Currently, many businesses are attempting to build out internal grid networks, but Schwartz says even those companies admit they'll be hard pressed to create a grid capable of delivering computing at $1 per CPU, which will eventually drive out internal grids. "We've set a price by design to be as transparent as possible at $1 an hour," he says.
Schwartz believes Sun's utility-computing effort will be aided by its push to release its Solaris operating system and Java Enterprise System as open source. In contrast, IBM will have a custom environment surrounding its Blue Gene platform. "Blue Gene will never be a volume system, and if there is one lesson to be learned in all of enterprise computing, it's that volume always wins," he says.
Although some observers believe that emerging blade-server systems will be an important piece of utility-computing frameworks in the years ahead, potentially providing improvements in real estate, wiring, and cooling, Schwartz isn't as enthusiastic. "Is a blade infrastructure going to be a radical transformation of the marketplace? Frankly, I don't think so at all," he says. "In a grid environment, no one cares at which angle you're tipping your computers. I think in the data center you'll find customers are more focused on service levels per watt, per square foot, and per dollar. To a degree, some of the blade discussions are a bit of a distraction."