Cloud Computing and Security Issues - Dissertation Example

Cloud com-puting services offer an innovative and cost effective means of utilizing IT capabilities, and as such are being offered as long term solutions for numerous educational, govern-mental, defense, and private businesses. Cloud computing can provide rapid scalability and enhanced IT capabilities to business operations with the investment of minimal costs. It allows the users to deploy services on demand using a network of pooled resources and hence helps the user in using the service as and when needed.

The concept behind cloud computing is truly revolutionary as it allows small organizations to scale up their operations to high proportions without buying hardware and software and without hiring a fleet of IT experts. The immense potential offered by cloud computing is acknowledged across the industry, and yet, there is hesitation in its rapid adoption by many organizations (Armbrust et al, 2010). This is because the rapid growth in the technology is also accompanied by growing con-cerns about security related issues.

Cloud computing, being an innovative method of using applications and hardware, has to face various implementation issues as it requires a shift in perceptions about work ethics, organizational culture and technical skills needed by the end users. Moreover, there have been several incidences where cloud technology has found itself defenseless in front of hacking attacks like the one against Gmail and the Sony PlayStation gaming network (Paul, 2011) The reasons for the security vulnerabilities are varied ranging from the inherent vulnerabilities in the core technologies to the network vulnerabilities (Armbrust et al, 2009).

As cloud computing is an emerging technology, so are the concerns about security challenges being discovered and addressed. The current dissertation aims to explore the perception of the end users about the security challenges, their expectations from the service provider and also attempts to make a list of recommendations for enhancing the security as well as building confidence in the end customers. Research Rationale There is very little evidence of any empirical research undertaken to gauge the performance of cloud computing services in organizations or to assess the satisfaction levels or expectations of the end users.

There is however a plethora of information available on the various platforms and modes of cloud computing and their associated advantages and disadvantages ((Rochwergeret al, 2009; Reese, 2009; Armbrust et al, 2009; Rhoton, 2009; and Sosinsky, 2011). This information is in the form of technical knowledge regarding the concept and applications of cloud computing services and does not seem to include the point of view of the end users or the people who actually adopt and work with the services.

 There is a growing sense of doom among some scholars who predict vicious cyber-attacks that can ride on the security loopholes and vulnerabilities of the cloud computing services (Barroso and Hoelzle, 2009). However, there still remains a lack of research into assessing these security vulnerabilities empirically or using the perception and experience of those who are the end users of the service. There appears to be a need to conduct an analysis of the possibilities of the security attacks as well as to assess the perceptions of the organizations that are using it about the security sturdiness or vulnerability of the cloud computing environment.

This knowledge is expected to provide an insight about possible challenges and opposition that cloud computing service providers’ face in marketing their products. It will also enable the researcher to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations that can be adapted to provide better satisfaction to the end users. The