With the enormous flexibility and reliability afforded by computing grids, it may seem surprising that they not more pervasive today. The primary explanation for that fact is that grids exist in the context of a large ecosystem. It is not possible to go to a store and purchase a grid. Roadblocks to wider adoption are both technical and business-oriented in nature. From a technical perspective, it is safe to assume that applications not designed in multiprocessor environments are by default uni-processor applications. They can be executed on a multiprocessor node, but they will not use more than one processor, even if more are available, and hence the total run time won’t be shorter.

From a cost perspective, it might be attractive to share resources across organizations, including different companies, even in different countries. Doing so implies additional overhead to ensure data integrity, security, and resource billing. The technology to support these functions is still evolving. The lack of precedents makes potential users squeamish about trusting their code and data to be executed by someone else in a shared resource environment represented by a grid. Therefore, few grids today cross company boundaries. The largest user communities today for grids belong to government and academic research.

This challenge translates directly into opportunity for solution providers and system integrators that can overcome them. As the ecosystem of solutions for grid computing continues to evolve, adoption is likely to increase by private companies that seek to harness the power and cost advantages of grid computing. The articles in this series provide background both for those who seek to create those solutions and for those who wish to implement them.

This article is part one of a series of four articles that gives the prognosis for grid computing to become a mainstream enterprise-computing topology over the course of the rest of this decade. Decision makers and engineers can use this series to formulate appropriate business models and strategies to take advantage of this transition. The other articles in the series are as follows:

• Part 2: Usage Models presents the roles of the grid ecosystem and international standards in the development of grid-computing business models.
  
  
• Part 3: Technology Transitions provides insights to decision makers and engineers about the way grid computing is impacted by the general development of contemporary technology.
  
  
• Part 4: Industry Viewpoints illustrates the challenges, benefits, and strategies associated with grid-computing deployment, generally and in specific industries.