We get a lot of questions about the benefits of renting and purchasing Ansys HPC solutions. In general, rent is the entry model used to understand how often it is used and determine:
- When it makes sense to purchase
- How much to purchase
Let’s start with an analogy: You drive to work every day. Occasionally, you need to transport large items between two office locations. To meet your needs cost-effectively, it would be best to buy a commuter car and rent a transport vehicle when needed.
This same logic applies to Ansys HPC solutions.
Here’s an example that demonstrates why most companies we talk with end up both renting and buying:
The graph below represents annual computational needs divided by weeks. There are spikes when 256 cores are needed, but most of the time, it’s less than 100.
Based on the information above and the cost of renting space in the Cloud today, we would recommend owning 80% of the capacity and renting the 20% bursts (as Cloud options become more affordable, we will most likely recommend owning less and renting more):
Consider the Break-Even Point
By sorting the computational needs, we can easily see the best option for renting and buying the hardware and software:
A Look at the Numbers
If you use 256 cores for 8 to 10 hours per week (highlighted in red in the chart below), renting would cost between $1,000 - $2,000. Owning that capacity would cost approximately $100,000.
For the 32-96 cores used most often, renting would cost approximately $25,000 per year, and owning would cost just $20,000.
As an Ansys Elite Channel Partner, we can help you with both renting and owning Ansys HPC solutions. Contact us today to start a conversation about your specific situation.
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