The best-selling product of Techila Technologies is a virtual supercomputer that harnesses the idle computing power of computers. Grid technology can drastically reduce the time needed to solve computational problems.
”Universities and companies have thousands of computers, but they are only using about five percent of the available capacity. Grid technology enables them to take the remaining 95 percent into use,” says Rainer Wehkamp, CEO of Techila Technologies.
Every year, more than 10 billion dollars are used worldwide to acquire servers that are solely used for computational purposes. The global credit crunch has forced the financial sector to conduct more computations related to, among others, risk management. In addition, industrial simulations, medical image processing, oil and ore prospecting and logistics optimization create a demand for the product.
”For example, the Department of Signal Processing at TUT had computing run that would have taken seven years to complete with one computer. With our technology, the run was completed within six days.”
In addition to time, taking the full capacity of existing computers into use saves energy, because no additional servers are needed. The company received the INNOFINLAND Award in 2009, when the contest theme was material and energy efficiency.
The founders of Techila Technologies, Rainer Wehkamp and Teppo Tammisto, graduated from TUT and worked in industry before setting up their own business started to seem the best way forward. They found a pilot customer for their innovation at the Department of Physics of TUT.
“An essential feature of scientific research is that once a problem is solved, researchers are already focusing on the next problem. Often scientific problems cannot be examined thoroughly enough because of inadequate computing capacity. The pilot tests proved that our technology was definitely worthwhile. Our particular strength is that we help customers solve critical problems,” says Wehkamp.
The first tests were carried out in 2005 and the company was established a year later. Techila has engaged in close cooperation with TUT right from the start. At first, the founders talked over their business idea with the University’s Business Services, and conducted a market survey in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Management.
”Grid technology is a customer-oriented innovation. We found that there was a clear market niche for our product, so we were ready make the leap into entrepreneurship”.
At first, the founders invested time and effort into constructing software architecture. After that the development of modular software has proceeded as planned. Techila Technologies has attracted several Finnish universities and finance companies as customers. The first foreign customer is the University of Economics, Prague.
”The theme for 2010 is going global. Our product is in massive demand worldwide, so we’re turning our eyes to the international market.”
Rainer Wehkamp was already contemplating starting a software company when he came to study at TUT. Another option was a career in software sales and marketing. Accordingly, Wehkamp opted to study industrial management and software engineering and is now pleased with the competencies he acquired at TUT. Running a business is still a continuous learning experience.
“If you enjoy continuous self-development and solving seemingly impossible problems and are not afraid of hard work, entrepreneurship may be the right path for you”.
English-language brochure on the collaboration between Techila and TUT:
http://www.techila.fi/downloads/Tampere_University_of_Technology.pdf