Cloud Computing for Webb's Store: AWS, SaaS, and Future Strategies

This presentation provides a comprehensive analysis of cloud computing for Webb's Store, a regional retailer. It begins by outlining the key concepts of cloud computing, such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, and measured service, and explains how these concepts can benefit Webb's Store. The presentation then delves into the application of Amazon AWS cloud architecture, including its ability to integrate regional stores and facilitate checkout-free services, enhancing the customer shopping experience. It highlights the advantages of SaaS services, such as reduced maintenance and cost-effectiveness, while also acknowledging the disadvantages, like security concerns. The presentation recommends Salesforce.com as a suitable SaaS service for Webb's Store, detailing its benefits, such as risk management and cost-effectiveness, as well as its disadvantages. Finally, the presentation emphasizes the importance of simplicity, security, strength, and adaptability in cloud computing strategies for Webb's Store, offering valuable insights for the company's transition to the cloud.

Cloud Computing
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Introduction
• Cloud computing is a rising technology and
a trend which involves utilization of both
hardware and software online over the
network (Shufeng & Xu, 2012). The retailers
have decided to use the cloud technology
to implement “pay-per-use” model in their
premises, that means the cloud service
provider will provide the cloud platform for
the retailers for a minimal charge so that
the retailers can securely conduct their
business.
• This presentation highlights the key
features of cloud computing and the
reasons why Webb’s Store should adopt
this technology. The utility of Amazon AWS
cloud architecture and the SaaS services
have been showcased, and light has been
shone on IaaS and PaaS that between the
two which technology Webb’s Store must
choose to migrate to the cloud.

1.a. The key concepts of Cloud Computing
The key concepts of Cloud Computing are-
•On-Demand Self-Service: The customers can
stay connected with the cloud retailer all the
time all throughout day and night (Azam et al.,
2013). The customers simply need an internet
connection, then they will have to install web
browser on their machine, thus they can order
and buy products online and express their wish
list.
•Broad Network Access: The customers in recent
times use smart phones, work stations and
laptops which prove that cloud computations
have a larger impact on both customers and
retailers.
•Resource Pooling: The retailers’ sources are
pooled to serve millions of customers and those
resources are properly organized according to
customers’ demands to attract them.
•Measured Service: The retailers can easily keep
their eye on and advance their assets in the form
of pay-per-use and other procedures (Shufeng &
Xu, 2012).

Cloud computing’s impact on Webb’s Store
• Webb’s Store can keep track of customers’ every move, their demands,
their wish lists, the food products they buy via cloud computing.
Webb’s Store can also identify the latest trends in the market, the
seasonality of the food products (Azam et al., 2013). Analysing their
own database, Webb’s Store can identify the customers’ shopping
behaviour and patterns too, thus they can easily read the customers’
mindset. In this way, they can stay connected with the customers all
throughout day and night 24x7 and provides better customers service.

1.b. AWS facilitating Webb’s Store
• Integrating all the regional group of
stores into existing operations: Webb’s
Store can implement ‘checkout-free’
service in their respective stores using the
Amazon AWS cloud services (Dinh et al.,
2013). In this way, Webb’s Store can keep
track of their food products at all the
retail stores in Victoria. Webb’s Store can
identify all the regional stores nearby; can
identify the food products currently
available. Webb’s Store can also track the
food products the customers have bought
(Varia & Mathew, 2014). Therefore, if any
products get misplaced or get stolen, the
products can be easily identified by the
unique code assigned to the products.
 More and more customers’
data leading to better shopping experience:
Webb’s Store via ‘check out –free’ service can
offer better shopping experience. The
customers will pick-up products according to
their wishes and will simply walk out through
the store (Muthui & SISAT, 2013). The products
they picked up will be listed in the Amazon AWS
database and will be analysed and lastly, the
purchase bill will be sent to the customers as
soon as they checked out the store. In this way,
Webb’s Store can know the customers shopping
patterns.

1.C. How Webb’s Store can use AWS cloud platform
• Webb’s Store must go for the Amazon AWS
cloud architecture as it is ahead of its
competitors due to the following factors-
• i. They are not attempting to recreate
inheritance data centre environments
• ii. Fabricate basic, primitive services that are
strong and adaptable (SQS, S3, EC2), and
then make those into higher order request
services (EMR, RDS)
• iii. Their business model is intended to keep
running at a high price, with a margin that as
they lessen their costs, their pricing likewise
decreases
• iv. An engineering environment that has long
haul (2-3 year) roadmaps, alongside a whole
lot of features that are really difficult to
match (Varia & Mathew, 2014)
• v. Concentrate on simplicity, security,
strength, and adaptability over discretionary
feature creep

2.a. The advantages of SaaS service
• i. SaaS will provide the advantage to
Webb’s Store and this wipes out the
requirements for further up-gradation
and maintenance. That is why Webb’s
Store will have to take less
responsibility.
• ii. SaaS will provide the benefits to offer
cost-effective services to their customers
as the use of SaaS minimize the costs of
using costly servers, it reduces the
maintenance costs too (Dillon & Vossen,
2015).
• iii. SaaS increases the speed of execution
of the applications providing agile and
efficient services to the customers. SaaS
can be implemented within a week time
and is very easy to deploy.
• iv. SaaS enables customers to use the
Webb’s Store’s services on the go
because of the advanced cloud service.
• v. SaaS applications can be accessed
anywhere anytime.

2.b. The disadvantages of SaaS service
• i. Cloud computing is still in beta mode,
so there are a lot of security threats
involved in it. The intruders can easily
find out the loop holes and explore those
to retrieve customers’ useful
information.
• ii. SaaS applications require internet
usage, if the internet service fails, Webb’
s Store, as well as the customers, will
face a lot of problems and issues (Dillon
& Vossen, 2015).
• iii. SaaS applications may run slower on
some servers, in that case too it affects
the performance.
• iv. The customers face integration
problem while trying to configure
multiple apps at a time, the outdated
operating system might become an issue
sometimes.

2.c. The SaaS service that I like to recommend-
• i. The name of the
service
• Webb’s
Store can use
salesforce.com, Inc.
SaaS service based
on Amazon AWS
Cloud database
platform for
enhancing their
business activities
(Tsai et al., 2014).
ii. How is it better than other similar services?
a. Salesforce has a lot of benefits to offer, moreover there is risk management
and the service is cost-effective,
b. Salesforce integrated with AWS assists in digitization and optimization of
company’s sale records.
c. Salesforce does not require any initial investment (Dillon & Vossen, 2015).
d. No software is required for Salesforce.
e. Provides better service to the customers thus Webb’s Store can increase
their productivity.
 Salesforce has certain advantages which other services fail to
offer. There is no other private cloud, the on-ground software application is
available which offers the same productivity as Salesforce.

iii. What are its specific disadvantages?
• a. The users can compromise some of their personal data
while uploading as they are not used to use the cloud
architecture.
• b. Salesforce is cost-effective, but to implement Salesforce
Webb’s Store will require a lot of money (Tsai et al., 2014).
• c. Salesforce requires updating and maintaining their
database at times, so at that time Webb’s Store and its
customers can face issues.

References
Azam, Abdollahzadehgan; Ab Razak Che Hussin; Gohary , Marjan Moshfegh Gohary &
Mahyar Amini (2013), The OrganizationalCritical Success Factors for
Adopting Cloud Computing in SMEs, Journal of Information Systems Research
and Innovation (JISRI), Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 67-74.
Dillon, S., & Vossen, G. (2015). SaaS cloud computing in small and medium enterprises:
A comparison between Germany and New Zealand. International Journal
of Information Technology, Communications and Convergence, 3(2), 87-104.
Dinh, H. T., Lee, C., Niyato, D., & Wang, P. (2013). A survey of mobile cloud computing:
architecture, applications, and approaches. Wireless communications and
mobile computing, 13(18), 1587-1611.
Muthui, M., & SISAT, C. (2013). Amazon Web Services.
Shufeng Gao & Xu, Ai, (2012) Boosting Electronic Business Applications by Digitally
Enabling SMBs with Cloud Computing Model, 11th International Symposium on
Distributed Computing and Applications to Business, Engineering & Science, pp-
214-218.
Tsai, W., Bai, X., & Huang, Y. (2014). Software-as-a-service (SaaS): perspectives and
challenges. Science China Information Sciences, 57(5), 1-15.
Varia, J., & Mathew, S. (2014). Overview of amazon web services. Amazon Web
Services.