Cloud Computing And Virtualisation - Report Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Benefits of Cloud System 2 Disadvantages of cloud system 4 Cloud based system for S-mart 5 Design Justification 7 References 9 Introduction This report looks at analysing the manner in which cloud based system will help S-mart. The paper evaluated the different benefits and disadvantages which cloud system presents and the manner in which service quality can be affected. The paper will then design the cloud system for S-mart by highlighting the different areas it will concentrate on. The paper will thereby provide useful inputs regarding cloud system management and the manner in which S-mart needs to sue it so that overall service level is further improved. Benefits of Cloud System S-mart should look at using cloud system considering the work which is carried out as it will provide the following benefits Firstly, it will help S-mart to save on cost associated with information technology. Irrespective of the nature and size of business all players look at minimizing the cost associated with operations. Cloud System can help S-mart to reduce cost by having zero in house server storage and different applications which are required. Having fewer system would mean that the infrastructure associated with IT needs can be reduced which would thereby reduce the cost associated with air conditioning, space, and other administration cost which would otherwise have been incurred (Sotomayor, Montero, Llorente & Foster, 2009). Since, cloud system provides the opportunity to pay for IT which is used and business don’t have to pay for IT capital it will help to save on cost and help S-mart to manage its business more effectively. Secondly, since cloud system provides an opportunity to use managed service platform it will help the business to be more reliable and consistent. Since, cloud system is managed by external bodies it will help S-mart to ensure that all the services will be provided all the time. S-mart will also be relieved from the task of maintaining the IT software, updates as it will be carried out by external partners (Sotomayor, Montero, Llorente & Foster, 2009). The overall process will ensure consistency which will thereby help S-mart to ensure that the system is more reliable and the overall risk for the business will be reduced drastically. Thirdly, cloud system will help to improve collaboration as S-mart which has business in different regions can work together. It will provide an opportunity where the different employees and business partners will be able to use the same business data effectively (Sotomayor, Montero, Llorente & Foster, 2009). This will help to work on new projects and collaborate the work more effectively. The process will thereby reduce time and errors and provide effective medium to share different information among the concerned individuals. Fourthly, it reduces the chances of data mismanagement and loss as data is stored in a different location which is safe and secure. Since the entire information of S-mart will be stored in the cloud system it can be retrieved anytime and reduces the chances of losing the data as information is properly backed (Sotomayor, Montero, Llorente & Foster, 2009). In addition to it people operating cloud systems are expert and have the technical knowhow which increases the chances of retrieving the information in case it is lost as data recovery is easier. This thereby will help S-mart to feel safe and would help to preserve information. Fifthly, it will help S-mart to get a competitive edge as compared to its competitors. Since, storing information and retrieving information when it is required will be better it will help to ensure that business competitiveness is achieved (Sotomayor, Montero, Llorente & Foster, 2009). The process will help S-mart to transform their business as managing the different information would be better and would provide the competitive edge that the business is searching for. Disadvantages of cloud system Despite the different gains which cloud system provides it also has certain areas of concerns which S-mart needs to look at which are as Firstly, S-mart can face technical issues associated with cloud system. There are situations where even the experts in cloud system management face difficulties in storing and retrieving information. Alongside it S-mart will need a sound internet system to retrieve the information as slower system might have an impact on performance (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg & Brandic, 2009). This could thereby raise different technical issues which need to be addressed so that better cloud system process can be managed. Secondly, S-mart could face the risk of leakage of information. While hiring an external party whose responsibility will be to manage all the technical information the risk increases. S-mart will have to disclose all the information to the cloud expert which increases the risk as the information can be leaked (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg & Brandic, 2009). This will require that S-mart is fully confident that the cloud system provider is reliable and under no situation any information would be leaked. Thirdly, S-mart will have limited control over the data as it will be stored by external bodies. S-mart can use the data and make chances but cannot store it as it is stored by service provider (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg & Brandic, 2009). This thereby limits the control which S-mart will have over data and increases the risk for the business which needs to be taken care of. Fourthly, cloud service provider claims to be flexible in all situations but while looking to switch the cloud service provider issues associated with interoperability becomes difficult (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg & Brandic, 2009). S-mart needs to look at it as looking to switch the service provider in the future would become difficult due to lack of proper cooperation which thereby raises support issues. This would thereby have an impact on the manner S-mart is carrying out operations and needs to be aware of the different steps which needs to be taken to improve it. Fifthly, despite the fact that storing information is safe it is still prone to cyber attacks. This increases the risk for S-mart as even after having external partners looking to store information can be risky. Hackers and other person can look towards using those information through cyber attacks (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg & Brandic, 2009). Despite having different process that prevents cyber attack the risk is persistent and can thereby have an impact on the manner in which S-mart looks at preserving the information. Cloud based system for S-mart The cloud based system for S-mart will look as follows The above cloud based design shows that an infrastructure to store all information is identified and stored in a common place and all information is retrieved to be used for different purpose. The retail management system is designed in a manner where it looks at determining the framework model through which information is stored and used. Design Justification The cloud service consumer will have different retail management system which will be used by consumers to provide different information. The service management system will have different cloud enabled systems which will include laptops, mobiles and other accessories (Marston, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang & Ghalsasi, 2011) so that different information can be provided to the organization which can be stored and used later. The retail management system will comprise of different elements which will focus on different core areas so that service can improve. This will include different features like inventory management system where all data and information relating to inventory will be found; customer management system where information related to customers will be stored and steps will be undertaken to build strong relations with them; purchase management system which will determine the supplies that have to be procured and the manner in which suppliers will be decided; sales management system which will look at providing sales integrated solutions and would look towards determining the manner in which different activities will be carried out; and lastly it will look at report generation so that all the information can be compiled (Marston, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang & Ghalsasi, 2011). The process will provide useful information and would help to compile the different information pertaining to different departments and areas at a single place. S-mart needs to identify the service provider who is capable of providing those services which should en entirely based on preference and choice. The service provider should be chosen diligently and should have the capability of providing the required services. The service provider should be capable of proving the required service. S-mart can choose from different players like Microsoft, Google and other service providers (Marston, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang & Ghalsasi, 2011). The manner in which service is provided should ensure that all the information compiled is safely stored and can be used in the future for different references. The design will become effective when the service provider has the required infrastructure to support the different facilities. The service provider should look at developing the cloud infrastructure which will include network, server and storage so that all the information can be properly stored (Marston, Bandyopadhyay, Zhang & Ghalsasi, 2011). This will improve the opportunity to ensure that information can be accessed in a better way and would thereby help to develop the required infrastructure through which service facilities would improve. The cloud design system for S-mart would thereby look towards working on the different aspect through which storage and retrieving of information would be better and thereby improve the level of service. References Marston, S. Li, Z., Bandyopadhyay, S., Zhang, J., Ghalsasi, A. “Cloud computing—The business perspective, Decision Support Systems”, vol. 51, pp 176-189, 2011 Sotomayor, B., Montero, R. S., Llorente, R. M., Foster, I. “Virtual infrastructure management in private and hybrid clouds”, IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 13, pp 14-22, 2009 Buyya, R., Yeo, C., Venugopal, S., Broberg, J., Brandic, I. “Cloud computing and emerging IT platforms: Vision, hype, and reality for delivering computing as the 5th utility, Future Generation computer systems, vol. 25, pp. 599-616, 2009 Read More