VARs sought for £105m weather-forecasting supercomputer

Met Office looks to oust IBM tech in favour of new high-performance computing kit

The Met Office is looking for a handful of resellers to supply it with the next generation of weather-forecasting tech as it looks to ditch its current IBM systems.

As part of the Exeter-based government authority's Supercomputer Enhancement project, the Met Office is seeking about six resellers to overhaul its tech as part of the six-and-a-half-year deal, which could be extended by a further two years.

The contract will rack up £75m in capital investment with an additional £30m in operational costs over the course of its life.

The Met Office hopes the tranche of new suppliers will provide a supercomputer and associated services which will eventually improve the way it forecasts weather through higher-resolution technology, improved planning processes and greater collaboration between departments.

The new kit will replace its IBM Power 7 system which is currently housed in its Devon headquarters.

The Met Office said it hopes the final supercomputer will be up and running by 2016 after the migration process is broken up into three stages.

Initially, the Met Office will work with suppliers to start to move away from the current IBM tech. The second phase, which will go ahead at the start of 2016, will see it fully decommission the IBM system. The final phase will involve suppliers establishing a new off-site IT hall which will be in place by the end of 2016.

"It is anticipated that the procured high-performance computer system, together with any appropriately and separately funded technology refreshes and upgrades, will meet [our] needs at least up to or beyond 2020, with a five-year support and maintenance contract commencing at the acceptance of each phase," the Met Office said in a recently published contract notice.