With the hype over on-demand, or "utility" computing, the grid computing market has become noisy and crowded. What makes the Sun Grid model different from or better than competitor solutions?

The Sun Grid model is the first in the industry to offer standardized pricing and availability for a measured unit of the commodity called computing. Everything about Sun Grid is transparent — the pricing, the process, and the stack.

Other companies might talk about on-demand computing, but sooner or later it involves contracts with their consultants. With Sun Grid, customers know exactly what they are paying for and exactly what they are getting.

What has Sun been doing to prepare itself for the role of "utility provider"?

Sun has been working on the Sun Grid model for more than seven years and is currently partnering with major telecommunications vendors, systems integrators, and service providers to make it simple and convenient to purchase a variety of compute services on demand.