The concept of utility computing is simple-it provides processing power when you need it, where you need it, and at the cost of how much you use it. The service provider owns and manages the computing solutions and infrastructure, and the client subscribes to the same and is charged in a metered manner without any upfront cost. Similarly, utility computing works on the same concept, which is a pay-per-use model. For example, a consumer pays his electricity bill as per the number of units consumed, nothing more and nothing less. The utility computing model is based on conventional utilities and originates from the process of making IT resources as easily available as traditional public utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and telephone services. Clients, users, or businesses acquire amenities such as data storage space, computing capabilities, applications services, virtual servers, or even hardware rentals such as CPUs, monitors, and input devices.
Utility computing is a subset of cloud computing, allowing users to scale up and down based on their needs. The service provider charges only as per the consumption of the services, rather than a fixed charge or a flat rate. Utility computing is a service provisioning model that offers computing resources such as hardware, software, and network bandwidth to clients as and when they require them on an on-demand basis. Top 10 Utility Computing Best Practices for 2021.