Cloud Computing: Reflection and Research, ICT Audit for Antique Boutique, Desktop Software and Office Productivity Tools, Email Service Audit

This document provides information about cloud computing for small businesses, ICT audit for Antique Boutique, desktop software and office productivity tools, and email service audit.

Running head: CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud Computing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Answer to Question 4:
4.a. Reflection and research. Listing four sources for information about cloud computing for
small business:
1.
" Learn Now Publications - Log In ". 2019. Content.Lnonline.Com.Au. Accessed
March 28 2019. https://content.lnonline.com.au/lms/training/item.aspx?iid=115009.
2.
Rittinghouse, John W., and James F. Ransome. Cloud computing: implementation,
management, and security. CRC press, 2016.
3.
Wang, Xiu Li, Li Wang, Zhuming Bi, Yang Yang Li, and Yingcheng Xu. "Cloud
computing in human resource management (HRM) system for small and medium
enterprises (SMEs)." The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology 84, no. 1-4 (2016): 485-496.
4.
Khan, Nabeel, and Adil Al-Yasiri. "Identifying cloud security threats to strengthen
cloud computing adoption framework." Procedia Computer Science 94 (2016): 485-
490.
Answer to Question 6:
6.a. ICT Audit for Antique Boutique
ICT Audit: The Antique Boutique
Critical Systems Audit Tick
if
done
Comment (brief)

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Identify:
• The major transaction or information
systems that the organisation relies on.
 The internal and external data from
the organization is captured for the
identification of major transaction.
Currently the organization is based on
phone line and electrical power and it
was updated lastly on 2012. They
follow manual transaction processing
voucher and the authorization is
managed with the means of 1800
number acting as a backup for
terminal failing.
Interfaces:
For each identified system, find out:
• What input information it needs and
where it comes from.
 The cash flow acts as an input for the
cash register and EFTPOS terminal
for facilitating sales. The information
comes from the customer and emails
coming from Hotmail account.
• What information outputs it supplies
directly to staff.
 Manual Transaction Processing
Vouchers are supplied directly to the
staffs.

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• What information, if any, it provides as
inputs to other information systems.
The Manual Transaction processing
are authorised using 1800 number and
can be used as a backup for failing of
terminal.
Business exposures:
• For each, identify the business processes
which stop if the system stops.
 The exchange of the currency would
be stopped if the system stops.
• Find out if the business has a ‘wet
weather plan’ enabling it to operate at a
basic level in the event of failure of any
critical system.
 The business have no Wet Weather
Plan and it is not prepared for
handling any case of event failure.
There are no power backup or
secondary ISP involved in the
business.
Business satisfaction:
• Ask around to gauge the mood of the
people in the organisation about how
well each critical system is ‘bedded in’
and how well it fulfils business needs.
 A stakeholder meeting is needed to be
arranged for analysing the mood of
the people working in the
organization and their satisfaction
level is needed to be analysed.
Reliability:
• Find out about the history of failures, if
any, of each critical system and thereby
obtain a picture of overall reliability.
 The EFTPOS are consider as reliable
but sometimes it faced bank disputes
regarding accepting cards. Reliable

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alternate payment methods are needed
to be available for increasing the
overall reliability.
Technical risks:
• Identify any critical dependencies and
single points of failure for each system.
That includes big things like what happens
if a main computer or server fails, and little
things like whether kicking a plug out
could stop the system entirely.
 If the main server fails the whole cash
register system collapses and thus it is
needed to create a backup server for
eliminating the risk of downtime. The
risk of potential fraud by the cashiers
are needed to be monitored and
mistakes are need to be avoided.
Hardware and performance:
• Identify the hardware the system runs on,
and whether there is anything special about
its brand or configuration that makes it
precisely right for its job.
 There are 5 computers with each of
the managers that are used in the
business. The hardware is 9 years old
and have needs to be replaced for
improving the performance of the
employees and supporting the latest
version of software. There are also 5
network printers for the management
of printing jobs, one for each store.
The printer is HP LaserJet Pro MFP
M402n network printer and precisely

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right for the job.
• At the same time, ask around to gauge the
system’s response time, and whether it is
performing well enough.
The response of the peripheral
devices are needed to be analysed for
the measurement of the performance
of the system and improvement of the
local area wiring and configuration.
Disaster planning:
• Identify the disaster recovery plan and
process that will swing into action to repair
the situation if/when the system does fail.
 The current data are backed up in
portable hard drives before closing
any of the application and another
backup is taken at the end of the day.
The recovery plan can be used for
repairing the situation if any failure
occurs in the current system.
• At the same time, identify who the
critical people are who would coordinate
that type of recovery.
Their input will be useful later, when
considering how cloud computing might
assist in disaster recovery.
 The network support team and the
account manager is responsible of
handling the recovery situation and
input the data back to the system after
recovery.
The backup of the data can be stored
as archive in the cloud platform such
that it can help in assisting the
disaster recovery situation.

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Backups:
• Find out how and how often data on the
system gets backed-up and where data
copies are kept.
 The data gets backed up in the
portable hard drive by the bookkeeper
each time before closing a program
and the original file is left on the
system.
Software heritage:
• Find out who is the application software
supplier of this system; whether it is a
commercially-sourced system from a well-
respected supplier and subject to
maintenance contract support, or whether it
is written and maintained in-house.
 Microsoft Office and MYOB is the
supplier of application software and it
is a commercially sourced system that
is designed for the small scale
business. It can be used for updating
conveniently and easily offering
different feature and options in the
business for the improvement of
customer satisfaction.
User support:
• Find out how new users get trained on the
system and what the help-desk support
arrangements are.
 The new users are trained on the
system by providing the a
presentation and engaging them with
the existing employees. The can also
check the manual book for
understanding the working of the

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system.
Cost implications:
• Find out how much money was spent
putting this system in, and also its annual
ongoing cost.
 For putting in Microsoft Office Suite
$296 is spent for a license of 5
terminal and for MYOB and initial
cost of $1195.00 is spent. There are
no annual going cost.
• Estimate costs to the organisation for
each hour, or day, if this system is out-of-
action.
 The cost to the organization for an
hour or day if the system is down is
minimum $100 since more employees
are needed for handling the customer
request and manually recording the
transactions.
Management mood:
• If you can, get a sense of senior
management’s overall mood about this
system.
 The senior management would be
happy with the implementation of the
system since it is simplified
technology and helps in smooth
running the business.

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ICT audit: desktop software and office productivity tools
Desktop software audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
Core applications:
• Identify the core desktop applications the
business is using.
 MYOB Account right Plus version
19.7 and Microsoft Office Suite
2010 are the core desktop application
used by the business.
• Investigate how they are licensed.  MYOB Account right Plus version
19.7 is purchased at a cost of
$1195.00 and Microsoft Office Suite
2010 is purchased for $296.
• Determine if every function is loaded
onto every PC whether it is used or not.
 The Microsoft Office Suite are fully
installed in the existing systems and
it allows to be installed in 5
computers but no allocation is left
for the existing license.
Training:

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• Find out who trains users in, and supports
their ongoing use of, the desktop
application software.
 The existing employees trains and
support each other for using the
programs.
• Make an assessment of how effective and
efficient the software support in the
business seems to be.
 The assistance of the employees is an
efficient and effective approach
seemed in the business.
Version issues:
• Find out if there are there any instances
where different versions of desktop
software are used and for what reason.
 There is no instance where different
version of desktop software is used.
Document storage protocols:
• Investigate the organisation’s policies for
documents to be saved to shared servers.
 The normal documents can be saved
in the shared servers but it should not
contain the sensitive files because it
can be misused by any third party
user to cause harm for the company.
• Find out if there are examples where
users store their own documents on their
own PC drives and if so, investigate the
reasons for that.
 A separate drive is should be
allocated to the user for storing the
files because it can be backed up
easily without backing the system
files.
Planning for new desktop tools:

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• Find out if there is any formal business
process by which new desktop application
software gets identified, trialled and
purchased, and who manages that.
 The utilization of excel and MYOB
AccountRight Plus Version 19.7 by
the book keeper is recognized
because the bookkeeper produces
quarterly reports in MYOB and
stores the data in excel for creating
charts and displaying it to Alvin.
• At the same time, find out if there is
anything new in the planning pipeline right
now in this regard, and why.
 ALVIN is looking for upgrading the
current internet plan with an addition
of $25extra per month.
Rogue applications:
• Keep a look-out for examples where
application software has been introduced
onto a PC that doesn’t appear to be part of
the overall ICT plan. If individual users
have done this, ask them why, and see if
you can identify net efficiency gains, or
losses, from them having done so.
 The purchase of MYOB does not
appears a part of the overall ICT plan
because the software is not used
inefficiently where as manual ledgers
are used for entering the payroll
amount in MYOB.
Licensing regime:

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Take a look at the licencing arrangements
for the desktop software the business relies
on:
 The core desktop applications are
licensed and properly distributed to
all the PCs.
• Find out if there are licences for all the
machines that it is operating on.
 There are licenses for all the PCs in
which the application is installed.
• Determine the initial and ongoing costs
of these licenses.
 The initial cost of this license is $296
for Microsoft office suite and
$1195.00 for MYOB.
Unused tools:
• See if you can identify any software
applications that are still on PCs but not
being used anymore.
 Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft
One Note, Microsoft Access,
Microsoft Visio and Microsoft
Project available in Microsoft office
suite 2010 are identified as the
software application that installed in
PCs but not being used anymore.
• If you find any, determine if license fees
are still being paid for those applications.
 The license are one time cost and no
extra charges are being paid for the
unused applications.
People issues:
• Looking at the big picture of desktop
productivity software, try to identify who
 Looking at desktop productivity
software the managers would take

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calls the shots. the call.
• At the same time, try to gauge the general
satisfaction across the business with the
toolset currently in use.
 Alvin is not satisfied with his
performance while the other two
managers are operating well in their
jobs.
ICT audit: email service
Email audit Tick if
done
Comments (brief)
Core system:
• Ascertain the technical core of the
email system. This includes whether it is
hosted and administered internally
(typically by the IT group) or outsourced.
 An email server is needed to be
deployed for the management of
internal communication between the
managers are the staffs working in
different store of the company.
Users and volumes:
• Determine the number of email
addresses in use.
 Currently a single business’s free
Hotmail account is used by the
business for answering enquiries.
Other features:
• Email systems often have associated
features like meeting scheduling,
 The deployment of the email server
would help in reducing the

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simple task management, contact lists
and more. Find out which of these are
in common use in the business and the
degree of reliance placed on them.
communication gap between the
managers and schedule meeting for
planning the growth of the business
and improve customer relationship.
Costs:
• Find out what the system costs to install
and what its ongoing costs are. Keep in
mind that staff labour costs are part of
this, not just the software licensing costs.
 With 50 users the cost of ownership
for a period of three year is $1992
and per month it needs $1.97
including the cost of in-house
Windows Server needed for
exchanging email.

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ICT Audit: Other Systems, Template
Other Systems Audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
Name of additional system:
• What are its components?  Kiosk are retail merchandize unit
used for avoiding the customer stand
in long queues for billing.
• How does it work, technically?  The user can select the product they
have purchased and scan it with the
inbuilt barcode and make payment
for generating bill of the product.
• Who uses it?  The users avoiding the long queues
can use it for saving their time.
• Who manages it?  It is managed by the account
manager to record the payment of the
user.
• How critical is it?  It has the support of wireless
payment and offer discount due to its
low maintenance cost and labour
cost.

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• What is it costing?  It comes in lease with POS software
solutions.
• What happens if it fails?  If it fails the customer stands in the
queue for billing their product.
• Are there reasons to alter or grow this
system?
 With the implementation of the
system the customer relationship can
be improved and helps the business
to face faster growth in the market.
ICT audit: desktop hardware
Desktop hardware audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
Device type and count:
• Count the PC hardware: Macs and
Windows machines, including their models
and performance specifications.
 There are 5 windows Pc with each of
the store manager placed at the
manager’s office.
• Get an idea of who seems to have the big,
powerful machines and form a view about
whether that seems justified by role and
needs.
 The manager of Canberra has the
most powerful machine but he does
not have good knowledge of using
email and other applications.
Fleet age:

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• Estimate the average age of the hardware
fleet.
 Since the computers were purchased
in 2010 the average age of the
hardware fleet is 9 years.
• Ascertain where the newest machines are,
and why.
 The newest machine is with Alvin
because he manages the sales and
purchase function and the activity of
the bookkeeper.
Dollar value:
• Make an estimate of the sunk investment
in the desktop fleet.
 Each machine costs $1600 this the
total investment is $8000.
• Using a rule of thumb of, say, four years
active life for a typical PC, make an
estimate of the annual rolling replacement
cost of the fleet as time passes.
 Annual rolling replacement for the
fleet of PC as the time passes is $
1000 each.
Hardware support:
• Find out what happens when a PC has a
fault, or dies. That investigation will
include who responds, and whether there
are spare machines, configured and ready-
to-swap-in.
 The IT manager is responsible for
taking the call for replacement or
repair the fault if a fault arises in the
machine or it dies.
Brand incompatibilities:

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• Look for situations where there are
functional disconnects, incompatibilities or
job disruption emerging from having both
Mac and Windows machines in the
business.
 The Mac and the windows
deployment in workplace can cause
incompatibility of the files and
software because each of the other
system supports different file
formats. It would also cause incur in
extra cost because license is needed
to be purchased for both of the
machines.
Age-based incompatibilities:
• Identify situations where compatibility
between old and new machines and the
versions of software they can run has
become an issue.
 For the older machines the new
software application may not work
because of its architecture and OS
version which can cause
incompatibility issues.
Adequacy of fleet:
• Try to gauge general satisfaction with the
desktop hardware, whether it is up to the
task, whether major investment is needed,
and so on.
 A mid-range computer system is
needed to be selected that can
support the user needs and run all
types of applications smoothly
without causing any problem to the

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user.
Personal use:
• Estimate how much personal use happens
on the business’s PCs. Are employees on
Facebook and eBay half the day?
 Personal use are a common problem
and the user may be on eBay and
Facebook for more than half day.
ICT audit: LAN network
LAN audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
Reach:
• Find out where the LAN extends to, and
identify any pockets of the business that it
does not reach.
 The LAN extends to all the floors and
the machines installed in the shop but
it does not reach the inventory.
LAN-based shared resources:
• Identify the shared hardware resources
that are accessible via the LAN. Mostly
these will be file servers and printers.
 The local IIS, Print Server and the
File server is needed to be shared with
the employees for storing and
retrieving the backups.
Performance:

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• Ask around to see if the LAN presents
performance difficulties to users. Identify
if there are times when it seems slow.
 No users face problems with the
LANs since it is installed within the
unseen partition of the office and thus
there is no issues of accidental
disconnection.
LAN connections:
• Looking at the physical items that make
up the LAN (wires, hubs, sockets), make
an assessment of whether the whole thing
looks robust and secure or if a passer-by
could kick out a cable and bring the
business to a halt.
 The hub is needed to be replaced with
switch and wiring closet is needed to
be installed in wall mount socket such
that it cannot be accidentally
disconnected and the business cannot
be halted.
ICT audit: internet provision
Internet audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
Provider:
• Find out which external provider is
supplying the business with its internet
connectivity, and the data plan involved;
speed up/down, data limits each way.
 The current internet connection is
provided by Telstra and it involves a
data plan of 1000GB and the speed is
100 mbps.

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• If there are limits, find out if they are
ever exceeded and, if so, what are the
consequences.
If the data limit is exceeded $1 is
charged for each of the GB and it is
capped to maximum of $300 each
month.
Mobile data:
• Find out if mobile data services are
provided by the same carrier and plan, or
if this is a different one.
Look into the features and limitations of
that plan.
 Mobile data service is also provided
in the same plan at the rate of 55c for
each call and 36c for a minute.
Costs:
• Find out the cost of the current data plan.  The cost of the current plan is $100
per month for each of the store.
• At the same time, look into what the
next plan ‘up’ the scale offers and costs.
This will be useful information because an
expanded commitment to cloud
computing will likely see data traffic rise.
 The next plan offers an addition of
$25 per month for getting unlimited
data and for including mobile calls it
need $25 per month.
Other plans:
 The other plans include $80 per
month for 500 Gb of data and same
extra charge. There is another plan at

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• Take a general look at the various plans
offered by the current service provider
and competitive providers.
You will find that a number of cloud-
based options are available which you
should look into for future reference.
$100 with unlimited data and mobile
broadband backup.
ICT audit: backup
Backup audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
PC file backup:
• Find out how individual PCs are backed up.  The individual PCs back up is
taken on external hard drive and
the main copy is stored in the
company’s computer.
• Look into whether important files on the
PCs are sent automatically to LAN servers or
whether it is left to individual PC users to
manage their own file backups.
 The important files on the PCs are
not sent automatically to the LAN
servers and it is left on the
individual PC for managing their
own file backups.
Server backup:

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• Find out how often, and where, the LAN-
based servers are backed up.
 The backups are taken before
closing the program and stored in
portable hard drives.
History of failures:
• Look into whether there have been backup
failures causing major inconvenience or
worse. If there have been, investigate what
was the management response.
 The backup failure would not
cause inconvenience since the
original files are left on the
individual pc. It is the
responsibility of the management
to create a backup plan and store
the backup files in remote
location.
ICT audit: web presence
Web site audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
General review:
• If the business has a website, look at its
features and how it serves the business.
Ask to see if there are plans to alter or
 A website can provide various
types of features which includes
some basic features to some

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expand the web presence. advanced features. This includes
some basic information about the
organization to some advanced
payment system. The main
advantage provided by the
organizational website is that it
helps to reach a vast amount of
audiences which can expand the
business area. Thus customer will
be increased, sales will be
increased and better relationship
can be established with the
customers. Currently the web
presence can be modified and can
be expanded as per the business
requirement of the organization.
Design and responsibility:
• Find out who designed and built the
website, if they are internal staff or
external consultants / service providers.
 Currently the design of the
website is made by the internal
management of the organization
and the website is built by an
external consultant organization
which is proficient in website
development.

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• At the same time, ask if these are the same
people who maintain the site.
 A contract is also signed with the
consultant organisation and they
will be liable for maintaining the
website for some initial years.
Hosting:
• Find out where the website is hosted, and
why that decision was made.
 The website is currently hosted in
all over Australia and that
decision is made to expand the
business area to whole Australia.
Hardware platform:
• Look into what hardware the website is
running on, who owns it and who manages it.
 There is no minimum requirement
for the hardware. However, the
hosting service provider provides
high end hardware system like
server processors and the high
speed storage system, currently
which are the SSDs. The whole
web hosting service is provided by
SiteGround organization and it is
also managed by them.
• Get a sense of whether it is performing
well and what options the business has if it
wanted to improve its performance.
 Currently the website is
performing very well as the
response time is low. If it needs to

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CLOUD COMPUTING
improve the its performance then
the website needs to be optimised
more.
Bandwidth demands:
• Investigate the bandwidth usage of the
website and how it is trending.
 The current bandwidth
requirement for the website is
around 10 GB. This is trending as
the 10 GB bandwidth requirement
is considered good for a medium
type of business.
• If usage is growing, estimate when a bigger
data plan may be required.
 With growing usage the website
of the organisation might need 50
GB of bandwidth.
Webmaster issues:
• Find out if the business relies heavily on in-
house staff to manage its web presence and, if
so, how that is going.
 The house staff is not so important
in this case for managing the web
presence.
• Get a sense of whether there are significant
risks in how the website is managed.
 Currently there are no heavy risks
regarding the website
management as it is currently
managed by one of the best firms
in this field.

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ICT audit: data for reporting
Data for reporting audit Tick
if
done
Comments (brief)
What reports:
• Identify the routine reports that are critical
for management.
 The routine reports that are
critical for the management are
the financial report, budgetary
control statements and the
variance analysis.
Source of data:
• Find out what data is needed to prepare
reports and what systems supply that data.
 The data needed for preparing the
data are the sales related data,
expense related data and the
profit related data. The database
system of the organisation
supplies that data.
• Find out if there are any special tricks and
timing that have to work in a particular way
for reports to be produced.
 The special trick for preparing
the report is creating the report
with real time data analysis.
Report designers:
• Identify who designs the reports and who
changes them to meet new requirements.
 This report is designed by the
management of the organization

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and it can be changed by the
higher authority at the time of
approval.
• Make an assessment of risk factors in the
reporting process, e.g. a key-person
vulnerability.
 The main risks is associated in
this case is the manual error
which occurs due to key person
vulnerability and to data
misinterpretation due to issues in
servers.
Consequences of replacement:
• Look into what things could go wrong with
reporting if an information system supplying
the data was replaced by a new system.
 In such of the incidents the whole
report can be incorrect respect to
the new system and in this case
the report need to be prepared
again considering the new
system.

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6.b. Preparation of a business case
Business Case
Proposal to Introduce Cloud Computing
The Antique Boutique
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Current Situation
3. Risks involved if current situation remains
4. New ICT proposal
5. Advantages and Justifications
6. Coaching and Training
7. Cost Factor – Cost Benefit Analysis
8. Intangible Advantages
9. Risks with the new system
10. Recommendations

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11. Plan to introduce Cloud Computing
1. Introduction
In the current context the business case report has been produced for analysing the current
situation of the business. By presenting this business report specific business need of the
current organization can be analysed. Thus proper actions can be taken regarding the
business needs.
2. Current Situation
Limitations
Currently the business of Antique Boutique is going through a vast expansion and the
model of the business is evolved to reselling and sourcing better quality. The business of
this organization has outgrew from the original location of the business which was a small
town. Currently this organization is operating in stores in urban cities of Australia.
Though the business of Antique Boutique has seen a large expansion, it has faced some
limitation regarding the expansion. As the business of this organization is expanding, the
management of the business is getting more complex. One of the prior solution of this
complexity is implementation of the information and computer technology but the owner
of this organization, Alvin Anderson is not very much comfortable with the computer
technology. Thus the organization is also facing some limitations regarding the

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implantation of ICT services in the organization.
3. Risks involved if current situation remains
1. Problem: The complexity of the business will increase more with the increasing time.
1. Risks: The business might see operational failure.
1. Consequences: Business will be not able to run on its full potential.
2. Problem: Business will not be able to track its record regarding expenses and profit
properly as there might be some manual errors.
2. Risks: Proper budget for the organization cannot be created.
2. Consequences: Mistakes will be done on the budget of the organization, thus the profit
margin of the organization will automatically become low.
3. Problem: Business cannot be promoted through the online services which is the most
popular in current situation.
3. Risks: Business will lose its competitive advantage in the current market.
3. Consequences: The business will not reach to a vast amount of people thus the growth
of the business will stop after a certain amount of time.
4. New ICT proposal
The new ICT policy for Antique Boutiques should contain the password policy such that
strong password is used by the user and it cannot be guessed or vulnerable to brute force

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attacks. The password policy can be implemented with the installation of a local server and
configuring active directory user and group management. Backup is needed created and
stored in AWS such that it can be accessed from remote location and help in increasing
redundancy of data. AWS is selected as the cloud service provider because it provides
security at a lower cost than the on premises server environment. Antivirus software is
needed to be installed in each of the machine such that computer is protected from
spyware, malware, virus and root kits as it can cause denial or service or corrupt the files
residing in the system and spread to the rest of the machines connected in the network. A
firewall is also needed to be deployed for securing the internal network by blocking the
unknown sources to reach the internal network. Configuration of the firewall policy helps
in eliminating the risk of downloading malicious files from the websites. Router and
switches installed in the network is also needed to be configured with username and
password such that the illegal users cannot access the configuration and modify it for
illegal use. Each of the site is needed to be installed with a network printer and thus 5
printers (HP LaserJet Pro MFP M402n) are needed to be deployed and the local server is
also needed to be configured with print services enabled for the management of printing
queues.
5. Advantages and Justifications
The main advantage which will be provided by this new proposal is the improved business
proficiency. Here this new proposal elaborates to implement ICT services within the
Antique Boutique organization. The main advantage of this new proposed system is that it
will provide an enhanced business service to the Antique Boutique. This organization will
be able to manage its business activities in a proper way. The payment options for the

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organization will be enhanced by the implementation of EFTPOS machines. Also, in this
case the proposed website for the organization will provide a benefit as it will help in the
publicity of the organization. Thus grater audiences can be gathered and the business
efficiency will be improved. The ICT services will also provide a cloud database server
and in this database organizational data can be stored efficiently regarding sales data,
expenses data, profit related data and some other important data. The main advantage of
this cloud service is that the data can be accessed anytime, anywhere independent of a
particular computer machine.
6. Coaching and Training
Implementing the ICT services and equipment’s is not the only task in this case. The owner
of the organization does not hold any type of expertise in terms of modern technologies.
Thus it is normal that the owner need some training for operating this new ICT services
successfully. With the owner, the employees of the organization might also face issues
while operating this new services. Thus proper training is needed regarding using this new
technologies. For proper training first of all a proper schedule need to be developed in this
case. In the first stages of the training program all of the employees need to go through a
basic training model for the new software and hardware technologies. In the second step of
the training advanced training will be provided to the employees as per their working area.
7. Cost Factor – Cost Benefit Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis

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Proposal to Introduce Cloud Computing - The Antique Boutique
Quantitative Costs
Non-Recurring Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Hardware $10,000.00 $ - $ -
Servers $ 5,000.00 $ 3,000.00 $ 3,000.00
Desktop $ 8,000.00 $ 1,450.00 $ 1,750.00
Telecommunication equipment $ 500.00 $ 600.00 $ 550.00
Software (packaged or custom) $ 1,491.00 $ - $ -
Computer room upgrades $ 1,000.00 $ 1,200.00 $ 1,200.00
Furniture and fixtures $ 800.00 $ 800.00 $ 900.00
Project organisational/support costs $ 2,000.00 $ 2,100.00 $ 2,100.00
Planning (upon approval) $ 450.00 $ 480.00 $ 550.00
Procurement $ 750.00 $ 850.00 $ 540.00
Contract negotiations $ 860.00 $ 650.00 $ 500.00
Labour $ 1,400.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 1,300.00
Infrastructure $ 1,460.00 $ 1,540.00 $ 1,750.00
Development $ 1,400.00 $ 1,200.00 $ 1,110.00

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Business Process owners (users) $ 250.00 $ 300.00 $ 400.00
Management $ 800.00 $ 1,000.00 $ 900.00
Training of employees (pre-
implementation)
$ 2,100.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 1,200.00
Transition costs (parallel systems) $ 2,600.00 $ 2,100.00 $ 1,900.00
Post implementation reviews $ 450.00 $ 550.00 $ 500.00
Total Non-Recurring Costs $41,311.00 $20,820.00 $20,150.00
Recurring Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Hardware/Software $ 4,000.00 $ 4,500.00 $ 4,000.00
Maintenance and upgrades $ 2,500.00 $ 2,500.00 $ 3,000.00
Computer supplies $ 1,000.00 $ 1,400.00 $ 1,200.00
Desktops (incremental to the project) $ 3,000.00 $ 3,500.00 $ 3,500.00
Data Storage $ 1,000.00 $ 990.00 $ 1,020.00
Help Desk support $ 1,500.00 $ 1,550.00 $ 1,640.00
Ongoing Additional Labour $ 750.00 $ 800.00 $ 900.00
IT staff costs (incl. benefits) $ 8,000.00 $ 8,000.00 $ 8,300.00
User training $ 4,500.00 $ 5,000.00 $ 5,500.00
Other $ 4,000.00 $ 4,500.00 $ 5,500.00

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Data communication/transmission $ 1,200.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 2,000.00
Office leases $ 5,000.00 $ 5,000.00 $ 5,000.00
Total Recurring Costs $36,450.00 $39,240.00 $41,560.00
Total Costs $41,311.00 $20,820.00 $20,150.00
(Non-Recurring + Recurring)
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Proposal to Introduce Cloud Computing - The Antique Boutique
Quantitative Benefits
Quantitative Benefits Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Revenues $
95,000.00
$
98,000.00
$
1,01,000.00
(Enter revenue source
here)
Total Revenues
Cost Savings

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Decreased cost of
services provided
$
1,000.00
$
1,000.00
$
500.00
Savings from Business
process improvements
$
1,200.00
$
1,000.00
$
800.00
Productivity gains $
0.10
$
0.05
$
0.02
Savings from structural
changes
$
600.00
$
500.00
$
400.00
Savings from optimized
information (or flow)
$
300.00
$
300.00
$
200.00
Decreased information
publishing cost
$
500.00
$
400.00
$
300.00
Reduced staffing cost
(incl. overtime)
$
450.00
$
350.00
$
250.00
Reduced staff turnover
costs
$
200.00
$
150.00
$
100.00
Total Cost Savings $
4,250.10
$
3,700.05
$
2,550.02
Cost Avoidance
(Enter Cost Avoidance
Here)
$
800.00
$
500.00
$
500.00

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Total Cost Avoidance $
800.00
$
500.00
$
500.00
Other Benefits
(Enter Other Benefits
Here)
$
300.00
$
300.00
$
300.00
Total Other Benefits $
300.00
$
300.00
$
300.00
Total Benefits $
5,350.10
$
4,500.05
$
3,350.02
8. Intangible Advantages
The main intangible advantage in this case are the improved business process, increased
customer satisfaction and easy to store and access business related data.
9. Risks with the new system
In the worst case of scenarios the supply chain of the organization can be stopped totally.
In such of the cases the operations of the organization will be stopped as the proposed
system will be based on online data storing of sales and expenses data which need to be
updated in real time. Thus the purchase point of the products will be stopped. Customer
satisfaction will also degrade in this case. In many cases the employees of organization
may need access to the main server of the organization for browsing some information. If

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this system remains obsolete then it is obvious that the employees will not be able to access
those data which can lead to employee dissatisfaction. Security is also a big concern in this
case. In the worst cases if the whole system gets hacked then it can lead to some financial
loss to the organization.
10. Recommendations
Recommendation & Proposal
The organization Antique Boutique must conduct some evaluation of the current running
system on a monthly basis which will help to run the services regarding information and
communication technology on a proper way, without any type of major flaws.
Thus in this case it is proposed to develop a maintenance team which will look after the
ICT equipment and the services provided by it.
Cost
The cost of maintaining the entire team for a month will be near around $3000.
Advantages
The main advantage in this case is that the ICT system will run properly without any type
of major flaws. Thus better business process will be achieved.
Intangible Advantages
The intangible advantage is that the organization will never run through a permanent shut
down of the ICT services which can create a huge loss for the organization.

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Risks
The main risk in this case is that the cost of hiring the maintenance team is very much high.
This can create a risk of low profit to the organization.
11. Plan to introduce Cloud Computing
For implementing the cloud computing in the organization there are several considerations
which need to be followed. First there are some short term consideration. In this case first
mission critical application need to be evaluated. Considering the cloud computing it is
very much flexible and scalable and that is needed by the Antique Boutique. Side by side
this is also costly. In the second case security and administrative control also need to be
established. In the next step a cloud provider need to be chosen. For the long term
consideration data and report integrity need to be ensured. Administration and support need
to be provided and what benefit is provided by this ICT services need to be realised.
In the next case a proper budget need to be established for implementing the cloud
services. The budget can be determined through a cost benefit analysis. The primary
concern in this case are the table cost of the cloud provider, cost associated with the
external consultant organization and cost related with the upgrading the system in future
cases.
Steps for implementing the cloud computing is also very much important. First of all in the
project components the budget of the project need to be approved. In next case team and
the leadership need to be created. Following that milestone need to be identified. Following
these the next step is the finish line identification for the project.

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6.c. Video role play task
Summarizing the limitation and risks from the Business Case
The Antique Boutique business case has certain limitations such as management of
the store front and eliminating the risk of mis communication between the store managers.
The risk of inputting wrong entry of information in the system is also needed to be eliminated
such that the monthly report does not introduce any error in the system. The cash flow is
needed to be managed for keeping records of the inventory and the system is needed to be
backed up to remote servers such that it can handle the emergency situations. The insufficient
of knowledge of the domain for the employees can cause risk for the system. The system is
also vulnerable to malware and viruses since no antivirus software is installed in the system
and thus an intruder can cause denial of service attack to the system and cause a huge loss for
the organization.
New ICT proposal
A cloud computing platform is needed to be deployed for storing the backup of the
companies information. The cloud deployment model is needed to be selected depending on
the type of files that are needed to be stored in the cloud platform. A hybrid cloud
deployment model is suggested such that the sensitive information can be stored in the
private cloud and the other achieved files can be stored in the public cloud. The hybrid cloud
would be a cost effective solution since private clouds are costly to be adopted in the current
business process.
An analysis is also needed to be done on the cloud vendor offering the best price
according to the needs of the business and it should be noted that the vendor lock situation is
avoided. The data residing in the cloud servers are needed to be encrypted such that it cannot
be accessed by illegal users for misuse.

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Briefly talk Alexandra through the training options you are planning to offer
The managers and the accountant should be provided access of the cloud servers with
their individual user account and password. A training session is needed to be arranged and
the risk of using the cloud servers and the sharing of password is needed to be conveyed to
them such that their concern regarding the vulnerability is increased. The should also be
trained about the types of files that should be stored in the external servers. A security and
response training is needed to be provided such that resiliency in the business can be
improved. The users should also be trained about the virtualization other IT related platform
that is essential to run the business.
Explain how having a range of training options means she can learn on her terms
Providing training to the users would help to increase the efficiency in the current
business case and eliminate the risk associated with the management of user and information
residing in the cloud servers. The awareness regarding the security of data and the
consequences of data loss and hijacking is needed to be shared such that the responsibility of
the user is improved and the current ICT framework of the organization is secured. The users
can be engaged in training courses or a trained personnel can be hired to arrange in house
seminars for sharing skills and knowledge with the managers and other staffs handing the
ICT devices and framework.
Say something to gently encourage Alexandra to update her computing knowledge.
You can improve your Excel Knowledge such that you can do calculations in excels
and improve your performance. You can also learn to use the sales and purchase function in
MYOB and eliminate the needs of maintaining manual ledger for the management of normal
daily business process.

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Briefly talk the group through your plan to introduce cloud computing
For the implementation of cloud computing in the current business case we have
selected hybrid cloud platform such that different computer services can be remotely
delivered to the clients With the implementation of cloud the needs for large investment can
be eliminated and provides the different tools and technology such the business can compete
in the global market. The need for investing on the in house IT resources are eliminated and
thus can reduce the expenditure for the business. The organization can gain access to flexible
and agile computing services.