Comparing autonomic and proactive computing

This paper provides an overview of the relationship between proactive computing and autonomic computing, considering the design of systems that are beyond the scope of our existing computational infrastructure. Autonomic computing, as described by IBM’s manifesto on the subject, is a clear statement of the difficulties and challenges facing the computing industry today. In particular, autonomic computing addresses the problem of managing complexity. Intel Research is exploring computing futures that overlap autonomic computing but also explore new application domains that require principles we call proactive computing, enabling the transition from today’s interactive systems to proactive environments that anticipate our needs and act on our behalf.