Risk ManagementSolutions

Enterprise Grid Computing is an optional and separately licensedcomponent of the RMS product suite to be released with version 10.0of RMS' catastrophe modeling software. Changes in the latestversion of RMS RiskLink and RiskBrowser also will deliverperformance and scalability improvements, increasing efficiency andreducing model runtimes.

Working closely with Microsoft, RMS has constructed large-scalecomputing grids that overcome bottlenecks for high volumes of dataand analytics. Enterprise Grid Computing enables insurers andreinsurers to match their computing resources 'on demand' to usersand jobs that create the biggest impact on the business.

With Enterprise Grid Computing, run times can be reduced,allowing companies to gain more up-to-date views of portfolio riskand a near real-time understanding of modeled losses. Advanced jobmanagement capabilities also allow the most critical jobs topreempt lower priority jobs that are already running.

"High-performance computing is revolutionizing the way companiesdo business by providing them with insights and analytics that aredriving their decision-making," said Kyril Faenov, general manager,technical computing, at Microsoft. "The velocity of information isincreasing, and the way that companies choose to capture and useit, by applying sophisticated analytics, will be the basis offuture competition."

With Enterprise Grid Computing insurers and reinsurers will alsobe able to run more analytical cycles and process higher quantitiesof data than ever before, allowing them to gain insights into theirportfolios at the point of decision-making and test assumptionsused in RMS models, as well as in their own portfolio exposuredata.

"Catastrophe modeling is at a stage in its evolution wherecompanies want to dig into sensitivity testing and gain a firmgrasp of the models' assumptions, limitations, and capabilities,"said Paul VanderMarck, chief products officer at RMS. "As advancesin science and data increase the granularity and precision ofmodels, high-performance computing accommodates the mounting volumeof information and enables companies to gain insight into, andimportantly, to quantify key drivers of uncertainty and make moreinformed decisions."