Research defines four areas of major importance, given their potential for long-term influence on the future directions in autonomic computing:
Autonomic computing describes the next era in computing wherein complexity is either hidden from the user or eradicated by computing systems modeled after the body's self-regulating autonomic nervous system. While IBM will lead the industry in this area, autonomic computing cannot be a proprietary solution and will demand the efforts and active contributions of the IT industry and academic world.
E-business describes the rapid transformation occurring in traditional business and economic models as companies large and small (and many entirely new) turn to an online environment to function more efficiently and productively. The transformation will not stop with businesses, but extend to markets, trading environments, and exchanges, altering economics in as yet unseen ways.
Pervasive Computing describes the ensuing global environment where computing ceases to be something that occurs only in a specified, restricted space—inside a box on your desktop, for instance—and instead becomes an accepted, readily available utility that occurs in the "ether" of the networked world.
Deep Computing defines an expanded method of computing—some would argue a novel approach to thinking—that will marry incredible computational ability with human intelligence in problem solving. Using this approach, companies, educational institutions, and eventually individuals will be able to take the enormous amounts of information that a pervasive computing world will capture and make sense of it.
Autonomous computing will need to draw on all four areas to be successful. IBM has stated that it has reorganized its research division around autonomic computing, giving it priority in research projects.[1]
IBM believes that autonomic computing will require industry-wide acceptance before the technology will have a meaningful impact on corporate enterprises. In 2001, IBM called upon the information technology industry and academic community to rally around autonomic computing and committed to underwrite approximately 50 research projects at universities during the next four to five years to take on the complexity challenge.[2]
