Who will pay for grid computing?
Analysis by researchers in the private sector suggests that one day you will have to pay real money to use a computing grid, just as you now pay to use an electrical grid.
Currently, grid computing is much like the World Wide Web: both were created for scientific purposes and are subsidized by the institutions that use it. The users are often shielded from the question of who pays for it, because their school or research centre covers the expense.
Now that the Web is more widely accessible, there are several ways of gaining free access: a telecom company might give you free access in exchange for using their network, or a commercial site might give you free access if you put up with lots of advertisements on your screen. At the end of the day, though, someone is paying for you to use the Web, whether it be yourself through your phone bill, an advertiser, or the taxpayer whose money funds your university.
WILL THE SAME BE TRUE FOR GRID COMPUTING?
Perhaps. Grid technology already includes sophisticated accounting software to track who uses which resources. But how would users pay for their share of resources? There might be some bartering (you can use mine, but only if I can use yours), or perhaps payment in kind (I'll help you out with this, if you let me use that). But let's face it: money is a simple way to keep track of who is using how much of what, so many people think it will take over as the basic currency of grid computing. What do you think?
