A Literature Review on Cloud Computing: Advantages and Challenges

This literature review explores the evolution and impact of cloud computing on businesses, highlighting its advantages such as cost reduction, scalability, and on-demand services. It defines cloud computing, discusses various service models including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, and examines key characteristics like on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. The review also addresses challenges such as security threats, downtime, and bandwidth limitations. It covers the latest trends, including automatic software integration and the need for service composition systems. Various research papers and articles are referenced to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of cloud computing, including its role in enabling business competitiveness.

LITERATURE REVIEW

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

LITERATURE REVIEW
Today in the world of technology and globalisation, computing powers has become very
essential for the businesses to generate competitive advantage. Traditional method for the
enterprises for processing the data for computing power that is provided by their in-house data
centres. Cloud computing has provided an alternative to the businesses. The computing
technique was launched by the industry giants in late 2006 as computing service based on
internet. It is providing computing powers with fast implementation, less IT staff, low
maintenance and at consequently lower costs. The appealing promises has made a dominant
topic for the enterprises and press topic.
Ferris, (2018) has stated that novelty and increased growth of cloud computing has
made it an exciting and knowledgeable research area. The research has become very important
for the industry as the knowledge and understanding about the relevant concept of aloud
computing is necessary. Cloud computing has became a very wide area on the present scale and
the level at which it is used has grown to an enormous level.
Cloud computing has different definitions in the literature, among there are many that do
not includes all the features of cloud computing. A definition considering twenty two main
element has been considered for deriving the most relevant definition. For standardising the
definition of cloud computing. Cloud computing has been defined as the model that enables
ubiquitous, convenient, on demand networking access for sharing the pool of configured
computing services(Shen and et.al., 2017). Other definition as Bill martin cloud computing is an
method or technology that is used for increasing the capacity or adding the capabilities without
making investment on the infrastructure, training personnel or licensing the new software. Cloud
computing has encompassed subscriptions that are based over pay per use services over the real
time on internet extending the existing capabilities.
Instead of owning data centres or computing infrastructure, access can be rented by
companies to everything from application to storage from service providers. By using the cloud
service companies could avoid upfront costs and the complexity of maintaining and owning own
infrastructures of IT and pay for what they will use. From this providers of services of cloud
computing they could benefit themselves from the significant economy of scale through delivery
of same services to broad customer ranges.
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In the view point of Dastjerdi and Buyya, (2016) cloud is cited as fifth utility after,
electricity, gas, water and telephone. Computing services could be found readily available over
demand, like the other services that are available on demand. It is also cited by the author that
cloud computing characteristics are mainly five. These are self service on demand where
consumers could unilaterally provision about the computing capabilities like server times and the
network storages that are used automatically as needed without the human interactions. It
provides broad network access, over the network capabilities are available that are used and
accessed using standard mechanisms promoting use by thick or thin heterogeneous client
platforms like laptops, mobile phones. Computing resources of the client are pooled by the
service providers for serving multiple customers using multi tenant models with the different
virtual and physical resources. These resources are assigned and sometimes reassigned as per the
demand of consumers. Other characteristic is rapid elasticity. In some situations capabilities
could be released and provisioned elastically for automatically scaling in and out. Resources are
controlled and optimised automatically by cloud systems by leveraging metering capability over
some abstraction level that are appropriate to type of services.
It has been stated by Chang and Ramachandran, (2015) that there are different cloud
servicing models. Service is defined as mechanism capable of providing more than one
functionalities that becomes possible for users to use in compliance with defined restrictions and
rules through interface. Infrastructure in cloud computing is defined as physical components
required by system for performing its functionalities. These components in information systems
are network equipments, storage, processors and operating and database management system in
some cases.
In accordance to the views of Januzaj, Ajdari and Selimi, (2015) the major advantage for
the companies to use cloud computing is that this is a reliable method of managing and
administering the data within the company. This is majorly because of the reason that this
computing helps the company to store the data on these devices and thus, this can be relied upon
by the company for future reference. But in contrast to this Kumar and Charu, (2015) argues that
when the company work in cloud environment then the server is locked and used by this as well
and this impacts the performance of the company to a great extent.
As per the thoughts of de Bruin and Floridi, (2017) articulates that the latest trend of
cloud computing is the automatic software integration. This is a benefit to the user as software
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integration occurs automatically and the company need not to take any additional effort to
integrate and customize the application. On the other hand, Gutierrez, Boukrami and Lumsden,
(2015) criticizes that security threat is the major issue related with cloud computing. This is
majorly because of the reason that in this all the information of the company are stored and
shared with third party. Thus, there is always the risk of security relating to this.
But Potluri and Rao, (2017) articulates that latest feature in cloud computing is the
unlimited storage as the data can be stored in this to limitless capacity. Also, the data can be
expanded and that to with nominal monthly fee attached to it. In contrast to this Vithayathil,
(2018) states that this is not beneficial because of the fact that many cloud computing providers
limit their bandwidth usage limit of their user if they surpass the allowed limit. Thus, the
company will be charged with some additional charges from the company.
In addition to this Langaliya and Aluvalu, (2015) states that the important feature of the
cloud computing is that this have an option of back up and restoring the data. This will help the
company at contingent times when the data may be harmed or some mismanagement of the data
is done. However, Charanya and Aramudhan, (2016) claims that another feature of cloud
computing is that it has mobility that is even if the employees are not at workplace or are at some
remote place then also can operate the cloud computing. also, if the user of cloud computing
need to share the information to some one then it can collaborates with other users as well.
In contrast to this Bahrami, (2015) articulates that the use of cloud computing can vary
because of the internet connectivity. This is due to the fact that the use of cloud computing is
based on the internet and if the internet is not in proper manner then the cloud computing will not
Other infrastructure in cloud services include SaaS that is defined software as Service.
This is an application or software that is executed on the infrastructure on the vendor and is
recognised service provided having limited access permission to the consumers. In this
consumers are unaware about the infrastructure of the application provider and authority has
limited for configuring some settings (Somani and et.al., 2017). Another important model is
PaaS in which service vendors are providing moderate basic and basic requisites inclusive of
operating systems, servers and networks. Development tools allow consumers for developing
acquired application or software and managing the configuration settings. In the IaaS consumers
have developed required applications & only basic infrastructures are needed. work. This is
because of the fact that it is operated with the internet. In continuation of this Attaran, (2017)
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shares that a downtime must also be taken care of. This is because of the fact that while
operating at computing there may be power loss or even low internet connectivity.
The phase at which developments are taking place the cloud computing has become a
worldwide service pools. Langmead and Nellore, (2018) has stated that diverse and complex
services are increasing therefore it is difficult for one simple service to satisfy existing
functional requirement of many real cases. For competing in the complex world it is important to
have simple atomic services that could work together. Strong need has been developed of
embedding the service composition systems in the cloud computing. Process of introducing
services, requesting and binding could be accounted in a way where the service provider
introduce the available services to brokers for exposing them to the user requests. Th
Cloud computing has been promising infinite of the cheap commodity resource with a
flexible pricing model. It is an appealing model for configuration of applications through
outsourcing of management at resource levels. It has offered enhanced flexibility for
management of resources related to any type of application. It is providing cost reductions and
infinite scalability. Because of the advantages moves are made towards migrating the business
processes in cloud. The moves are currently performed in manual manner in context of one cloud
only. Multi cross cloud configuration will be beneficial as that will allow exploiting best offered
from variety of clouds (Tung, TOBOLSKI and Swaminathan, 2018). This will enable them to
avoid lock in effects.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chang, V. and Ramachandran, M., 2015. Towards achieving data security with the cloud
computing adoption framework. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, 9(1),
pp.138-151.
Dastjerdi, A.V. and Buyya, R., 2016. Fog computing: Helping the Internet of Things realize its
potential. Computer, 49(8), pp.112-116.
Ferris, J.M., Red Hat Inc, 2018. Communicating with third party resources in cloud computing
environment. U.S. Patent 9,930,138.
Kampas, S.R. and et.al., 2016. System and method for cloud enterprise services. U.S. Patent
9,235,442.
Kumarasamy, P., and et.al., 2016. Migration of existing computing systems to cloud computing
sites or virtual machines. U.S. Patent 9,461,881.
Langmead, B. and Nellore, A., 2018. Cloud computing for genomic data analysis and
collaboration. Nature Reviews Genetics.19(4).p.208.
Shen, J. and et.al., 2017. Anonymous and traceable group data sharing in cloud computing. IEEE
Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, 13(4), pp.912-925.
Somani, G. and et.al., 2017. DDoS attacks in cloud computing: Issues, taxonomy, and future
directions. Computer Communications, 107, pp.30-48.
Tung, T.S., TOBOLSKI, J.F. and Swaminathan, K.S., Accenture Global Services Ltd,
2018. Control layer for cloud computing environments. U.S. Patent 10,069,907.
Attaran, M., 2017. Cloud computing technology: leveraging the power of the internet to improve
business performance. Journal of International Technology and Information
Management. 26(1). pp.112-137.
Bahrami, M., 2015, March. Cloud Computing for Emerging Mobile Cloud Apps. In 2015 3rd
IEEE International Conference on Mobile Cloud Computing, Services, and
Engineering (pp. 4-5). IEEE.
Charanya, R. and Aramudhan, M., 2016, February. Survey on access control issues in cloud
computing. In 2016 International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering,
Technology and Science (ICETETS) (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
de Bruin, B. and Floridi, L., 2017. The ethics of cloud computing. Science and engineering
ethics. 23(1). pp.21-39.
Gutierrez, A., Boukrami, E. and Lumsden, R., 2015. Technological, organisational and
environmental factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud computing in the
UK. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. 28(6). pp.788-807.
Januzaj, Y., Ajdari, J. and Selimi, B., 2015. DBMS as a Cloud service: Advantages and
Disadvantages. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 195. pp.1851-1859.
Kumar, R. and Charu, S., 2015. Comparison between cloud computing, grid computing, cluster
computing and virtualization. International Journal of Modern Computer Science and
Applications. 3(1). pp.42-47.
Langaliya, C. and Aluvalu, R., 2015. Enhancing cloud security through access control models: A
survey. International Journal of Computer Applications. 112(7).
Potluri, S. and Rao, K.S., 2017. Quality of service based task scheduling algorithms in cloud
computing. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 7(2).
p.1088.
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Vithayathil, J., 2018. Will cloud computing make the I nformation T echnology (IT) d epartment
obsolete?. Information Systems Journal. 28(4). pp.634-649.
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