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It is easy to understand why the concept of utility computing has become latest trend in Information Technology. Analogous to traditional public utilities such as electric or water service, utility computing comprehends an essentially demand-based business model for the full range of IT infrastructure capabilities including servers, storage, databases and network resources. While the concept is a compelling one, utility computing will not become a practical reality until IT managers can find answers to some fundamental, and as yet unresolved, questions. As long as companies utilize IT infrastructures based on servers, storage devices and networking systems from multiple vendors, the question of interoperability will remain a potential stumbling block. The solution will require comprehensive industry standards to ensure that systems work reliably across the heterogeneous environments found in real-world enterprise datacenters. This article provides an overview of storag - -one of the most important subsets of utility computing - including some important questions IT managers should ask before outsourcing their storage to a utility.