1. Firms are increasingly turning to cloud computing as a means of managing their IT infrastructure. Notably, the industry is expected to expand 19% to $162 billion by 2020 (Columbus, 2017). This trend can be explained by the business benefits and solutions to problems cloud services including infrastructure, software programs, and platforms as services (IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS respectively) provide. Cloud networks eliminate a manager’s need to establish a private IT infrastructure and datacenter. Consequently, decision makers do not have to organize and implement an IT department (responsible for managing the firm’s IT infrastructure), as this responsibility is placed upon service providers such as Google Cloud Services. Furthermore, …show more content…
Over or under investment in IT infrastructure (i.e., space for a database, IT specialists) is also avoided, as managers must only pay for the amount of services used. Finally, problems relating to maintenance and upgrading are avoided since it is done automatically by the service provider.
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The two major disadvantages associated with cloud computing include cloud reliability, security, and runaway costs. Cloud security and reliability are tied together, and both are issues because of the fact that a firm’s IT infrastructure is managed by a third party; managers have little control and thus cannot ensure that private or sensitive company information is secure. Consequently, cloud outages such as a 2018 AWS outage, significantly impede a business to access its IT resources and carry out operations that incorporate these resources until the outage is clear. This issue is exacerbated by the growing digital transformation of business functions and a shift to using mobile platforms to conduct business processes (Edmead, 2016). More firms are using cloud services to stay connected using mobile or digital platforms, increasing their vulnerability to outages. Firms which use public cloud systems are also vulnerable to security breaches. Those who organize and carry out infiltrating cloud systems gain access to confidential corporate information that would
Enterprises around the world would be wise to heed 50 Cent’s mantra ”Get Rich or Die Tryin’” when considering the implications of not “getting” to the public cloud. We at Cocolevio, an implementation partner of Mooor Insights & Strategy, estimate that over 50% of IT spend will be going to public cloud vendors such as Amazon Web Services or SaaS vendors like Salesforce.com Inc. by 2019. This means there is around a $140B opportunity in this space. The cost savings, reduction in capital spending, speed to market, flexibility and global access derived from public cloud mean those enterprises that effectively use the public cloud are better positioned to “Get Rich” than their competitors who have higher cost structures and less nimble IT platforms. This trend is only set to continue as the business case for moving to public cloud only becomes more compelling, with the traditional arguments against public cloud around security and lack of control diminishing. Vendor lock-in will continue to be a concern but we see many companies willing to sacrifice a bit of lock-in for the many, many benefits of public cloud.
This case gives us a fundamental understanding of the concept of cloud computing and presents the advantages and issues of this IT infrastructure. This case gives a clear vision of the company’s current situation. Three main questions to consider
Cloud computing is a relatively new technology that allows data to be stored, distributed and manipulated with greater ease than ever. As described by Gurjar and Rathore (2013), the “Cloud is a large pool of easily usable and accessible virtualized resources. These resources can be dynamically reconfigured to adjust to a variable load, allowing also for an optimum resource utilization” (p. 1). By moving data, documents and media to the Cloud, the potential for business efficiency and productivity increases and anyone with internet can take advantage of the benefits. As with anything, it is important to understand the risks and benefits in order to weigh whether or not moving to the Cloud is the best move for the business. Some companies,
The introduction of cloud computing infrastructure has brought in many changes to the infrastructure of any IT organization. Cloud computing has become the latest and most advanced infrastructure service to date. More and more companies are migrating to cloud computing service as days go, as they provide more flexibility and scalability and user friendliness in many aspects of an IT infrastructure.
In an attempt to gain a competive edge, businesses are increasingly looking for new and innovative ways to cut cost while maximizing value—especially now, during a global economic downturn. Businesses realize they need to grow and are simultaneously under pressure to save money. Moving to cloud computing can help organizations survive in tough economic times; equipping them with the
Undeniably, the internet technology grows exponentially since its inception. Currently, a new "trend" is emerging in the world of IT (Information Technology and Communication), this is cloud computing. This technology, based on the WEB 2.0, provides opportunities for companies to reduce operating costs by their software applications online. Various vendors like Google, Amazon, and IBM offer a wide range of cloud computing services (Schroth, 2007). This technology has just hatched, it is at the beginning of its operations but already several major players mentioned above adopt their own pioneering strategies that determine the use of cloud computing companies wishing to invest.
What precisely is Cloud Computing? And why are so many organizations switching to this new phenomenon? Cloud computing is defined as “the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network, typically the Internet” (Wikipedia). My goal in this paper is to discuss what exactly cloud computing is and how it is affecting how businesses work now. I will be discussing the top leading groups that have administered and executed “the cloud” in their daily routines for successful business. I also will be focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing and how it can be beneficial
By 2020, Forbes (McKendrick, 2012) has estimated that the cloud market will be worth $270 billion; this suggests that the market is expanding rapidly and users are becoming more aware of this feature. Many people, though, still ponder over the exact purpose of cloud computing: Cloud computing is a group of offline servers that are networked together to allow data to be stored centrally. For example, Drop box is an established cloud storage company that allows users to store documents, images and videos on their servers. This type of cloud computing is known as ‘Software-as-a-Service’, which are business applications that are hosted by the provider and delivered as a service (Hurwitz, 2010). Hurwitz also mentions two other types of cloud computing: ‘Platform as a Service (PaaS)’ and ‘Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)’. ‘Platform as a service’ is where the consumer will create an application, using tools and software from the provider, then the provider will administer the consumer with networks, storage and servers. ‘Infrastructure’ as a service is where the provider will provide the consumer with physical computer or virtual machine.
Cloud services can make huge competitive advantages to the enterprise companies, if the applications are correctly architected to satisfy the business requirements. Some enterprises don’t fully understand while embracing new technologies, as they rush into development mode and forgo the necessary architecture and design changes needed in their IT landscape. Sometimes they also have unrealistic expectations like
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technologies regarding cloud computing and the importance for organizations to adapt this new technology. The largest companies in the world have placed bets on both sides of using cloud computing. Corporations should leverage the cloud while at the same time hire an internal cloud expert to protect the firm’s internal security. The fundamental question is the value of the collective mind versus the value of the privacy. Large and small corporations should utilize cloud computing because the value of the infrastructure and the stability far exceed what any single corporation can provide, no matter how large or small. We will also look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing.
The world is moving from manufacturing to more service-oriented day after a day. According to a survey of the U.S. economy conducted in 2010, 15% of the U.S. economy is driven by manufacturing, 5% in agriculture and other areas, and the remaining 80% is related to the service industry (Hwang & Dongarra 2013). Also, based on IDC, International Data Corporation, the cloud service market reached $17.4 billion globally in 2009 and is predicted to grow to more than $45 billion by the end of 2015. Cloud Computing can be explained as the delivery of computing resources over the Internet and is generally categorized under three layer: IaaS- Infrastructure as a Service, PaaS- Platform as a Service, and SaaS- Software as a Service (McKay, 2011).
What is often missed is the reality that the increased use of cloud services is driving further breaches of unauthorized access of sensitive information in the cloud,
In this paper, I will briefly introduce what cloud computing is and some of its fundamental concepts (service models and deployment models). The later part of the paper will mainly focus on examining cloud computing impacts on business – the benefits it will bring, and the risks and challenges that go along with it.
Cloud Computing is an evolving aspect in business application. One reason for business to embrace the coming era of cloud computing is that it allows companies to avoid infrastructure costs. Another reason for the cloud computing achieving this popularity seen so far is that enterprises can run their web-based applications faster than previously, together with higher manageability and less maintenance. Thus, enterprises can focus on their core business function and improve productivity in the meantime.
Today’s world of cloud computing is complex. The majority of users have moved beyond initial cloud adoption into a multi-cloud environment. In fact, a recent survey conducted by Ostrato found that almost two out of three (65%) businesses report implementing more than one cloud service in their IT departments. Of these respondents, 88% are planning on increasing their usage of cloud services during the next twelve months.