Institutional Research Computing Capabilities in Australia: 2024

Institutional research computing infrastructure plays a vital role in Australia’s research ecosystem, complementing and extending national-level facilities. This paper presents an analysis of research computing capabilities across Australian universities and research organisations, examining how institutional infrastructure supports research excellence through localised compute resources, specialised hardware, and cluster solutions. Our study reveals that institutional computing resources of nearly 112,258 CPU cores and 2,241 GPUs serve as essential bridges between desktop computing and national facilities for over 6,000 researchers, enabling research workflows that span from development to large-scale computations. We estimate the total replacement value of this infrastructure to be approximately $144M AUD. Based on detailed infrastructure data provided by research computing facilities across multiple institutions, we identify key patterns in infrastructure deployment, utilisation metrics, and strategic alignment with research priorities. Our findings demonstrate that institutional computing resources not only provide critical support for data-intensive research but also facilitate training and higher-degree research student projects, enable prototyping and development, and ensure data sovereignty compliance when necessary. The analysis shows how these facilities leverage national infrastructure investments while addressing institution-specific needs that cannot be met by national facilities alone. We present evidence that strategic investment in institutional research computing capabilities yields significant returns through increased research productivity, enhanced graduate training, and improved research outcomes. This study provides valuable insights for research organisations planning their computing infrastructure strategies and highlights the importance of maintaining robust institutional computing capabilities alongside national facilities.