This was written by our MD and Founder Ade McCormack in the 4th
February edition of the Financial Times
Ask the Experts
Ask the experts focuses on addressing IT issues faced by
business leaders.
Today’s question is:
"What, if
anything is the difference between on-demand and utility computing?"
In the IT industry there is often more effort
put into the naming of a new service than the service itself. The reason being
that if they can get you to listen to their story/proposition first, they can
keep you talking to them (ideally exclusively) whilst they work on making the
concept a reality.
On demand and utility
computing reflect this approach. Both relate to driving the cost of IT down by
migrating to an architecture where you only pay for what you use, much like
water and electricity. The tech vendors have leapt onto this bandwagon because
it radiates business benefits rather than technology features and so is less
likely to make the eyes of the CEO glaze over, like many past IT initiatives.
The board may find
this attractive because they are outsourcing by another name. And if we weave
in another bandied about concept - web services, the mechanism by which all IT
services will be delivered to the user, then the term cyber sourcing could well
come into vogue.
However the IT
department can fight back with an insourced version of this, which will involve
the use of another concept - grid computing, which enables unused computing
capacity lying dormant on PCs and servers to be corralled into a virtual super
server. The CIO might thus argue that they can deliver an on demand service
internally by using a more fiendishly clever approach to leveraging the
existing IT investment.
In summary, on demand
and utility computing are for all intents and purposes the same. However in
fairness to IBM, which can claim responsibility for rekindling what could be
regarded as a 21st century edition of a data bureau, the term on
demand does not refer to the technology but to a business that uses the
technology to respond to customer needs, as they emerge, through a beautifully
dove tailed frictionless supply chain! From IBM’s perspective grid, utility and
web services are technology features that enable businesses to become on demand
businesses. This is more than just moving to the next version of Office. Going
down this route could put a whole new meaning on the term disruptive
technologies.
Ade McCormack
ade@auridian.com
www.auridian.com
Ade McCormack is the
founder of Auridian Consulting, which is focused on helping business people
influence IT matters.
