D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template

LUMI AI Factory Service Center Empowering Europe’s AI Ecosystem D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 2 D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 3 Project Title LUMI AI Factory Service Center Project Acronym LUMI-AIF Project Number 101234208 Type of Action HORIZON-JU-RIA Topic HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2025-AI-01-IBA-01 Starting Date of Project 01.03.2025 Ending Date of Project 29.02.2028 Duration of the Project 36 months Website lumi-ai-factory.eu Work Package WP2 Customer Engagement Task Task 2.3 Customer needs analysis and facilitating access to AI supercomputers Lead Authors Outi Tasala (CSC) Contributors Susanne Sjöblom (CSC) Martin Duda (IT4I) Ulrike Michel-Schneider (IT4I) Petra Lyckova (IT4I) Peer Reviewers Dan Still (CSC) Patrycja Dabriwska-Wierzbicka (Cyfronet) Version 1.0 Due Date 30.6.2025 Submission Date 27.6.2025 Dissemination level x PU: Public SEN: Sensitive – limited under the conditions of the Grant Agreement EU-RES. Classified Information: RESTREINT UE (Commission Decision 2005/444/EC) EU-CON. Classified Information: CONFIDENTIEL UE (Commission Decision 2005/444/EC) EU-SEC. Classified Information: SECRET UE (Commission Decision 2005/444/EC) D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 4 Version History Revision Date Editors Comments 0.1 12.6.2025 Outi Tasala, Susanne Sjöblom, Initial version sent to internal review 0.2 24.6.2025 Outi Tasala Iterated version sent to Service Management Board for comments 0.3 26.6.2025 Outi Tasala Final version sent for PMO for quality check 1.0 27.6.2025 Anna Luoma Quality checked performed by the PMO and sent to official review. Glossary of Terms Item Description Customer An organization that uses LUMI AI Factory services. Customer manager A person responsible for the day-to-day customer engagement and sales operations. Acts as the primary contact for assigned customers. Customer needs survey A survey carried out either independently by the customer (form) or with the assistance of AI Factory staff (early discussion) to assess the needs for the services to form a base of the Customer Needs Analysis. Customer needs analysis Action that is either automated or carried out by the AI Factory staff to identify the best fit of services for the customer's need. Analysis is often based on the survey and a discussion following that. Digitalization Digitalization refers to the process of using digital technologies to change a business model, provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities, and transform how organizations operate and deliver value to their customers. Digitalization involves integrating digital technologies into everyday life and business processes. Service catalogue Customer-facing list of all live services offered along with relevant information about these services. Service portfolio Internal list that details all the services offered by a service provider, including those in preparation, live and discontinued. User Person with a user account in LUMI or LUMI-AI, obtained either from the customer portal or via the EuroHPC Federation Platform. D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 5 Executive Summary LUMI AI Factory supports the customer journey by conducting structured customer needs analyses to align the services offering with the specific requirements and readiness levels of each organization. These analyses are guided by a standardized tool designed to assess the customer’s current expertise and capabilities. This enables tailored recommendations, such as whether to begin with foundational HPC training or proceed directly to applying for computing and data resources to launch an AI project. This document outlines the definition and purpose of the customer needs analysis, detailing its role in enhancing customer engagement. It also presents the methodology used and introduces the survey template employed in the assessment process. Furthermore, it outlines the planned development activities aimed at refining the customer needs analysis throughout the course of the project. The customer needs analysis is built on a customer-first approach, ensuring that each organization is guided toward the most appropriate services. Insights gathered from early survey responses will inform continuous improvement of the process, ensuring it remains responsive and effective. D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 6 Table of Contents 1. Objective .................................................................................................................... 7 2. Scope ......................................................................................................................... 8 3. Benefits for the customer ......................................................................................... 10 4. Methodology for mapping Customer Needs .............................................................. 11 5. Customer Needs Survey template structure and classification framework ................. 12 6. Customer Needs Analysis reviewed and developed ................................................... 18 7. Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 19 D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 7 1. Objective The objective for the Customer Needs Analysis (CNA) is to understand the specific requirements, pain points, and goals of the customers who are leveraging or planning to leverage AI and HPC technologies. Rather than being a standalone service, the CNA serves as a strategic tool to assess a customer's skills, and technical readiness. The analysis sheds light on the efforts and assets needed to leverage AI and HPC technologies. It also describes the company’s readiness, skills and capabilities in AI and HPC development and shows the skills gaps and competence needs and gives a road map of activities needed in the RDI development path. It helps match users with services best suited to their situation, whether they are new to AI or HPC or ready to scale up projects. For instance, the customer needs analysis can determine if a customer should begin with introductory HPC training or proceed directly to applying for compute and data resources to run an AI-driven workload. Thus, the main purpose of the customer needs analysis is to help the customer navigate within the extensive service portfolio of the LUMI AI Factory. The customer needs analysis is an integral part of the customer process in LUMI AI Factory. Customer journey and the related service offering from the LUMI AI Factory is described in more detail in deliverable 2.1 Customer Process Description and thus only the simplified graph of the customer journey is presented here for reference: Figure 1 Customer Journey D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 8 The customer needs analysis aims to: • Align service offering with customer needs and goals • Guide customers toward appropriate training, tools, and resources • Inform the development and refinement of LUMI AI Factory services The survey focuses on customers’ needs and expectations and their barriers and readiness in using AI Factory services, also touching upon their maturity in HPC and AI. In the current customer process the LUMI AI Factory service catalogue is grouped into five main categories, each designed to meet the specific needs and maturity levels of users. These categories are still subject to change but at the time of writing this deliverable are: Onboarding & Self-service Resources, Technical & System Support, Personalized services (Expert Consulting & Project Support), Skills Development and Training, Access to Data and Co-working Spaces & Collaboration Services, introduced in detail in deliverable 2.1 Customer Process Description. The service catalogue will be accessible via the website www.lumi-aifactory.eu and in the future through a portal. The service offering is introduced to the customers through Customer Needs Analysis Survey. The survey produces an automated recommendation first on the suggested service categories and later individual services from the categories. These automated recommendations can be followed up with an in-depth discussion to produce the most value for the customer. With the aid of the customer needs analysis, we can aggregate and analyze data across customers to identify larger trends and in turn better help the future customers. We can also generate reports on internal development or stakeholder communication based on the insights. Although the focus is to identify and meet the needs of the customer with the LUMI AI Factory services, customer needs analysis strives to serve the customer also in the case LUMI AI Factory does not directly provide the service required. As part of the operation, we aim to match the customer with different actors and ecosystems, aiding them along in their AI journey regardless. As part of the initial rollout, the first 50 Customer Needs Analyses will be completed by the end of M10, and in doing so further insight will be gained into how to develop the positioning of the customer cases and to better match the services with the customers. The customer needs analysis template is also available to be used for the deliverable 7.1 Survey of customer needs and HPC/AI maturity. 2. Scope Customer Needs Analysis is a tool and service for the customer offered in step 2c in the Customer Journey graph, shown in chapter 1 of this deliverable and introduced in detail in chapter 5 of the deliverable 2.1 Customer Process Description. Customer needs analysis will be carried out first and foremost to those customers who contact or otherwise need the help of LUMI AI Factory in finding suitable services to fit their needs. Thus, if a customer requires access to specific or tailored services, they will always be offered customer needs analysis. The customer needs analysis will not be proactively offered to the customers who utilize the freely offered onboarding and self-services (step D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 9 2a) nor the ones applying for HPC resources independently either through EuroHPC JU access calls or the national access models (step 2b). However, the form is readily accessible at the onboarding stage also for customers through steps 2a and 2b. Customer needs analysis tool package includes: • survey offered via a form, as the initial step where the customer provides input in a structured form • automated or guided recommendation for services based on the initial scoring of the survey • in-depth discussion following the survey template to discuss the customer need further, as needed The customer needs survey is accessible from the front page of the LUMI AI Factory website www.lumiai-factory.eu and in the future through a portal, but the customer is also directed to it from the service catalogue, organized by customer needs. The survey is introduced via a form on the website and the customer fills it in when leaving a service request. The survey is planned to be short enough to highlight some main aspects for the user, still providing enough insight into the customer need to enable the AI Factory to respond to the customer need in the best possible way. LUMI AI Factory service portfolio is prominently showcased also at industry events. When possible, on-the-spot customer need assessments are offered, lowering the threshold for new customers to connect with our services and helping them identify concrete opportunities for collaboration. The survey is a tool but also a service provided to the user to align their needs with the services. Based on the survey, an automated evaluation is conducted to determine whether the customer’s needs can be met by the LUMI AI Factory services. This assessment considers business, technical, and regulatory perspectives. Customer receives instant recommendations for the AI Factory services that might best meet the needs of that customer. In cases where the LUMI AI Factory is not the best fit, the customer may be referred to a more appropriate service provider or partner. The outcome of the Customer needs analysis guides the user toward the appropriate entry point and service use — whether self-service resources, training, or project-based collaboration. Certain services, such as most training courses, events, and access to co-working spaces, may be freely available to all customers from EuroHPC member states. In case the customer needs analysis indicates that the need is for tailored or advanced HPC and AI resources, finding the suitable pathways will be further supported by an optional HPC and AI Maturity evaluation. Getting access to extensive compute resources, the customer is required to demonstrate the ability to either possess or develop the necessary skills to successfully execute HPC or AI projects. HPC and AI Maturity evaluation assesses on a deeper level the customer's technical readiness and AI capabilities, ensuring that services are well aligned with the customer’s development stage. This maturity evaluation is closely tied and a supplement to the customer needs analysis. The content and structure of the HPC and AI Maturity Survey are described in detail in deliverable 2.3 HPC and AI Maturity Survey. After the Customer Needs Analysis (and possible HPC and AI maturity evaluation) customer needsdriven matching is supported by LUMI AI Factory service experts, providing business domain expertise, as well as personalized customer support by the Customer Managers. Categories of services available after the customer needs analysis include Personalized service (Expert Consulting & Project Support), Skills Development & Training, Access to Data, and Co-working spaces and Collaboration Services. At D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 16 • Basic AI/HPC training (e.g., introduction to machine and deep learning) • Advanced AI/HPC training (e.g., scaling and optimizing AI jobs) • Domain-specific training (e.g., running domain-specific software or tasks on LUMI) • Online courses • In-person workshops • Individual consultations • No interest Service recommendations are made from the Skills development and Training category according to the responses. Are you interested in using co-working spaces or student talent programs? • Yes, main hub (Aalto University) • Yes, satellite hubs • No Customer is pointed to the closest AI Hub, if applicable. In which areas would you welcome consultation support? (Select all that apply) • Feasibility analysis for AI projects • Applying for large computational resources • Regulatory/compliance/ethics (e.g. trustworthy AI, GDPR) • Ecosystem and partnership development • Other (please specify) • None Service recommendations are made from the Personalized service category according to the responses. D) Barriers and Readiness Purpose: To identify obstacles and readiness for AI adoption. What are your main barriers to AI adoption? (Rank up to three) • Lack of expertise • Lack of data • Budget constraints • Regulatory uncertainty • Insufficient infrastructure • Unclear business value • Other (please specify) • None D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 17 Service recommendations are made from the Onboarding & Self-service, Skills development and Training, Access to Data, Personalized service and Technical & System Support categories according to the responses. How do you assess your company’s readiness to adopt and use AI? Response Score Readiness level Not ready 1 Low Still exploring possibilities 2 Emerging Pilot projects, but no overall strategy 3 Medium Clear strategy and leadership 4 High For answers with a score of 2 or higher, a suggestion for completing the HPC and AI maturity evaluation is made. E) Motivation and Outlook Purpose: To clarify motivation and expected outcomes. What are your main motivations for engaging with AI Factory? (Select all that apply + open question) • Reduce time to market • Develop new products or services • Increase efficiency • Launch new products/services • Develop existing products/services • Reduce costs • Improve customer experience • Meet regulatory requirements • Other (please specify) • I don't know The customer will be asked to give a short description based on the answer. What benefits are you looking from the use AI Factory services? • Increased speed of data processing • Simulation of potential malfunction, bottlenecks or occurrence • Simulation of performance with a large amount of parameters/stored data • Big data analysis • Application of heavy mathematical algorithms to big data • Monitoring and improving environmental impact D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 18 • Predictive models • Developing AI-models • Something else • I don't know Service recommendations are made from the Onboarding & Self-service, Skills development and Training, Access to Data, Personalized service and Technical & System Support categories according to the responses. What is your time horizon for your first (or next) AI project? • Immediately • Within 6 months • Within 1 year • No concrete plans yet Are you interested in long-term collaboration or one-off support? • Long-term partnership • One-off support • Not sure F) Open Feedback (Optional) Purpose: To capture qualitative insights or special needs not covered above. Please describe any specific expectations or needs you have regarding AI Factory services: • Open text Open feedback is gathered as an input on the Customer Needs Analysis itself and to aid the development of the services. Responses can lead to in-depth discussions with a Customer Manager to explore further the needs and possibilities provided by the LUMI AI Factory. 6. Customer Needs Analysis reviewed and developed The survey will be tested on an initial set of customers. Based on these very first findings, iterative updates to the Customer Needs Analysis are planned. After the initial phase, the template will be reviewed and, if deemed necessary, adjusted yearly, based on the experience gained from the analysis. Customer Needs Analysis methods and tools will also be evaluated in the light of the overall feedback on the onboarding phase and AI Factory services in supporting the customer. First the focus will be on supporting the customer at the initial contact and onboarding phase, but the avenues to support the customers more thoroughly via the tools of the customer needs analysis at the D2.2 Customer Needs Analysis Template 19 latter stages of the customer journey will be investigated further. How the method could be better utilized to track the evolving customer needs will be assessed. Tracking customer progress and actual service use and assessing these against the initial automated recommendations could be examined in the future. Different customer profiles could be created based on the segmentation information, the needs, capabilities and barriers identified from the survey data. 7. Conclusions The Customer Needs Analysis serves as a cornerstone in aligning the LUMI AI Factory’s service offerings with the evolving needs, readiness, and ambitions of its diverse customer base. By systematically identifying customer needs, barriers for the use of services and customer’s capabilities, Customer Needs Analysis enables a tailored approach to service delivery—ensuring that each customer is guided toward the most appropriate tools, training, and resources. Customer Needs Analysis is a strategic instrument that supports continuous development. It not only facilitates personalized recommendations but also contributes to the broader refinement of the AI Factory’s services by revealing trends, skill gaps, and emerging needs across the ecosystem. This dual role—supporting individual customers while informing service evolution—makes the Customer Needs Analysis a vital component of the LUMI AI Factory customer process, as detailed in deliverable 2.1. Moreover, the Customer Needs Analysis’ ability to connect customers with external actors and ecosystems, even when their needs extend beyond the current scope of LUMI AI Factory, underscores its value as a holistic support mechanism. As the initial rollout progresses and insights from the first 50 analyses are gathered, the Customer Needs Analysis will continue to evolve, enhancing its ability to position customer cases effectively and optimize service matching. Ultimately, the Customer Needs Analysis empowers customers to navigate the complex landscape of AI and HPC with confidence, ensuring that their journey—from exploration to implementation—is both strategic and supported.