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Utility Computing has facilitated the creation of new markets that has made it possible to realize the long held dream of delivering IT as a Utility. Even though utility computing is in its nascent stage today, the proponents of utility computing envisage that it will become a commodity business in the upcoming time and utility service providers will meet all the IT requests of the companies. This paper takes a cross-sectional view at the emergence of utility computing along with different requirements needed to realize utility model. It also surveys the current trends in utility computing highlighting diverse architecture models aligned towards delivering IT as a utility. Different resource management systems for proficient allocation of resources have been listed together with various resource scheduling and pricing strategies used by them. Further, a review of generic key perspectives closely related to the concept of delivering IT as a Utility has been taken citing the contenders for the future enhancements in this technology in the form of Grid and Cloud Computing.