utility computing

Utility Computing is a term often applied to IT infrastructure and technology which really captures the fact that that infrastructure may be paid for or may deliver services which may be paid for based on use or value, rather than on component cost. Enterprise Grids, by their nature will be service centric and will require telemetry that will enable reconciliation of resources with the services that consume them, i.e. cost with value, and thus enable utility computing. See also: Enterprise Grid Computing

A pay-as-you-go model of computing. Instead of paying for computer resources to handle the peak load at all times, you pay only for the computing you use; analogous to an electric utility.

While utility computing often requires a cloud-like infrastructure, its focus is on the business model on which providing the computing services are based. Simply put, a utility computing service is one in which customers receive computing resources from a service provider (hardware and/or software) and "pay by the drink," much as you do for your electric service at home - an analogy that Nicholas Carr discusses extensively in "The Big Switch."

a service provisioning model in which a service provider makes computing resources and infrastructure management available to the customer as needed (on-demand computing), and charges them based on metered usage rather than a flat rate.

An emerging business model where customers don't buy computer hardware but pay for its usage. Service providers own computer hardware leasing computation time on demand.