In todays dynamic business environment, IT departments are under permanent pressure to meet two divergent requirements: to reduce costs and to support business agility with higher flexibility and responsiveness of the IT infrastructure. Grid and Cloud Computing enable a new approach towards IT. They enable increased scalability and more efficient use of IT based on virtualization of heterogeneous and distributed IT resources. This book provides a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of Grids and Clouds and of how companies can benefit from them. A wide array of topics is covered, e.g. business models and legal aspects. The applicability of Grids and Clouds in companies is illustrated with four cases of real business experiments. The experiments illustrate the technical solutions and the organizational and IT governance challenges that arise with the introduction of Grids and Clouds. Practical guidelines on how to successfully introduce Grids and Clouds in companies are provided.

Introduction: Business and Technological Drivers of Grid Computing.- The BEinGRID Project.- Grid and Cloud Basics Definition, Classification, Business Models.- Grid Basics.- Cloud Basics #x2013; An Introduction to Cloud Computing.- Grid Business Models.- Grid Value Chains #x2013; What is a Grid Solution?.- Legal Issues in Grid and Cloud Computing.- Grid Business Experiments.- Common Capabilities for Service Oriented Infrastructures #x2013; Grid and Cloud Computing.- Remote Computational Tools for Radiotherapy Cancer Treatment Planning.- Business Experiment Ship Building.- AgroGrid #x2013; Grid Technologies in Agro Food Business.- Virtual Hosting Environments for Online Gaming.- Organizational and Governance Challenges for Grid Computing in Companies #x2013; Summary of Findings from Business Experiments.- Practical Guidelines.- Practical Guidelines for Evolving IT Infrastructure towards Grids and Clouds.