Autonomic Computing (AC) is an initiative that addresses the challenge of managing Information Technology (IT). The AC approach is to develop technologies and methodologies that make systems more self-managing and more resilient to changes in configurations, workloads and other factors. By so doing, AC will reduce the total cost of ownership of IT systems, enable IT systems to deliver business value more rapidly, and increase the quality of service of IT systems. This paper highlights the concepts of AC, the business drivers behind it and how the domains of AC address the challenges in today's IT environments. It describes principles of an overarching unified architecture, common building blocks for autonomic systems, some areas of progress and the challenges ahead.