Cloud Storage in IT: A Report on Advantages and Disadvantages Analysis

This report explores the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage within IT infrastructure. It begins by introducing cloud technology and its role in data sharing and management, highlighting the shift from traditional systems to cloud environments due to factors like flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The report then discusses the architecture of cloud storage, including blocks and file management, and compares it to traditional disk storage systems, noting the security concerns associated with cloud environments. The research methodology involves qualitative analysis, including literature review and interviews with IT professionals, to identify key issues and challenges such as data security and unauthorized access. Findings detail the benefits of cloud storage, such as cost savings and improved data accessibility, while also addressing negative consequences like potential data breaches and lack of security rules. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing cloud storage security through authentication, encryption, data replication, and token issuance. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

Assignment on IT infrastructure

Abstract:
In this paper, we are going to look on the concept of cloud storage and its related advantages
and disadvantages. The working on the cloud environment is the big solution to the business
problem for handling big data. Storing the data on the cloud is equipped with various
advantages and disadvantages. The decision making capability of the project manager can be
improved with the help of cloud disaster management system. Security is the main limitation
of the cloud storage system which was an advantage in the traditional working environment.
This paper helps use in providing solution to overcome the negative consequence of the cloud
storage environment.
Keywords: Cloud storage, Advantages, Disadvantages
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Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Background................................................................................................................................3
Research Aim and objective:.....................................................................................................5
Research Problem.......................................................................................................................5
Methodology and Research details:...........................................................................................5
Issues and challenges.................................................................................................................6
Findings and observation...........................................................................................................7
Recommendation and Evaluation..............................................................................................8
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction:
The innovation in the cloud technology helps the business groups in sharing their data among
their group members. The increasing popularity of the cloud computing involves the
innovation in the cloud storage system for managing the large data set of the business to
manage supply and demand of the information between the team members. The cloud storage
system is equipped with various risks. The loss of confidential information and data leakages
are some of the major risks which are associated with the cloud storage system (Rajan, 2015).
The adoption of the cloud computing technology with millions of organization has
completely transforms the traditional working environment of the firm. The value of the
organization can be improved with the association of cloud technology with it. The
productivity of the firm can be improved by providing information on demand which helps in
managing the flow of product lifecycle program. The working culture of the enterprise is
migrated to the cloud environment because of the flexibility, reliability, scalability, accuracy,
agility, minimizing cost, and increasing efficiency provided by the cloud storage system. The
concern of security is the major issue with the cloud environment due to the failure in the
efficient handling of the confidential data and data leakages. The analysis of the cloud storage
system helps in identifying the strength and weaknesses of the cloud environment. The
computing need of the project owners can be fulfilled by efficient utilization of outsourcing
resources on the cloud (Zheng, 2013). The application resource can be effectively distributed
among the coordinated units. It is a cost effective technology for minimizing and balancing
the distribution of the resources and data among the participating units. The public, private,
and hybrid cloud are the three models for the installation of the cloud environment. The
integrity, reliability, and availability of the data are the quick approaches for the management
of the cloud environment.
Background
The general architecture of the cloud storage system is described in the diagram below:
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The blocks and file management system are used for storing the data on the cloud
environment. Any type of data audio, video, text, images, graphics, and etc. can be stored on
the cloud storage system (Chang, 2017). The internet connection should be laid down for
fetching of data between the participating units. The scalability of the cloud network can be
increased with the addition of more nodes to the network. The different service providers are
responsible for managing the data in the cloud storage. Traditionally, the data of the business
activity was handled by the disk storage system (Sriram, 2010). The magnetic tape and disks
are expensive than the cloud storage system because it requires only cost investment for the
laying down of the cloud architecture. The capacity of the traditional system was very limited
therefore, the need of big data storage arises with the increased level of business data which
results into the invention of the cloud storage system. The handling of the disk storage system
requires manual assistance so the problem of accuracy also exists with it. The management of
the backup tapes is very time consuming process (Rahul, 2013). The problem of the
traditional system can be resolved with the laying down of the cloud storage system. Security
is the main limitation of the cloud storage system which was an advantage in the traditional
working environment (Puican, 2014). The following graph shows the difference in the
features of traditional working environment and cloud based storage system environment.
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Research Aim and objective:
The aim of the research is to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the cloud storage
system. The analysis of the cloud storage system helps in identifying the strength and
weaknesses of the cloud environment. The objective of the research is to focus on the pros
and cons of the cloud storage system, cloud architecture for storage of data, increasing
connectivity of the network, and providing services to the client.
Research Problem
The capacity of the traditional system was very limited therefore; the need of big data storage
arises with the increased level of business data which results into the invention of the cloud
storage system.
Methodology and Research details:
The research methodology which is undertaken to complete the research study on the analysis
of the advantages and disadvantages of the cloud storage system is based on the qualitative
analysis such as literature review, interview, and questionnaire.
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The literature review helps in providing the details of fetching the data from the virtual
resources on demand. The cost of managing the resources among the participating units can
be lowered down by distributing the same resources among them (Sullivan, 2017). The
deployment of the cloud in the working curriculum of the organization is characterised with
various characteristics:
 The services and the resources among the participant group over the network helps in
managing the resources automatically.
 The request of the customers can be effectively managed by the self-service
provisioning system (Viswanath, 2012)
 The storage capacity of the cloud system can be efficiently increased
 The application programming interface should be developed for managing the
communication between the different resources to develop the standard interface
(Non-profit technology collaboration, 2010).
 The customer has to paid only for the space used by them for storing the data over the
cloud
The cloud storage system depends on three layers such as infrastructure as a service, platform
as a service, and software as a service (Apostu, 2010). Storage area network and network
access storage are used for storing the data and resources over the cloud.
The interviews and questionnaire was arranged with the IT professionals of the company who
had worked on the cloud environment effectively. During the course of interview and
questionnaire helps in gathering information related to the advantages and disadvantages of
the cloud storage system. The professionals helps in focusing the area of concern of the cloud
system i.e. security because most of the professional faces the problem of data leakages.
Issues and challenges
The security is the main concern which is raised by many professionals. The data can be
retrieved by the third party who does not have the access of the data and resources available
on the cloud. The use of encryption technology on the data can create the problem of
decrypting it at the user end. It is necessary to have a decrypting key at the receiver end
otherwise he will not be able to convert the cipher text into meaningful information. Security
is the main limitation of the cloud storage system which was an advantage in the traditional
working environment.
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Findings and observation
The deployment of the cloud storage system in the working curriculum of the business is
beneficial for the following reason:
 It is the cost effective technique because the owner of the company has to pay only for
the storage space which is used for storing the data of the organization over the cloud.
The capital expenses
 The Accessibility and reliability of the data can be increased
 The location of the data can be easily fetched of the multi-storage system
 The protection should be provided to the occurrence of the disaster. The backup of the
data manages the availability of the data after the occurrence of the disaster.
 The redundancy of the data at different cloud location helps in providing accurate
information according to the demand of the user. The carbon copies of the data helps
in managing the data in case of hardware failure also (Almrot, 2013).
 The cloud storage helps in balancing of the workload of the organization among the
team members.
 The storage capabilities of the system can be increased with the deployment of virtual
memory management system over the network (Xue, 2016).
 The participants are provided with the view of unique system.
It is observed that there are some security issues exist with the cloud based storage
environment which are highlighted in the table below:
Negtive consequences of cloud computing Description
Authorization The participants on the cloud can access the
data placed over the cloud. There is no
authorization provided that only the
authenticated person will be able to fetch the
information. It results into loss of
confidential data and the chance of data
leakages can occur (Catalina, 2014).
No security rule The cloud providers do not provide any
security solution to the users who are
participating in the cloud communication
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environment for the sharing of information.
The data can be retrieved by the third party
who does not have the access of the data and
resources available on the cloud (Ahmad,
2012).
Data location The resources over the cloud can be fetched
globally from the cloud environment
(Kondapalli, 2013).
Data segregation The use of same hard disk by different
participating groups. This can result in the
data leakages
Disaster recovery The loss of data can be recovered by the
single mechanism of data recovery protocol.
Recommendation and Evaluation
The cloud storage system is divided into three types for increasing the storage capacity of the
cloud which are classified as object storage for increasing the flexibility by increasing the
number of nodes on the system, file storage system is used for managing the sharing of files
among the working participants of the cloud network, and the block storage is used for
managing the requires and response associated with the query of the databases. The security
and the reliability concept of the cloud storage system can be improved with the deployment
of these three storage system which are named as object storage, block storage, and file
storage. The data can be easily accessed through the content distribution system.
The security and the negative consequences of the cloud storage system can be minimized by
indulging the security architecture into the working environment of the business.
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Solution to resolve the negative issues of the cloud storage system are described in the table
below:
Solution Description
Authentication The authorised and authenticated user should
have a right to access the information placed
by the correspondent member over the cloud.
Strong password should be used for
providing authority to the user.
Encryption procedure The encrypted data should be posted on the
cloud environment so that it cannot be
understand by the third party or the hackers.
The decryption key should be provided to the
receiver end only to convert the cipher text
into the meaningful information.
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Data replication The backup copies of the data should be
stored at the organization to manage the
situation of disaster
Issuing of tokens The third party should generate tokens for
storing the data over the cloud. It helps in
analysing the data is corrupted data or not.
Back up files The backup copies of the data should be
stored at the organization to manage the
situation of disaster`
Immaturity of the system Incompatibility with the availability of the
data online.
The analysis of the cloud storage helps in managing the machine generated data. The
scalability helps in increasing the computer nodes on the cloud network. The proactive
management of the cloud services helps in managing the resources effectively on the system.
Conclusion:
It is concluded that the growth of cloud technology is helpful for managing the innovation
and trends in the deployment of the latest technology in the working curriculum of the
enterprise. The cost of managing the resources among the participating units can be lowered
down by distributing the same resources among them. The participants on the cloud can
access the data placed over the cloud. The security is the main concern which is raised by
many professionals. The working culture of the enterprise is migrated to the cloud
environment because of the flexibility, reliability, scalability, accuracy, agility, minimizing
cost, and increasing efficiency provided by the cloud storage system.
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References
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Almrot, E. (2013). A study of the advantages and disadvantages of mobile cloud computing
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2018].
Apostu, A. (2010). Study on advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing- The
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https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/da62/49af5e0df8ed36334b34c2f1010ed19c53f4.pdf
[Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].
Catalina, I. (2014). Cloud computing: Impact on buisness. 1st ed. [ebook].
http://projekter.aau.dk/projekter/files/207512928/4.4_Cloud_Computing.pdf [Accessed 24
Mar. 2018].
Chang, V. (2017). Cloud storage in a private cloud deployment: lesson for data intensive
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doi=10.1.1.471.4420&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].
Kondapalli, S. (2013). Adoption of cloud computing and services: An objective analysis . 1st
ed. [ebook]. https://www.fujitsu.com/us/Images/Adoption%20of%20Cloud%20Computing
%20and%20Services_whitepaper.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2018].
Non-profit technology collaboration. (2010). Cloud storage. 1st ed. [ebook].
https://www.baylor.edu/business/mis/nonprofits/doc.php/197132.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar.
2018].
Puican, F. (2014). New classes of applications in the cloud: Evaluating advantages and
disadvantaess. 1st ed. [ebook]. http://www.dbjournal.ro/archive/15/15_1.pdf [Accessed 24
Mar. 2018].
Rahul, S. (2013). Cloud computing advantages and security challenges. 1st ed. [ebook].
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