Service Science

This paper is a first exploration of the relationship between service science and Grid computing. Service science is the study of value co-creation interactions among entities, known as service systems. Within the emerging service science community, service is often defined as the application of competences (resources) for the benefit of another. Grid computing is the study of resource sharing among entities, known as virtual organizations, which solve complex business, societal, scientific, and engineering problems. Within the Grid computing community, service is sometimes defined as protocols plus behavior. Both Grid computing and service science are connecting academic, industry, government, and volunteer sector collaborators on a range of projects including eScience, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and more. This paper compares and contrasts the notions of resource, entity, service, interaction, and success criteria for the two areas of study. In conclusion, new areas for collaborative inquiry are proposed.