The next dominant computing paradigm will combine the Internet,
peer-to-peer and wireless computing, according to a new report from
Delphi Group that predicts a bright future for Grid computing.
"The next major revolution in business computing has already arrived,
it's called Grid Computing, and will provide access within the palm of
your hand to virtually every known electronic resource," according to
the report, titled "Global Grid: The Quiet Revolution."
"The Grid Computing paradigm, the first 'killer app' to finally
obsolesce the desktop PC as we know it today, will arrive through the
ability to access a world wide network of computing power from virtually
any device, including handheld devices and embedded computers," the
report said.
Delphi predicted that the first commercial opportunities will arrive by
next year, "unleashing a new wave of wealth and innovation that will
ultimately eclipse anything seen in the last decade."
One of the factors that will drive the Grid computing revolution is the
limited capacity of handheld devices to support applications, the report
said, predicting that handheld devices will become like telephones:
conduits to a much larger pool of resources.
Delphi said the handheld device of tomorrow will need to perform just
three tasks: to identify itself; to receive and display a thin stream of
standardized content; and to return simplified responses from the user.
"Everything else will be done offline through a complex network of
computers," the report said.
"This form of radically distributed computing is enabled largely by two
recent developments: Web Services and the Global Grid," the report said.
Web Services enables large applications to be broken apart into "tiny,
self-describing chunks of software that can be recombined into a new set
of functions," and Grid computing enables an entire network to be
aggregated into a single powerful computing resource.
The entry fee into the new Global Grid will be raw computing power,
where idle resources are exchanged for access to others' computing power
during times of peak demand, Delphi said, and commercial interests will
make money through delivery of micro-transactions.
Potential applications include streamlining and automating the hiring
process so it can be done in a day, instantaneous screening of
prospective clients who make online sales inquiries, access to
information and just-in-time ordering for suppliers, and the ability to
tap massive computing power on demand, Delphi said.
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