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Computer industry

Tech Giants Unite to Accelerate Grid Computing Adoption

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Four high-tech companies, IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems, are forming a joint venture, the Globus Consortium, to develop software tools for grid computing and educate companies about its usage. This initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of utility-like grid computing in the corporate world, enabling businesses to leverage the technology for commercial applications such as financial risk analysis, oil exploration, and drug research. The Globus software, initially developed by scientists at research laboratories and universities in 1996, has been widely adopted in research communities for tasks like climate modeling and genetic research.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Globus Consortium, formed by IBM, Intel, HP, and Sun Microsystems, will develop software tools more suited for business uses of grid computing and educate companies about the technology.
  • The consortium's software, Globus, pools computing resources from many machines to focus on one task, creating a virtual supercomputer.
  • Companies are increasingly interested in grid technology for commercial uses like financial risk analysis, oil exploration, and drug research.
  • The government provided most of the early finances to develop the Globus software, which is freely shared, open-source code.
  • Univa Corporation, founded by Argonne National Laboratory researcher Steve Tuecke and colleagues, will provide specialized software, services, and support for Globus software, similar to Red Hat's support for Linux.
  • The Globus Consortium's priority is to recruit more companies to increase membership beyond the original six, including Univa and Nortel Networks.
  • Microsoft, a potential member, has lent financial support to the Globus project in the past but faces challenges working with Globus due to its open-source nature and operating system-agnostic approach.

Statistics:

  • The market for all virtualization technologies, mostly software, reached $19.3 billion worldwide in 2004, up from $10 billion two years earlier (IDC, 2004).
  • The Globus Consortium's software, Globus, has been widely adopted in research communities for tasks like climate modeling and genetic research.
  • The consortium's software development efforts aim to accelerate the adoption of utility-like grid computing in the corporate world.

Sources:

  • "The New York Times, "IBM, Intel, HP and Sun Join Grid Computing Venture," (no date provided)
  • "IDC, "Virtualization Market Trends Report," 2004.

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