UtilityComputing refers to the supply and consumption of computing resources on a "PayAsYouGo" basis, similar to utilities such as electricity and water.
There has been a renewed interest in outsourcing IT services to ApplicationServiceProvider (or ASP, see
This is prompted by:
- cost of in-house IT and insufficient perceived value
- concern about the frequent software update cycles and impact to company processes
- advances in EnterpriseApplicationIntegration capabilities in tools
The author of DoesItMatter blogged about UtilityComputing in his July 2006 entry titled "The Third Age of IT".
SAAS, software as a service, is gaining popularity, according to IDC analyst in a conference reported within article titled "SAAS returns" at
The article also registered objections by some people against excessive claims made by vendors.