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Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies 211

and make sure they serve the needs of the business. The Interactive Session on
Management explores some of these management challenges created by BYOD
and IT consumerization.

GRID COMPUTING

Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into
a single network to create a virtual supercomputer by combining the compu-
tational power of all computers on the grid. Grid computing takes advantage
of the fact that most computers in the United States use their central pro-
cessing units on average only 25 percent of the time for the work they have
been assigned, leaving these idle resources available for other processing
tasks. Grid computing was impossible until high-speed Internet connections
enabled firms to connect remote machines economically and move enormous
quantities of data. Grid computing requires software programs to control and
allocate resources on the grid.
The business case for using grid computing involves cost savings, speed of
computation, and agility. For example, Royal Dutch/Shell Group is using a scal-
able grid computing platform that improves the accuracy and speed of its scien-
tific modeling applications to find the best oil reservoirs. This platform, which
links 1,024 IBM servers running Linux, in effect creates one of the largest com-
mercial Linux supercomputers in the world. The grid adjusts to accommodate
the fluctuating data volumes that are typical in this seasonal business. Royal
Dutch/Shell Group claims the grid has enabled the company to cut processing
time for seismic data, while improving output quality and helping its scientists
pinpoint problems in finding new oil supplies.

VIRTUALIZATION

Virtualization is the process of presenting a set of computing resources
(such as computing power or data storage) so that they can all be accessed in
ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location.
Virtualization enables a single physical resource (such as a server or a stor-
age device) to appear to the user as multiple logical resources. For example, a
server or mainframe can be configured to run many instances of an operating
system so that it acts like many different machines. Virtualization also enables
multiple physical resources (such as storage devices or servers) to appear as
a single logical resource, as would be the case with storage area networks or
grid computing. Virtualization makes it possible for a company to handle its
computer processing and storage using computing resources housed in remote
locations. VMware is the leading virtualization software vendor for Windows
and Linux servers.
By providing the ability to host multiple systems on a single physical
machine, virtualization helps organizations increase equipment utilization
rates, conserving data center space and energy usage. Most servers run at just
15–20 percent of capacity, and virtualization can boost server utilization rates
to 70 percent or higher. Higher utilization rates translate into fewer comput-
ers required to process the same amount of work. Virtualization also facilitates
centralization and consolidation of hardware administration. It is now possible
for companies and individuals to perform all of their computing work using a
virtualized IT infrastructure, as is the case with cloud computing.

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