, licenses, bath applications and interactive applications browser-access.
EnginFrame is an open framework that is built on Java XML and Web Services, it is essentially designed to make it easier for users to create application and data-oriented portals.
Jeff Barr, chief evangelist, AWS wrote in a blog post that the company’s products would help its customers to be able to optimise and centralise their HPC computing and visualisation workloads.
NICE will remain in Italy and maintain its development team but will be able to draw upon engineering expertise from AWS.
Beppe Ugolotti, said: "Everybody is already dreaming about all the new technologies we will be able to develop working together with our future colleagues at AWS."
AWS currently already offers HPC clusters as a service, CfnCluster, but its acquisition of NICE, once the company has integrated with its new owner, will see the AWS offering further strengthened with the ability to aim clusters at delivering for certain workloads.
The other main product that NICE offers is Desktop Cloud Visualisation software, a 3D visualisation technology that lets users connect to Direct/X and OpenGL application that are hosted in a adata centre.
One of the perks of the deal will be the new customers that AWS has access to. NICE’s customers includes the likes of Airbus, Audi, CERN, Bridgestone, Chevron, Ferrari, Red Bull and Siemens to name a few.
No price details have been revealed and the deal is expected to close at the end of March.
