A study of utility computing and application service provisioning

Although the terms Application Service Provider (ASP) and Utility Computing (UC) are often quoted when it comes to discussing more efficient ways of delivering enterprise computing, there has been a lot of confusion (various perceptions) about what these terms refer to. In this study I have focused on providing a wide-ranging review to facilitate better understanding of what lies behind these "catchy" terms. Some of the main drivers behind the search for a new and efficient way to deliver enterprise computing have been identified and discussed. Based on the surveyed literature the ASP and UC trends have been critically analysed and a framework to describe them created. The framework has been used to illustrate the differences between various approaches to enterprise computing. My findings suggest that even though both trends are (at least, on paper) quite promising, they have been unable' (so far) to fulfil expectations. It is argued that this is due to over-hyped expectations, misunderstanding of the concepts and immaturity of enabling technologies.