[tybris]

The difference is in the word "utility".

In the 90s, hosting was a fixed quantity for a fixed price.

In the 00/10s, hosting is whatever you need whenever you need it and pay for whatever you use.

It's like going from chopped wood to an electric grid, a radical transformation of technology and business models.

[mtogo]

A radical transformation, really? To me it seems more like a small step, just changing the payment model a little bit and making it a bit more convenient to provision more instances.