Issues and Implications of Cloud Computing - Essay Example

IT Industry developments Issues and Implications of Cloud Computing Contents Introduction 3 Core Issue of the case study-Cloud Computing 3 An overview of cloud computing 4 Various implications of the IT sector (Specifically Cloud Computing) 4 PEST analysis of Cloud Computing 5 Political 5 Economical 5 Social 6 Technological 6 Social Implications 6 Reliability 7 Data Management 7 Ethical Implications 7 Privacy 7 Regulatory Compliance 8 Career/Professional implications of Cloud computing: 9 Conclusion 10 References 12 Introduction Information technology refers to the technology which is employed to dispatch and collect information in an effective mode. Since the inception of information technology, there has been a huge improvisation in various industrial and professional sectors. In the modern era, the information and the telecommunication technology not merely focuses on accumulating, retrieving, dispatching and controlling the flow of information but it has a multi dimensional approach related to it (Barroso, 2009). There have been massive advancements in the information technology industry which have impacted almost all professional sectors which are directly or indirectly related with it; such industries are not only limited to electronics, telecom, E-commerce but also include Business, trade, health, education and finance etc. Core Issue of the case study-Cloud Computing The reason that the IT industry has developed so much is because of the novel and the innovative ideas invested by people in the information technology industry and also, due to the technological development. The advancement in the information technology industry has enabled people to communicate with each other very easily and quickly, no matter in which part of the world they live. Eventually, this easier and quicker communication has assisted companies globally to enhance their overall productivity. One of the most significant examples of the advancements in the information technology industry is cloud computing as it revolutionized, quite significantly, the process followed in the overall functioning of the business (Mell, 2011). One of the most major benefits cloud computing offers to its users is that it facilitates companies to avert the buying or the maintenance of the expensive servers. One can clearly conclude from the before mentioned facts as to how much advantages one can extract from information technology. An overview of cloud computing In the context of IT, cloud computing may well be defined as delivery and transfer of computing and technological services with the help of the internet. It allows individuals and also business enterprises in utilizing software which can be managed by companies at locations which are out of sight (Nahalkova, 2011). The services of cloud computing allow users to access some very important data and also interlink computer resources from a network which may be directly available. Also, this does provide a shared and integrated pool of specific resources which also include storage of data, online processing and utilization of business applications. Also, cloud computing focuses on the important aspect of elasticity and flexibility as it allows the dynamic integration and extraction of physical resources within the infrastructure. This can be said as phrase which may be used in describing few very important digital concepts which could involve the connection of different servers and computers through a specific communication network. Various implications of the IT sector (Specifically Cloud Computing) The IT industry has impacted various disciplines and industries in the past few years and they are not limited to science or technology but they also include health, education, business etc. According to Vaquero & Lindner (2009) cloud computing has proven to be a revolution in the field of IT. The industry certainly has very important implications and affects on the IT industry and some of them can be discussed as follows: PEST analysis of Cloud Computing Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors do play a very important role in evaluating and analyzing a particular sector (Peng, 2007). This can be critical to cloud computing as well. This could be further elaborated as follows: Political Governmental laws and regulations heavily impact the manner in which a sector or industry operates and it also affects its interconnected stakeholders. The same goes for cloud computing. Various governments and international bodies have strictly monitored the cyber activities due to the possibility of cyber crime and other potential volatilities. Though cloud computing has seen magnificent growth and development over the past few years but the developers as well as its users have to make sure that’s its utility does not have any negative consequences. Economical The IT industry has received a magnanimous boom over the past few years and it certainly had several positive economical as well as financial benefits (Chaffey, 2009). Cloud computing has played a major role in this regard as development of various important applications systems and software such as Android and Windows experienced a rapid growth due to it. Interestingly, cloud computing has a huge monetary attraction due to the low cost and higher advantages. Various corporations and enterprises have implemented cloud computing services in their business operations due to the plethora of opportunities it provides to employers and also employees. From a business perspective, cloud computing may have several benefits implicit with it but along with such benefits is inherent some heavy execution costs which companies must bear in mind. Social The social impact of cloud computing has not directly impacted individuals, societies and communities but it still has a multi dimensional impact and it has been a positive one. By focusing on the fact that companies as well as individuals have become highly dependent on network services, potential availability of IT and technical infrastructure is certainly becoming very important with the passage of time. As stated by Bowen (2011), not only cloud computing provides safety and security from an individual as well as mass level, implementation of Cloud computing also provides sufficient backups & firewalls and also constant and evaluation and monitoring of important projects. Technological From a technological aspect, cloud computing has a strong impact on the Information technology sector. There has been a huge growth rate in the technological development and a constant improvement in cloud computing has been a major factor. Cloud computing has a wide array of technological implications. Virtualization is amongst one of the major technological benefits which cloud computing offers. It is a crucial feature from the enterprise’s viewpoint but also from the individual’s view point as well. Furthermore, it is user-friendly in nature because it facilitates in stabilizing the infrastructure which comprise of administration and designing. It also has the skills to aid its users not only to develop innovative applications but it also facilitates its users to eradicate the expenses regarding the system controlling (Armbrust, 2010). Social Implications Some of the important social implications of IT are as follows: Reliability Cloud computing is a highly reliable and beneficial source of networking. Of all the support data centre-type traits of the cloud computing system, reliability should be considered as the most important feature of cloud computing (Cole, 2011). This does denote capability of a system which can also ensure constant technical feasibility of the system without any interruption or disruption because data loss may occur in this situation and no code is reset during execution. Data Management According to Lee (2012), safety and security of a specific database has been one of the most remarkable traits of cloud computing and also adding to the fact that data can be flexibly distributed across various users within a very short span of time. However, data consistency must be maintained over a massive distribution of various data sources. From the perspective of cloud computing, data management is directly able to address very important aspects of cloud computing and it also provides solidarity to the operations being performed. Ethical Implications Some of the important ethical implications of IT sector are as follows: Privacy Just like different Governments of various country accumulates different sort of data regarding individuals as well as companies too and subsequently this data is then utilized by such governments for various purposes which includes national security, demographics, taxation, and government policies etc. Organizations also assemble such data which is relevant to their needs so that they can enhance their productivity and profitability. Information technology has no doubt played a vital role when it comes to data compilation and its examination as one can easily accumulate, retrieve and examine the data with the application of appropriate IT system. Before initiating the data assembling process, companies must make sure that they prevent the privacy of the data from getting abused and must ensure data privacy and for the protection of such privacy they are required to take appropriate measures for it, as the data must be used but only for such purposes which were decided and agreed upon by companies. Pearson (2009) emphasizes on the fact that organizations possess some private data of their members of staff and for other stakeholders as well makes such organizations accountable and for this reason they must ensure the safety and security of such information, otherwise, it would eventually impair or raise doubts upon the integrity of such organizations. Regulatory Compliance When implementing the features of cloud computing for an enterprise, a company must ensure that they administer the service supplier on regular intervals and on timely basis and also be able to handle various other risks which are either directly or indirectly linked with the safety and security of cloud computing because they will have to face some serious impacts of not administering the service quality and the possible risks (Livenson, 2011). Furthermore, In order to implement cloud computing in the company’s system, a company must also identify the measures to be taken by them in order to curtail the risks associated with cloud computing as because of its such features like mobility and flexibility, it is very much exposed to numerous virtual intimidations and to eradicate completely such intimidations, companies must apply several essential risk alleviation principles. Career/Professional implications of Cloud computing: The growth of Information technology, cloud computing in particular, can propel an individual towards this industry and can potentially provide endless career opportunities. The constant growth and development of this sector has created several business horizons. The various jobs and employment opportunities which the sector has include System administrator, Applications Developer, Game Developer, Database Administrator, Information system manager, IT sales professional, IT consultants, Multimedia specialist and Multimedia programmer, Web designer, network engineer etc. From my professional ambition, my aim is to join the IT industry as an Information system manager. The core reason for me to join the IT industry has specifically been due to the interlinking of cloud computing and information system management and managing the information is one of the primary responsibilities for any company. The primary responsibility for an Information system manager is managing and administering the information of an enterprise company through computer systems. While handling all these responsibilities the most important responsibility which comes in the way of information system manager is security of the information that he/she is managing. The process mostly includes overseeing installation, ensuring back - up systems operate effectively, purchase of software and hardware, providing the ICT technology infrastructure etc. On a broader scale, an entity in this discipline possess a team of technicians, developers, programmers and database administrators who report to him on a consistent basis. The responsibilities of an Information system manager require high resilience as in depth technical analysis. As a potential IT professional, I have to work extremely hard to nurture my skills and have to equip myself with some very important technical traits and attributes which are required to excel in this discipline. Conclusion It is a fact that the IT industry has gained huge importance over the past few years and heavily interlinked with the popularity of IT has been the advent of cloud computing. Cloud computing provides numerous advantages to its users which includes companies as well as individuals too. Apart from that, it is also user friendly too as it provides its users with an easy and simple access through an internet connection from anywhere over the globe. But, on the other hand, it has also some disadvantages as well, as the individuals not only have an unsecured access to their information but also have not much awareness regarding where their information can be stored. From a professional point of view, IT industry is integrated with approximately all other industries across the globe and the growth and due to this reason, further development of the IT industry is inevitable. Improvement in applications and systems of cloud computing have played a huge role in growth of the IT sector which represents a great career prospects for the professionals from IT industry. References Armbrust, M. 2010. A view of cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50-58. Barroso, L. 2009. “The Datacenter as a Computer”, Morgan and Claypool Publishers Bowen, A. 2011, “Cloud Computing: Issues in Data Privacy/Security and Commercial Considerations”. Computer and Internet Lawyer Trade Journal, 28 (8), 8 Lee, A., 2012. Cloud Computing: How It Affects Enterprise and Performance Monitoring. Sys-Con Media. Livenson, I. 2011. "Towards transparent integration of heterogeneous cloud storage platforms", pages 27–34, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden Mell, P., 2011. The NIST definition of cloud computing. NIST special publication, pp.7-11. Nahalkova, S., 2011. What is the Cloud and how can it help my business. The Economist. Pearson, S. 2009. A privacy manager for cloud computing. In Cloud Computing (pp. 90-106). Springer Berlin Heidelberg Peng, G. 2007. Using PEST analysis as a tool for refining and focusing contexts for information systems research." Academic Conferences Limited. Read More