How critical are Linux and other open-source software and standards to the idea of utility computing?
Nevatia: The vision of utility computing drives higher levels of virtualization of a datacenter environment. Only a truly virtualized IT infrastructure can deliver the kind of service that a water or electricity utility drives. Theoretically speaking, in such a scenario, the underlying OS and the hardware become irrelevant, making the platform a prime target for commoditization. This makes Linux very critical given that it is already driving towards the same goal. Open systems and open-source standards will play a growing role in the evolution of utility computing. Doing more with less is what utility computing is all about — that is, achieving greater economies of scale. So, basically, customers are working to drive down the cost of IT, to optimize all their IT resources and increase the flexibility of their IT environment. Linux is significant in a utility-computing model because it drives down or commoditizes the cost of both the hardware and OS, making the underlying infrastructur
