The Cloud Computing Advantage - Report Example

of institute Cloud Computing for Competitive Advantage A brief overview of the cloud computing advantage [Pick the ContentsCloud Computing for Competitive Advantage 3 Introduction: Cloud Computing and its features 3 Cloud Computing Principles and Features: 3 Infrastructure as a service 3 Software as a service 3 Platform as a service 3 Reasons and Advantages of cloud computing as a competitive advantage: Cloud boosting the software service 4 Cloud computing Components 4 The Implications of cloud computing: 5 Effective usage of Cloud computing for the competitive advantage 6 Conclusion: 7 References: 7 Cloud Computing for Competitive Advantage Introduction: Cloud Computing and its features Cloud computing is everything that the web does for in the present day. We just don’t use the World Wide Web and the internet to surf contents. One way communication is over and the generation of Web1.0 is has been succeeded by Web2.0 which characterizes interactive bi-directional communication. Cloud computing harnesses the power of heterogeneity and brings together a host of services, tools, architectures under one umbrella. Cloud computing uses the strategy of integration of services to provide a software service apart from providing platform and infrastructure. Cloud Computing Principles and Features: Some of the key benefits of cloud computing are: 1. Database efficiency though database and data synchronisation as well as lesser data redundancy 2. Increased data protection and security through multilayered and multi level authentication through secure access 3. On Demand software and on demand services provided though dynamic platform dn constant feedback gathering mechanism. (Chorafas, 2011) Abstraction with cloud computing is growing in popularity due to the user acceptability, user friendliness and due to its innate similarity with the present day interactive web and its technologies. Cloud computing and its harnessing provides three major features: Infrastructure as a service Software as a service Platform as a service (Chorafas, 2011) Reasons and Advantages of cloud computing as a competitive advantage: Cloud boosting the software service Due to the growing popularity of web services, portal technologies that lets the user have all services related to his or her profile under one umbrella through a single sign on system, Cloud computing is as a result gaining popularity. Cloud computing provides immense processing power through the heterogeneous synthesis of services, architectures and platforms. Cloud computing as a strategic tool is lesser in cost to maintain, is flexible due to the integration of dissimilar platforms. The cross-platform interoperability and the emergence of advanced HTML and object oriented language that is understandable through interfaces to multiple platforms and applications gives cloud structure the competitive edge. Cloud computing latent power lies in the mixture of tools, technologies, and platforms that provide a host of services with great speeds, efficiency and minimal service disruptions. Most of the large businesses across the globe are implementing cloud computing to leverage the market and maximise efficiency. The world of computing is being transformed by a new and emerging model known as cloud computing. As discussed, in this model data and computation are operated somewhere in a cloud (that stands for an aggregation of heterogeneous systems and platforms. These clo0uds are essentially Data Centres storing critical user data and system data maintained by third party. Cloud computing Components Cloud computing refers to the integration of hardware, software and applications delivered as services over the internet as for example: 1. Banking services 2. Internet shopping 3. Financial transactions 4. Account management The cloud is provided in two forms: 1. Public Cloud: for pay-as-you-go services 2. Private Cloud: for services solely used for leveraging resources of an organisation and cloud used internally within an organisation. Hybrid cloud which is the combination of the two types of clouds are used for services and transactions is used in most cases that require a chargeable and public access to cloud services and features as well as an internal cloud access. In the hybrid cloud, the private cloud is able to maintain high service availability by scaling up the system with externally provisioned resources from the public cloud when there are drastic workload fluctuations or hardware failures. (Mahmood 2011) Cloud computing offers certain advantages as follows: 1. On Demand software and services 2. Reliability 3. Security Etc The Implications of cloud computing: It is not always appreciated that because information technology is widely employed in almost all fields, from education, travel and tourism, engineering and manucfacturing, biology and research to daily operations and management decisions, its impact is gradually changing the nature of work. Even our capacity to think and analyse is being altered as man-machine systems are used for planning, designing, art, and other creative pursuits in different professions. (Chorafas, 2011) This has two major implications: What is inside the cloud of the different vendors will increasingly affect not only the way people work, but also how they live; and The notion of controllability must be extended all the way from company reactions to new technology, which remain exceedingly slow, to the necessary evolution of existing social systems that new technology makes impractical. (Mahmood 2011) Effective usage of Cloud computing for the competitive advantage To effectively utilise the power of cloud computing the following must be taken into account after the implementation of the cloud computing system and architecture: sophisticated client requirements, market and regulatory changes, and Evolving internal needs for information and knowledge management. (Chorafas, 2011) Cloud Computing approaches are: Choose the most advanced technology, proceed with rapid software development, and Use IT to improve management decisions, accelerate operations, and lower production and distribution costs. (Chorafas, 2011) Below mentioned are some of the lessons learnt from the past, in different software endeavours that can be avoided using cloud computing: 1. Selected data comes toward a centre point from databases with incompatible database management systems (DBMSs; which will be common currency with the cloud). 2. Integration of diverse data structures was tedious, costly, error prone, and slow moving. 3. It takes about one month to put collected information into useful shape, and by then it becomes obsolete. 4. Because of that delay and other reasons, the customer base has about 25 percent erroneous information. 5. Due to the high error rate and data obsolescence, the organisation’s managers and professionals refuse to work with the customer base. (Chorafas, 2011) Conclusion: Cloud computing this provides maximisation of resource utilisation, high security, value added services, interoperability and flexibility of system. Further more from what we have learnt in the preceding section of the architecture and advantages of cloud computing systems is that multiple platforms can be linked and made to work in coordination. A combination of a public and a private cloud are being used widely, (Hybrid cloud) thus making seamless integration and provision of service. Cloud computing is the latest technology of providing web services through heterogeneous systems and integrating cross platform tools, technologies and applications. (Mahmood 2011) References: 1. Antonopoulos, N. and Gillam, L. Tools and Technologies for Building Clouds, Cloud Computing: Principles, Systems and Applications (Chapter 1 ) 2010. 2. Furht, B. and Escalante, A. Handbook of Cloud Computing , 2010 3. Mahmood, Z. and Hill, R. Cloud Computing for Enterprise Architectures Springer. 2011 4. Chorafas, D. N. Cloud Computing Strategies. Chorafas Auerbach .2011 Read More