Cloud Computing: Benefits, Strategies, and Risks

Final Report
Full Name
Student ID
Subject ITC571 – Emerging Technology and Innovations
Assignment No Final Report
Due Date 30-May-2018
Lecturer’s Name Malka N. Halgamuge
Cloud Computing
Your Name
Your Email
School of Computing and Mathematics, Charles Sturt University, Melbourne, Victoria
Abstract - Cloud computing is the result of the evolution of concepts of virtualization and utility
computing. Cloud computing has provided such computing services that have never been witnessed in the
history of technology. It has given more power to the people and has cut down their costs to a great extent.
Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are known to be the chief providers of cloud computing services since
they have given their customers reliable and effective avenues to improve their business. Amazon is
considered to be the first provider of a cloud platform- Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2). Cloud
computing is a web service that allows the user to utilize numerous computing units on a need basis.
Google and Microsoft have also provided multi-faceted web services for cloud computing namely, Google
AppEngine, Windows Azure, respectively. The data centers that are coupled with cloud computing services
tend to provide better performance than the traditional enterprise data centers.
Key Words— Cloud computing, security threats, cloud services, internet privacy, data control.

1. INTRODUCTION
Cloud Computing refers to hosting businesses and other business-related services online. The services
could be accessed via the internet and are also described as “Cloud” The user interfaces with the Cloud
application through web browsers. However, it is not a must that everybody owns websites to be able to
utilize the online resources to fulfill personal and economic obligations. It is prudent and obvious to note
that numerous benefits associated with Cloud computing improved flexibility and scalability hence
reducing production costs which are quite attractive in business. In addition to that, there are still more to
be desired to enhance interest in Cloud Computing which is meant to turn the business perception that
people have to physically attend to their businesses to achieve a milestone. Many of the risks associated
with solutions to common problems hindering business industry and the global development [1].
Large organizations have always had the capital to purchase numerous servers, software, etc. to support
their businesses. It is the medium and small sized organizations that have struggled in this regard. Earlier,
the only alternate that was available for such companies was to maintain their IT infrastructure on someone
else’s premises, but now things have changed. It was a thing of the past when great investments were
required to launch a business or service on the internet.
Cloud computing provides developers with online availability of their computing needs to save
them from any heavy initial investments for the IT infrastructure. The service is paid off in the same
manner as the electricity grid, i.e. the payment equals the amount of consumption of the services. Cloud
computing is a concept that has been desired by developers for a long period. Large investments are not
required by the developer to launch a service or product since all the computing capability requirements are
available online. Cloud computing is known as the availability of application services, software, platforms,
etc. that would provide the basis of any desired service on the web. The computing capability for different
applications, software, etc that is availed from the internet as a service, is referred to as a ‘cloud’ [2].
Armbrust explained that the private cloud is referred to as to the internal clouds of an organization
that are not permitted to be used except the owner of the cloud i.e. the respective organization, whereas,
cloud computing is referred to as the ‘public cloud’ since it is available for use by any individual who
might need instantaneous computing capability. This innovative concept has even leaped the performance
level of data centers to a new level and has reduced costs for independent developers and organizations.
Developers use cloud computing as a platform to run their applications or even develop them from
scratch without investing in the acquisition of the required operating system or server hardware. Another
name that is used for this concept is ‘Infrastructure as a Service’ (IaaS); it includes the dynamic usage of
CPUs, virtual servers, network, storage, systems software, etc. Software as a service (SaaS) is another type
of cloud computing that provides access to software to users on their need basis while the software runs on
the vendor’s side of the data centers. The conventional mode of using the software requires the installation
of the software on the user’s computer, but this latest technology requires no such installation. Since many
decades, internet users have been availing the service of uploading their documents and pictures on the
internet by different services like Flickr, Snapfish, etc.; this concept has enabled the people to save their
data ‘on the cloud.’ The latest concept of cloud computing is far more usable, scalable and efficient for
individual developers and organizations [3].
Before the evolution of cloud computing, organizations relied on a conventional form of data centers
which were owned and maintained by the organizations themselves. The ownership and thus maintenance
of the data centers proved to be a major source of expenditure for the business owners. There was no
provision of scalability in the traditional enterprise data centers. They constituted of limited capacity and
bandwidth. The eventual increase in the size of the data and computing needs required further investments
in the infrastructure. Although the increased number of servers or other requirements might only be useful
for a limited period but had to be purchased to fulfill the needs of the business, for example, an online
shopping website might face increased traffic during December due to the holidays shopping. The

increment in servers and data centers would prove to be a source of greater revenues and quality service
during the days of heavy traffic but served as overhead for the organization for the rest of the year. The ‘on-
premise’ data centers proved to be very costly due to their nonalignment with the requirement of scalability
[4].
The on-premise data centers proved to satisfy the typical business conditions but fell short during the
atypical ones unless greater data centers were provided. At times, the sudden rush of requests also crashed
the servers due to which the service could be shut down and interrupted for the clients. Cloud News Desk
described the conventional data centers and explained that organizations had full control over their data but
were even liable for all disasters themselves. The infrastructure and data could not be shared with anyone
and had limited number of members with its respective access rights.
Enterprise owned IT infrastructure had to be updated with the latest patches and versions to continue
providing the latest functions and operations. This often meant greater investments since all new versions
are not free of cost. A competent maintenance team was required to manage the systems and deploy
effective security measures for its protection. Multiple management tools were adapted by the organization
for the smooth functioning of different applications and services. The management and maintenance of
such an extensive infrastructure created complex job descriptions for the employees. It is due to the
constant maintenance and required updates that the management greatly focused on the performance level
of the IT infrastructure rather than on their respective business. The conventional data centers did not offer
mobility since the data physically resided in the premises of the organization. The data was not available on
the web which restricted its usage and accessibility [5].
Fig 1: Cloud computing Actors
The advancements pursued in the field of science and technology has brought about significant adjustments
across various sectors of the economy. One of the main innovations in computer science and information
technology, for example, is cloud computing. Cloud computing refers to the use of isolated servers
accommodated on the internet to store, manage, and at the same time process information. Stakeholders in
the field of IT share the ideology that it is advantageous, as it enables interested entities to use relevant
resources as a utility, without having to put up and consequently maintain servers within a given locality.
This research paper aims to provide insight on some of the strategies for implementing cloud computing, as
well as some of the risks that come with implementing such programs [6].
Strategies for Implementing Cloud Computing Programs
The process of implementing cloud computing programs is detailed mainly because of the several
steps that the interested parties need to go through in the course of undertaking the project. As such, all
entities should consider employing strategies that are in line with their ventures. The next section highlights
some of the policies that are far-reaching in ensuring a successful implementation of cloud computing
programs.
Planning. Planning is particularly imperative because it provides the interested parties with the
opportunity to analyze and re-evaluate their ability to handle the key steps of the implementation process
contentedly. This includes forecasting on the entire process and the parties who will be involved in
procuring all the needed hardware and software as well as the mechanism of going about the installation
process. Similarly, planning entails forecasting on how the installed software, equipment, and the backup

systems will be tested. Also, plan is far-reaching given that it enables the interested parties to understand
the alternatives at its disposal, the scope of technology and the business model.
Ensuring the Availability of Personnel. Given the number of cloud installation programs that are
currently going on as well as the planned ones, it is essential to take note of the fact that there may be lack
of enough expertise and talent to handle all of them. In that regard, it is imperative for organizations to
ensure that they have key cloud computing experts at their disposal. Interested entities should, therefore,
consider not only recruiting, but also training and retaining available staff. This should include engineers,
architects, and developers. This routinely provides an upper hand and goes a long way in ensuring that the
installation and management process is well under control, mainly because of the sensitivity of work
involved in cloud programming [7].
Security of Data. As highlighted in the introduction, cloud computing involves the process of using
servers in an isolated location instead of installations within a given locality. The process of transitioning
into the remote servers may be quite challenging, particularly because the process of installing cloud-
computing programs is gradual. As such, it is of great significance for the entity involved to ensure that the
process of transitioning to the remote servers is free of hitches. This includes establishing a framework for
evaluating thereby eliminating the risks and liabilities that may be associated with the transitioning process.
In that regard, it is important to ensure that security is managed properly in the course of the transition. This
comes in handy in ensuring that only the right people can access the information contained within the cloud
program.
Risks behind Implementing Cloud Computing Strategies. Cloud computing programs have routinely
been celebrated as the savior of IT, predominantly because it makes it easy for several organizations to
manage bulky data without any difficulty. Nonetheless, recent events have pointed towards the fact that
cloud computing may not be as perfect as it was earlier expected. This section aims to shed more light on
some of the risks that have often been associated with the installation of cloud computing programs [8].
Shared Access. Multitenancy, which refers to the aspect of unrelated clients sharing the same
storage and memory facilities is one of the most disturbing concerns associated with cloud computing. This
is particularly because a client’s private data may lead to a different user, an event that amounts to an
invasion of privacy. In like manner, this concern is worrying because in some situations the clients who
acquire information that is not theirs may be tempted to take up a different identity that is not theirs. The
aspect of shared access has in the recent past also resulted in multitenant exploitation, which is the aspect of
exhausting user resources that belong to a different client.
Cyber-attacks. Another troubling concern that comes with cloud computing programs is cyber-
attacks. It is often known that the storage of data within the internet puts the users at a huge risk of cyber-
attacks. In fact, cloud computing worsens the situation, for a significant amount of data is often stored
within its storage space, hence making many people vulnerable. It is presumed that just as security
measures and other technological aspects become refined, do cyber-attacks. This is proved by the fact that
in as much as cloud companies often get security concerns right; the hackers often become more creative
and even hack personal accounts [9].
Government Intrusion. Government intrusion is one of the most recent concerns that cloud users
have to put up with. This is mainly because quite often governments are forced to invade the privacy of
their citizens and other organizations for national security reasons.
Lack of Cloud Standardization. Another major concern associated with cloud programming is the
lack of standardization. This is mainly because there are no set guiding principles that govern the cloud
programming, a fact that makes it possible for other cloud providers to have superior cloud systems.
Additionally, the fact that different sectors of the economy deal in various fields and have diverse
expectations makes it challenging for a cloud provider to know the extent of the safety of their cloud
program [36].