Services computing: grid applications for today

The coming generation of Internet applications promises to incorporate a distinctly different view of software, one based on services. Services computing is the evolution of Internet computing toward a services-oriented architecture. By service oriented, we mean that business will purchase functionality in chunks. Rather than buying software for permanent in-house installation, companies will buy services as needed. A services model removes the burden of updates and patches from the IT department, returning such work to its rightful owners: the vensors that sell the software. To support such a scenario, an architecture must embrace a new technology suite that includes Web services and a service-oriented architecture for grid and utility computing, and autonomic computing.