Cloud Computing Report: Cloud Storage for Businesses and Corporations

This report provides a comprehensive overview of cloud computing, exploring its fundamental concepts and various aspects. It begins by defining cloud computing and highlighting its significance. The report then delves into the crucial features to consider when selecting cloud storage, such as cost, risk assessment, security, integration capabilities, service-level agreements (SLAs), and provider selection. It elaborates on different cloud storage services, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), providing real-world examples for each. A detailed comparison between public, private, and hybrid cloud storage models is presented, outlining their respective characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. The report further analyzes the best cloud storage solution for Volkswagen, considering its specific needs and requirements. It also evaluates the benefits and challenges associated with using cloud storage, such as cost efficiency, global data access, security risks, and the need for reliable internet connectivity. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of careful evaluation before adopting cloud computing technologies to enhance business operations and foster future growth.

Running head: CLOUD COMPUTING 0
Basic Concept of Information
Technology
Cloud computing

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Important Features for Selecting Cloud Storage........................................................................3
Services offered by Cloud Storage Providers and Examples.....................................................3
Comparison between Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud Storage..............................................4
Best Cloud Storage for Volkswagen..........................................................................................5
Benefits and Challenges of using Cloud Storage.......................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Cloud computing is referred as delivery of hosted services over the internet which
enables corporations to use computing resources such as storage, application, or a virtual
machine like a utility such as electricity. While using cloud computing, enterprises did not
have to build and maintain a computing infrastructure in-house (Armbrust, et al., 2010). This
report will discuss the significant features that are necessary to be considered while selecting
a type of cloud storage. This report will elaborate services that are offered by cloud storage
providers and compare the attributes of public, private and hybrid cloud storage. Further, the
report will examine which is the best cloud storage for Volkswagen and evaluate the benefits
and challenges of using cloud storage by corporations.

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Important Features for Selecting Cloud Storage
Following are significant features that are necessary to be considered by corporations
while selecting a suitable type of cloud storage.
 Cost: The cost generally correlated with performance and features which by a Cloud
Service Provider (CSP). For example, high-latency storage is a cheaper option than
low-latency storage for companies (Zhang, Cheng & Boutaba, 2010).
 Risk assessment: Physical data storage include a number of risks such as power
disruptions, hardware failure, and disputes with vendors. Online backup mitigates
risks of business or technical issues. Therefore, companies are required to assess their
risks before selecting a suitable cloud storage provider.
 Security: Use of cloud storage increases the risk of cyber-attack which increases the
investment of companies in security data.
 Integration with other applications: Organisations have to understand different
integrations points and how a cloud storage provider will integrate it with other
applications.
 Service-Level Agreements (SLA): An SLA includes different terms and penalty
clauses for non-delivery of services by a cloud storage provider. The companies
should ensure that SLA includes different clauses which ensure efficiency in data
usage (Wu & Buyya, 2012).
 Selecting right provider: The number of CSPs is high which include market leaders
such as Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
Therefore, organisations should evaluate reliability and pricing of each player before
selecting the most suitable one for them.
Services offered by Cloud Storage Providers and Examples
Following are different services which are offered by CSPs along with examples of
each service.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
It provides virtualised computing resources to companies through the internet. It gives
access to crucial web architecture which includes servers, connections, storage space with the

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requirement of companies to purchase or manage the infrastructure (Bhardwaj, Jain & Jain,
2010). A good example of IaaS is Amazon EC2 which provides secure and resizable
computing capacity of the cloud to corporations, and it makes web-scale cloud computing
easier for developers (Amazon, 2018).
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
If the cloud offers services of a development platform to developers which include
services such as web server, programming language execution environment, database and
operating system, it is known as PaaS (Beimborn, Miletzki & Wenzel, 2011). The Example
of PaaS includes Google App Engine which assists developing in building mobile
applications and modern web on an open cloud platform (Google, 2018).
Software as a Service (SaaS)
It is referred as a software distribution model that enables third-party providers to host
their applications and to make them available to their customers over the internet. It
eliminates the need for companies to install and run the programs or applications on their
computers or managing them from their data centres. Use of SaaS eliminates various
expenses relating to hardware, acquisition, maintenance, and provisioning, along with
software installation, support and licensing (Wohl, 2010). The example of SaaS model is
Gmail which is a free web-based e-mail service provided by Google to its customers which
enable them to send emails, search specific emails, create a conversational thread, automatic
organisation of emails and others.
Comparison between Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud Storage
Public Cloud Private Cloud Hybrid Cloud
Tenancy Data of multiple
companies stored in a
shared environment.
Only a single
corporation’s data is
stored.
Public cloud stores
data in shared
environment whereas
private cloud data is
kept private by a firm
(Goyal, 2014).
Exposed to public Anyone can access
and use the data.
Only the company
has the access.
Services using public
cloud can be
accessed by anyone
whereas applications
on private cloud can
only be accessed by

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the firm.
Hardware
Components
CSPs provide and
maintain the
hardware.
Companies have
their own
administrators for
cloud management.
Private cloud is
managed by the firm
whereas public cloud
is managed by
service providers
(Jadeja & Modi,
2012).
Expenses CSPs bear expenses
relating to hardware,
maintenance, set-up
application, and
network accessibility
as per SLA.
More expensive as
expenses bear by the
firm itself.
Private cloud
expenses are
managed by the
company whereas
CSPs manage public
cloud expenses.
Best Cloud Storage for Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German auto manufacturer company which offer its service
worldwide. The best cloud storage option for Volkswagen is SaaS. Use of SaaS can improve
supply chain operations of the firm such as supplier synchronisation, advanced shipping
notices, reducing management cost, and others. Volkswagen can automate its supply chain
functions by making a SaaS application can facilitate services such as sending automated
orders to suppliers, sending products to distribution centres, improved communication which
leads to better collaboration and others.
Benefits and Challenges of using Cloud Storage
Benefits
 Cost efficiency
 Global access to data
 Reduced support and hardware needs
 Greener option than compared to traditional IT infrastructure
Challenges
 Risk of cyber-attack and availability of data
 The need for reliable and fast internet service
 Difficulty in change management since trained employees required

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Conclusion
In conclusion, cloud computing is referred as a practice of using a network of remote
server that is hosted on the internet for performing various services such as managing,
storing, and processing data, instead of using local servers. Before choosing a cloud service
provider, companies should consider factors such as cost, risk assessment, SLA, right
provider and others. The advantages of cloud computing include cost efficiency, global
access, greener option and reduced support and hardware needs. The challenges include risk
of cyber-attack and availability of data, dependence on reliable internet, and difficulty in
change management. Organisations should evaluate these factors before investing in cloud
computing technology which improves their operations and sustains their future growth.

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References
Amazon. (2018). Amazon EC2. Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/
Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A. D., Katz, R., Konwinski, A., ... & Zaharia, M.
(2010). A view of cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50-58.
Beimborn, D., Miletzki, T., & Wenzel, S. (2011). Platform as a service (PaaS). Business &
Information Systems Engineering, 3(6), 381-384.
Bhardwaj, S., Jain, L., & Jain, S. (2010). Cloud computing: A study of infrastructure as a
service (IAAS). International Journal of engineering and information
Technology, 2(1), 60-63.
Google. (2018). Google App Engine. Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/appengine/
Goyal, S. (2014). Public vs private vs hybrid vs community-cloud computing: A critical
review. International Journal of Computer Network and Information Security, 6(3),
20.
Jadeja, Y., & Modi, K. (2012). Cloud computing-concepts, architecture and challenges.
In Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies (ICCEET), 2012 International
Conference on (pp. 877-880). IEEE.
Wohl, A. (2010). Software as a Service (SaaS). The Next Wave of Technologies:
Opportunities from Chaos, 97-113.
Wu, L., & Buyya, R. (2012). Service level agreement (sla) in utility computing systems. IGI
Global, 15.

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Zhang, Q., Cheng, L., & Boutaba, R. (2010). Cloud computing: state-of-the-art and research
challenges. Journal of internet services and applications, 1(1), 7-18.