Dear reader,
while artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are among the trending technologies that will shape digital transformation in the years to come, the cloud has become todays mainstream technology in data centers and service providers as well as for consumers. Hardly anyone knows where her digital pictures, video files and other documents are actually stored. System administrators no longer install power-hungry servers when it comes to providing a research group with a modern software development platform. What used to take several hours happens today fully automated in a matter of minutes. For colleges and universities in Baden-Württemberg the bwCloud-SCOPE service, which is distributed over four operating locations, is in operation since October 2018 (p. 9).
Such virtualized solutions are only possible with powerful networks and the development of the Internet. Nobody would for example write a document in a web application if the letters appear on screen seconds after typing. SCC's former network department head, Reinhard Strebler, who recently moved into his well-deserved retirement, writes about 30 years development of network technology and the challenge in the search for ever faster transfer rates in and outside KIT (p. 4). We would like to deeply thank Reinhard Strebler for his commitment and dedication over the last 30 years, and wish him all the best for the future.
Like fast networks for cloud services, supercomputers are fundamental for scientific computing. Optimized software modules that can be run on supercomputers as well as smart web applications are both research topics at SCC. In the report about Gingko (p. 24), the sustainable development process to develop high quality and reliable software is described.
Enjoy reading! Martin Frank, Bernhard Neumair, Martin Nußbaumer, Achim Streit
