Summary

The N1 Grid software lays the foundation for many of the technologies discussed in this chapter. Implementing N1 Grid technologies today enables a business to use emerging technologies or maturing products that already exist. Today, companies are using the N1 Grid software for utility computing, grid computing, and simple policy-based computing. In the future, utility services will be the common computing model, running on a grid and controlled through policy and automation.

The N1 Grid software can be used today to help attack costs and complexity. The case study in Chapter 12 shows how the N1 Grid software can help lower costs, improve utilization, and align the IT organization with the business. In the case study, the Sun Client Services organization develops a road map and an implementation plan to help move the data center towards N1 Grid software computing.