Many CIOs will ask this question and want the answer before proceeding with the introduction of autonomic computing. There is a need to analyze and map the existing five levels to existing IBM customer environments to determine who is where in the level structure. IBM conducted an internal study of all its customers to determine the autonomic scope in 2004 would be:
35 percent are at level 1, Basic
27 percent are at level 2, Managed
22 percent are at level 3, Predictive
14 percent are at level 4, Adaptive
2 percent are at level 5, Autonomic
Beginning in 2004, the introduction of autonomic computing will increase by at least 15% a year, as customers move up through the autonomic computing value ladder. The highest growth in predictive and adaptive levels are expected in 2006.
Figure 10.1 illustrates the growth and scale of autonomic computing over the five years from 2002 to 2006. Add to this continuing IBM and industry research and development, resulting in the introduction of newer autonomic products and services, and it adds up to a major new technology of scale, breadth, and scope unlike any that has been introduced before.
Figure 10.1. Percentages of companies at each of the five levels of autonomic computing,2002–2006.
