In telecommunications and software engineering, scalability is a desirable property of a system, a network, or a process, which indicates its ability to either handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner, or to be readily enlarged.
Scalability, as a property of systems, is generally difficult to define and in any particular case it is necessary to define the specific requirements for scalability on those dimensions which are deemed important. It is a highly significant issue in electronics systems, database, routers, and networking. A system whose performance improves after adding hardware, proportionally to the capacity added, is said to be a scalable system. An algorithm, design, networking protocol, program, or other system is said to scale if it is suitably efficient and practical when applied to large situations (e.g. a large input data set or large number of participating nodes in the case of a distributed system). [Source: Wikipedia]
Scalability is addressed in the ICT work programme 2011/12 (p. 14, 15, 19, 40, 41, 47, 56, 58, 78, 88, 111, 114) under the following challenges/objectives:
> Challenge 1:Pervasive and Trusted Network and Service Infrastructures
Objective ICT-2011.1.1 Future Networks
c) Novel Internet architectures, management and operation frameworks
Objective ICT-2011.1.2 Cloud Computing, Internet of Services and Advanced Software Engineering
a) Cloud Computing
b) Internet of Services
Objective ICT-2011.1.4 Trustworthy ICT
a) Heterogeneous networked, service and computing environments.
> Challenge 3: Alternative Paths to Components and Systems
Objective ICT-2011.3.1 Very advanced nanoelectronic components: design, engineering, technology and manufacturability
a) Beyond CMOS technology
c) Nano-manufacturing and Joint Equipment Assessment
Objective ICT-2011.3.4 Computing Systems
a) Parallel and Concurrent Computing
> Challenge 4: Technologies for Digital Content and Languages
Objective ICT-2011.4.1 SME initiative on Digital Content and Languages
c) Sharing language resources
Objective ICT-2011.4.2 Language Technologies
a) Multilingual content processing
> Challenge 6:ICT for a Low Carbon Economy
Objective EEB-ICT-2011.6.4 ICT for energy-efficient buildings and spaces of public use
a) Building Energy Management Systems
> Challenge 7: ICT for the Enterprise and Manufacturing
Objective FoF-ICT-2011.7.3 Virtual Factories and enterprises
b) Real-time management of volatile manufacturing assets
Objective ICT-2011.10.1 EU-Brazil Research and Development cooperation
Objective ICT-2009.10.2 EU-Russia Research and Development cooperation
