Cloud Computing - Research Paper Example

Cloud Computing Abstract The increasing demands of the customers compel the enterprises to invest in the purchase of greater infrastructure. In spite of huge expenses, traditional forms of computing and data centers do not offer scalability and mobility. Maintenance and update expenses also have to be incurred by the enterprises. An innovative technology has been offered in the market that provides almost unlimited scalability and mobility- cloud computing. Cloud computing offers the dynamic acquisition of computing power units that facilitate the provision of an effective and uninterrupted service to the clients. Along with the advantages of cloud computing, few concerns regarding its adaptation have been discussed in this paper. Few recommendations are also provided that can be helpful in the process of choosing a cloud computing service provider. 1. Introduction The advancement in computer technology has caused revolutionary changes in the mode of life on the planet. It has leaped mankind to a new level due to its constant improvements and developments. All fields of life have witnessed changes, for example, the field of medicine has been overpowered by technological advancement to such a great extent that it cannot be termed complete without the technological incorporation. The field of business has been benefitted due to the integration of information management systems in it. It is due to the information management systems that data can be managed in a structured form, alongside the formalized business processes and operations. Modern businesses tend to face increasing demands from their consumer in the prevailing market trends. Greater demands from consumer and increasing competitions in the market compel the companies to stay updated with the latest technologies in the market. Cloud computing is one of such latest technologies that is gaining name in the business sector due to its multi-faceted nature. Boss, Malladi, Quan, Legregni and Hall (2007) defined cloud computing as a type of an application and a platform. InfoSys (2009) defined it as the flexible usage and access to computing resources that are offered on the web. The concept of cloud computing is being accepted faster than anticipated since it caters to the increasing needs of the enterprises and the changing trends of the consumer behavior. The small and medium sized organizations do not have huge reserves to establish extensive IT infrastructure and large organizations suffer extensive expenses to increase their infrastructure. Cloud computing provides a low cost approach to provide uninterrupted service to their clients. Section 2 of the paper will discuss the issues that have been witnessed in the traditional form of computing and data centers. Section 3 includes an elaborate discussion on the cloud computing technology and important aspects that address the limitations of the conventional form of computing. Few considerations need to be made by customers before they make the transition to cloud computing services; such aspects will also be discussed in Section 3. Section 4 constitutes the accumulation and conclusion of all research findings, along with recommendations and future work. 2. Issues with Traditional Form of Computing The integration of computers in the business sector has been witnessed for number of years. The common approach has been to invest in the required scale of IT infrastructure in the initial phase of the business and then, increase the number of components whenever the need arises. There tends to be a variation in the demands of customers in any business, for example, an online business organization might have greater traffic of customer requests at the end of the year in the holidays shopping season. The company might have to purchase greater number of data storage and servers to cater to the increasing demands so that there are no instances of denial of service or crashed servers. However, the increased infrastructure would not have much use for the rest of the year and would become an overhead for the company; maintenance expenses and number of administration staff are some of the expenses that are liable to increase in the instances of a greater infrastructure. The storage of the infrastructure even requires the possession of suitable premises. The movement of the infrastructure is a daunting task since it involves the displacement of large components and hardware. The maintenance staff is designated to keep the infrastructure updated with all the latest patches and versions to be able to offer the latest features to their clients. The updated versions often cost the companies some amount of money that is also added as one of the expenses for the maintenance of the IT infrastructure. Therefore, it can be stated that the traditional form of computing and data centers do not offer a good level of scalability and prove to cost hefty amounts for the organization. The traditional data centers are able to meet the typical business conditions but cease to perform well in atypical ones. The conventional data centers do not offer any kind of mobility since they are physically present in the premises of the organization. Regular updates have to be installed on the system to continue effective services to the clients. It is due to these limitations and constraints that an innovative concept has been devised- cloud computing. 3. Innovative Solution of Cloud Computing The concept of cloud computing is the combination of the concepts of virtualization and utility computing. Turban, King, Lee and Viehland (2008) explained virtualization in simple words that it is the establishment of a virtual version of any computing resource, for example hardware, servers, software. Farber (2002) defined utility computing as the provision of the computing resources as per the requirement of the client. Cloud computing is also referred to as the following terms in the market, with respect to the services provided by them: Platform as a Service (PaaS): Developers can use the platforms of cloud computing to execute their programs or create new ones, as it provides computing resources like operating systems and server hardware. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): The acquisition of CPUs, network storage, virtual servers and other such components is possible according to the need of the client. Software as a Service (SaaS): Users can attain the power to run software without installing them on their own machines. The innovative technology enables the user to gain access to the software while it is run on the cloud computing service provider’s data centers. The innovative technology is gaining fame in the current times among enterprises and individuals. Individual programmers and entrepreneurs have been granted the opportunity to launch web services and businesses without the need of any initial investments. Enterprises are able to cut their maintenance costs by a significant degree and keep their focus on the provision of effective products and services to their clients. 3.1 Important Aspects of Cloud Computing 3.1.1 Scalability The major advantage of cloud computing services is the level of scalability that is associated with it. As stated earlier, conventional modes required the companies to purchase more infrastructure. On the contrary, the enterprise can acquire dynamic computing power from the cloud computing services without investing hefty amounts in the purchase of physical infrastructure. The required infrastructure can be attained and then released when the need ceases to exit. The most attractive aspect of cloud computing is the manner in which the acquired resources are paid for. The payment of cloud computing services is analogous to the electricity grid; the payment is equivalent to the usage of the electricity. In the same manner, cloud computing service providers charge for the number of computing resources, in combination with the duration of their consumption. This concept is also referred to as ‘metering’. This aspect enables the companies to pay for the usage of the computing resource rather than the actual purchase of it. Cloud computing service providers tend to provide their clients with an almost unlimited level of scalability. It is due to this level of scalability that enterprises can cater to all the needs of the customer, in typical and atypical business conditions. Cloud computing service providers invest in the purchase and maintenance of the infrastructure rather than the enterprises themselves. 3.1.2 Mobility The cloud computing services cause the transfer of the physical infrastructure to the web. This transfer creates great level of mobility since it can be accessed from anywhere in the world, wherever internet access is available. Such mobility also facilitates the displacement of organizations from one location to the other; there is no physical movement of any infrastructure therefore the transfer is very convenient. Laplante (2011) pointed out another aspect of mobility that benefits organizations to a great extent; partnerships can be facilitated since data can be shared effectively and accessed from anywhere. 3.1.3 Maintenance and Updates There exists much competition in the market therefore the cloud computing service providers have to offer their customers with the latest technologies. The client may even change the cloud computing service provider if there is a lack of provision of latest platforms and software. This saves the client’s maintenance department resources from any hassle of purchasing and installing updates. 3.2 Growth of Cloud Computing McLaughlin (2008) quoted a recent study that was conducted by Saugatuck Research. The study involved the feedbacks from different IT executives; the results concluded that only 14% executives showed reluctance in transferring their IT infrastructure to the cloud computing platforms, 50% of the executives stated that the respective technology is planned to be adapted in their companies within a year. According to the current growth rate of the technology, the figure of 50% is expected to grow up to 76% by the year 2013. Howard (2010) quoted a survey that was conducted by NASCIO, Grant Thornton and Tech America in March 2010 regarding the adoption rate and future of cloud computing. The sample contained 40 state chief information officers and public IT executives. It was concluded by the study that half of the state CIOs planned to adapt cloud computing for their infrastructure. It reflects the level of trust that people have for the new technology as the state IT executives also plan to integrate cloud computing services in their infrastructure. Scott (2009) discussed a list that had been published by the Gartner Research analysts in 2009; it marked cloud computing as one of the technologies that companies should have been aware of in the year 2010. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are the major service providers of cloud computing services. Massive data centers are maintained by these market giants to provide their clients with effective cloud computing services. 3.3 Issues with Cloud Computing Along with the wide acceptance and growth of cloud computing, there exist few inhibitions regarding the respective technology. One of the major concerns is the security of the data and intellectual assets that are transferred to the data centers of the cloud computing service providers. Moscaritolo (2009) stated that the IT executives tend to fear the effectiveness of the security measures that are deployed by the service providers since any security breaches may cause disclosure of the data to malicious users. Traditional form of computing and data centers provided greater level of control on the data in this respect, whereas cloud computing offer partial control over the data. 3.4 Customer’s Considerations and Proposed Recommendations As stated earlier, the client tends to possess lesser control on the data as compared to the conventional modes of computing. It is due to this reason that customers need to consider few important factors before the adaptation of cloud computing and choosing a service provider. If a client opts for cloud computing services then he is dependant on the stability of the service provider’s systems and data centers. Clients should understand that the domain of cloud computing is still in its early stages; therefore not many standards have been formulated with respect to the security levels that should be followed by service providers. There exists a risk of multi-tenancy in cloud computing services; Lee (2010) defined multi-tenancy as the presence of multiple clients’ data on the same server. In such cases, if the network is not managed effectively then third parties get access to unauthorized data of other clients. The location of the data of the client is not known in the adoption of cloud computing services. The data might even be placed in a country other than the one where the business relationship developed. There exist few differences of laws of data privacy and protection within countries, for example, UK and US. This can become a cause of distress for the client since the data might not be protected according to his expectations. 4. Conclusion Cloud computing has caused revolutionary changes in the field of computing. The innovative concept has overcome the problems of minimum level of scalability, immobility, maintenance requirements that have been witnessed in the conventional forms of computing and data centers. It has eliminated the need to invest huge reserves in the establishment of the IT infrastructure. Computing resources like virtual servers, data storage, operating systems and software are acquired by the client according to the prevailing needs of his business. If the business needs increase then more resources can be acquired. Similarly, when the needs decrease, the resources can be released. The cost effective technology is dependent on the concept of ‘metering’ for its payments. The payments are dependent on the number of computing resource units and the duration for which they have been acquired. Although, there are many advantages of the concept of cloud computing, there are some issues that cause resistance in its adaption. Security and privacy are some of the major concerns since the client has only partial control over his data and intellectual assets in cloud computing services. 4.1 Recommendations Lee (2010) stated that the client should demand the formulation of a disaster recovery plan by the service providers to ensure that they are provided with an uninterrupted service at all times. The clients should make it a practice to review the disaster recovery plan at regular intervals and evaluate their level of compliance with it. Clients are also advised to maintain backups (to a certain degree) of their own intellectual assets. Clients should discuss the security aspects with the service provider before committing to any business with them. The service providers should be urged to follow widely accepted standards like ISO 27001/27002. As stated earlier, the location of the data plays an important role in the security and privacy rights of the data. This aspect should also be discussed with the service providers and should be made clear that the privacy of the data is expected to be implemented in accordance with the accepted rights of privacy, rather than the rights of the region where the data is placed. 4.2 Future Work Security and privacy is important for any system that involves the storage of intellectual assets of an enterprise. It is increasingly important for cloud computing since clients have partial control on their data and they trust the measures that are taken by the service providers. Further research shall be commenced on the effectiveness of the security measures and the standards that have been formulated by service providers. References Boss, G., Malladi, P., Quan, D., Legregni, L., Hall, H. (2007), Cloud Computing, IBM Corporation. Farber, D., (2002, November 6), On-demand computing: What are the odds?, ZD Net. Howard, A., (2010), State CIOs rank cloud computing, green IT and social media as top emerging tech, Gov 2.0, Retrieved from: http://gov20.govfresh.com/state-cios-rank-cloud-computing-green-it-and-social-media- as-top-emerging-tech/ InfoSys, (2009), Cloud Computing, SetLabs Briefings, Vol. 7, No. 7. Laplante, T., (2011), Mobility – Cloud Computing’s Partner in Crime, Central Penn Business Journal Gadget Cube, February Issue. Lee, V., (2010), Technology: Key Issues for Cloud Computing Customers, Inside Counsel, Retrieved from: http://www.insidecounsel.com/Exclusives/2010/9/Pages/Key-Issues-for- Cloud-Computing-Customers.aspx Moscaritolo, A., (2009), Report: Privacy issues plague cloud computing, SC Magazine. McLaughlin, L., (2008), Cloud Computing Survey: IT Leaders See Big Promise, Have Big Security Questions, CIO. Scott, J., (2009), Cloud computing tops Gartner tech ranking, ITPro, Retrieved from: http://www.itpro.co.uk/616594/cloud-computing-tops-gartner-tech-ranking Turban, E., King, D., Lee, J., Viehland, D. (2008), Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective- 5th ed., Prentice Hall.  Read More