Verified Document

Cloud Computing Services The Last Several Decades Essay

Cloud Computing Services The last several decades have seen the rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) business model and more specifically, the provision of cloud computing services to various clients. "Cloud computing enables a company to tap into raw computing power, storage, software applications and data from large data centers over the Internet. Customers pay only for the computing resources they need, when they need them. Using the cloud lets businesses avoid building their own data centers and buying servers and disks. (Bulkeley, 2009)" For businesses or organizations whose core competency is not information technology or related fields, availing of cloud computing services makes good business sense because the entities can concentrate on their core businesses and let the technology companies handle their information technology and information systems requirements.

Cloud computing companies like any business exist to provide services to clients in order to derive revenue and achieve business continuity and resilience. Consequently, employees and managers working for a cloud company are expected to achieve these goals by performing their job functions with diligence and commitment. A manager more particularly doing sales functions in a cloud computing company will need to convince a client about the merits of the services provided by the company. However, in presenting the case to the client there may be an issue with regards to lock-in with the cloud service provider and there are always positive benefits as well as negative effects when a client is locked-in. Foremost of which is that "rival companies promote their own, mutually incompatible, standards and formats, as they have done in the past. Moving data from one cloud-based storage system to another, for example, is not always easy. (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2009)"

In the spirit of transparency and fair play, the cloud computing manager must thoroughly and carefully explain to the client the pros and cons of...

The cloud computing company may offer the client cheaper rates if the client agrees to a lock-in. If the client opts not to be locked-in despite higher rates, the cloud computing manager can advise the client that the company will assist them in ensuring that there will be compatibility with the standards and formats with other service providers. Although this will entail additional cost for the client, having several options will enable the client to make an informed as to the best option suitable for the organization. On the plus side for the cloud computing manager, he is laying out "all the cards" to the client to ensure that he is not merely making a hard sell but endeavoring to become a valued partner of the client. Once the client has made a final decision, all agreements should be detailed and clearly written out in the service level agreement (SLA) in order to have a legally documented service level expectation.4
Aside from the issue of locking-in, the manager needs to clearly state the cloud computing company's position with regards to privacy issues. Fortunately, privacy issues are no longer relegated to agreements between parties but are dictated by statues and legislations. For instance, "storing so much personal information, and using it to target advertising, has privacy implications and data stored in the cloud may not be safe. (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2009)" Thus, the manager must provide the client with evidence of the cloud computing company's clear cut policies on information security that specifically covers how the company protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information particularly personally identifiable information (PII). Further, there should be an assurance that information garnered from the cloud services client will not be used by the cloud computing company for any means unless there is an explicit and implicit authorization from the client. Better yet, the authorization must be…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography:

Brinker, S. (2009, January 10). "Why IT and marketing are diametrically opposed?" Chief Marketing Technologist. Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://www.chiefmartec.com/2009/01/why-it-and-marketing-are-diametrically-opposed.html

Bulkeley, W.M. (2009, October 12). "How well do you know… the cloud?" The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203917304574414852513559232.html#

The Economist Newspaper Limited. (2009, October 15). "Battle of the clouds." The Economist. Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/14644393

The Economist Newspaper Limited. (2009, May 28). "Unlocking the cloud." Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/13740181
QuickMBA. (2010). Strategic management: Ansoff's matrix. Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/ansoff/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Cloud Computing As an Enterprise Application Service
Words: 2648 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Cloud Computing as an Enterprise Application Service Reordering the economics of software, cloud computing is alleviating many of the capital expenses (CAPEX), inflexibility of previous-generation software platforms, and inability of on-premise applications to be customized on an ongoing basis to evolving customer needs. These are the three top factors of many that are driving the adoption of cloud computing technologies in enterprises today. Implicit in the entire series of critical success

Cloud Computing and Computing
Words: 7745 Length: 25 Document Type: Thesis

Risk, Risk Management Strategies, and Benefits in Cloud Computing SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS PREMISE STATEMENT KEY DEFINITIONS SERVICE AND DEPLOYMENT MODELS BENEFITS OF CLOUD COMPUTING SECURITY ASPECTS Storage Reliability Virtualization Trust Physical Security Legal Compliance CLOUD COMPUTING RISKS RISK Management STRATEGIES Vendor Evaluation Centralized Information Governance Other Organization-Level Measures Individual-Level Security Measures Cloud computing model Cloud computing service and deployment models ISO/IEC broad categories The emergence of cloud computing has tremendously transformed the world of computing. Today, individuals, organizations, and government agencies can access computing resources provided by a vendor on an on-demand basis.

Cloud Computing Changes Systems Analysis and Design
Words: 5643 Length: 18 Document Type: Research Paper

Cloud Computing Changes Systems Analysis and Design Instiution/University affiliation Both information systems and information technology infrastructure have been incorporated into business procedures for at least two decades. In the initial development of information technology, organizations which greatly invested in information technology infrastructure achieved strong growth in market shares and returns. Given that IT is now the core of businesses, nearly all organizations own their own IT infrastructures to manage their daily

Cloud Computing and Insider Threats
Words: 1411 Length: 5 Document Type: Introduction

adopting the use of cloud-based technologies in the last five years. This trend has caused a significant shift in the way that many organizations interact with information both internally and externally. Yet there are also many risk factors inherent in these technologies, some of which are the result of insider conspiracy (Brender & Markov, 2013). Cloud computing offers many advantages over traditional IT infrastructure which make it an attractive option,

Cloud Computing and Public Administration
Words: 2480 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Abstract This essay will cover information systems and decision-making in public organizations. Information systems management has become part of the decision-making process in the public sector. Public organizations have begun utilizing information systems management in order to provide the statistics and information needed to generate decisions quickly while also maintaining a level of informed policy that allows for evolution of public organization decision-making in today’s world. Although there has been some

Cloud Computing
Words: 1765 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Cloud Computing as an emerging technology. I have discussed its uses in today's world along with the future impacts it might have on an individual or on the businesses. I have also included how its rapid growth can bring about major changes in the world. The term cloud computing can be described as "a pool of virtualized computing resources that allows users to gain access to applications and data in

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now