Cloud Computing and Its Key Features
Cloud Computing and Its Key Features
1. On-demand self-service
Cloud computing resources can be provisioned without human interaction from the service
provider. In other words, a manufacturing organization can provision additional computing
resources as needed without going through the cloud service provider. This can be a storage
space, virtual machine instances, database instances, and so on.
Manufacturing organizations can use a web self-service portal as an interface to access their
cloud accounts to see their cloud services, their usage, and also to provision and de-provision
services as they need to.
apartment building, sharing the same building infrastructure but they still have their own
apartments and privacy within that infrastructure. That is how cloud multi-tenancy works.
Resource pooling means that multiple customers are serviced from the same physical
resources. Providers’ resource pool should be very large and flexible enough to service
multiple client requirements and to provide for economy of scale. When it comes to resource
pooling, resource allocation must not impact performances of critical manufacturing
applications.
5. Measured service.
Cloud computing resources usage is metered and manufacturing organizations pay
accordingly for what they have used. Resource utilization can be optimized by leveraging
charge-per-use capabilities. This means that cloud resource usage—whether virtual server
instances that are running or storage in the cloud—gets monitored, measured and reported by
the cloud service provider. The cost model is based on “pay for what you use”—the payment
is variable based on the actual consumption by the manufacturing organization.
1. Cost Savings :-
If you are worried about the price tag that would come with making the switch to cloud
computing, you aren't alone 20% of organisations are concerned about the initial cost of
implementing a cloud-based server. But those who are attempting to weigh the advantages
and disadvantages of using the cloud need to consider more factors than just initial price they
need to consider ROI.
Once you're on the cloud, easy access to your company's data will save time and money in
project startups. And, for those who are worried that they'll end up paying for features that
they neither need nor want, most cloud-computing services are pay as you go. This means
that if you don't take advantage of what the cloud has to offer, then at least you won't have to
be dropping money on it.
The pay-as-you-go system also applies to the data storage space needed to service your
stakeholders and clients, which means that you'll get exactly as much space as you need, and
not be charged for any space that you don't. Taken together, these factors result in lower costs
and higher returns. Half of all CIOs and IT leaders surveyed by Bitglass reported cost savings
in 2015 as a result of using cloud-based applications.
2. Security :-
Many Organisations have security concerns when it comes to adopting a cloud-computing
solution. After all, when files, programs, and other data aren't kept securely onsite, how can
you know that they are being protected? If you can remotely access your data, then what's
stopping a cybercriminal from doing the same thing? Well, quite a bit, actually.
For one thing, a cloud host's full-time job is to carefully monitor security, which is
significantly more efficient than a conventional in-house system, where an organisation must
divide its efforts between a myriad of IT concerns, with security being only one of them. And
while most businesses don't like to openly consider the possibility of internal data theft, the
truth is that a staggeringly high percentage of data thefts occur internally and are perpetrated
by employees. When this is the case, it can actually be much safer to keep sensitive
information offsite. Of course, this is all very abstract, so let's consider some solid statistics.
RapidScale claims that 94% of businesses saw an improvement in security after switching to
the cloud, and 91% said the cloud makes it easier to meet government compliance
requirements. The key to this amped-up security is the encryption of data being transmitted
over networks and stored in databases. By using encryption, information is less accessible by
Hackers or anyone not authorised to view your data. As an added security measure, with
most cloud-based services, different security settings can be set based on the user. While 20%
of cloud user claim disaster recovery in four hours or less, only 9% of cloud users could
claim the same.
Dell reports that companies that invest in big data, cloud, mobility, and security enjoy up to
53% faster revenue growth than their competitors.
3. Flexibility :-
Your business has only a finite amount of focus to divide between all of its responsibilities. If
your current IT solutions are forcing you to commit too much of your attention to computer
and data-storage issues, then you aren't going to be able to concentrate on reaching business
goals and satisfying customers. On the other hand, by relying on an outside organisation to
take care of all IT hosting and infrastructure, you'll have more time to devote toward the
aspects of your business that directly affect your bottom line.
The cloud offers businesses more flexibility overall versus hosting on a local server. And, if
you need extra bandwidth, a cloud-based service can meet that demand instantly, rather than
undergoing a complex (and expensive) update to your IT infrastructure. This improved
freedom and flexibility can make a significant difference to the overall efficiency of your
organisation. A 65% majority of respondents to an InformationWeek survey said “the ability
to quickly meet business demands” was one of the most important reasons a business should
move to a cloud environment.
4. Mobility :-
Cloud computing allows mobile access to corporate data via smartphones and devices, which,
considering over 2.6 billion smartphones are being used globally today, is a great way to
ensure that no one is ever left out of the loop. Staff with busy schedules, or who live a long
way away from the corporate office, can use this feature to keep instantly up to date with
clients and co-worker.
Through the cloud, you can offer conveniently accessible information to sales staff who
travel, freelance employees, or remote employees, for better work-life balance. Therefore, it's
not surprising to see that organisations with employee satisfaction listed as a priority are up to
24% more likely to expand cloud usage.
5. Insight :-
As we move ever further into the digital age, it's becoming clearer and clearer that the old
adage “knowledge is power” has taken on the more modern and accurate form: “Data is
money.” Hidden within the millions of bits of data that surround your customer transactions
and business process are nuggets of invaluable, actionable information just waiting to be
identified and acted upon. Of course, sifting through that data to find these kernels can be
very difficult, unless you have access to the right cloud-computing solution.
Many cloud-based storage solutions offer integrated cloud analytics for a bird's-eye view of
your data. With your information stored in the cloud, you can easily implement tracking
mechanisms and build customised reports to analyse information organisation wide. From
those insights, you can increase efficiencies and build action plans to meet organisational
goals. For example, the beverage company Sunny Delight was able to increase profits by
about $2 million a year and cut $195,000 in staffing costs through cloud-based business
insights.
6. Increased Collaboration:-
If your business has two employees or more, then you should be making collaboration a top
priority. After all, there isn't much point to having a team if it is unable to work like a team.
Cloud computing makes collaboration a simple process. Team members can view and share
information easily and securely across a cloud-based platform. Some cloud-based services
even provide collaborative social spaces to connect employees across your organisation,
therefore increasing interest and engagement. Collaboration may be possible without a cloud-
computing solution, but it will never be as easy, nor as effective.
7. Quality Control :-
There are few things as detrimental to the success of a business as poor quality and
inconsistent reporting. In a cloud-based system, all documents are stored in one place and in a
single format. With everyone accessing the same information, you can maintain consistency
in data, avoid human error, and have a clear record of any revisions or updates. Conversely,
managing information in silos can lead to employees accidentally saving different versions of
documents, which leads to confusion and diluted data.
8. Disaster Recovery:-
One of the factors that contributes to the success of a business is control. Unfortunately, no
matter how in control your organisation may be when it comes to its own processes, there
will always be things that are completely out of your control, and in today's market, even a
small amount of unproductive downtime can have a resoundingly negative effect. Downtime
in your services leads to lost productivity, revenue, and brand reputation.
But while there may be no way for you to prevent or even anticipate the disasters that could
potentially harm your organisation, there is something you can do to help speed your
recovery. Cloud-based services provide quick data recovery for all kinds of emergency
scenarios, from natural disasters to power outages. While 20% of cloud users claim disaster
recovery in four hours or less, only 9% of non-cloud users could claim the same. In a recent
survey, 43% of IT executives said they plan to invest in or improve cloud-based disaster
recovery solutions.While 20% of cloud users claim disaster recovery in 4 hours or less, only
9% of cloud users could claim the same
9. Loss Prevention:-
If your organisation isn't investing in a cloud-computing solution, then all of your valuable
data is inseparably tied to the office computers it resides in. This may not seem like a
problem, but the reality is that if your local hardware experiences a problem, you might end
up permanently losing your data. This is a more common problem than you might realise
computers can malfunction for many reasons, from viral infections, to age-related hardware
deterioration, to simple user error. Or, despite the best of intentions, they can be misplaced or
stolen (over 10,000 laptops are reported lost every week at major airports).
If you aren't on the cloud, you're at risk of losing all the information you had saved locally.
With a cloud-based server, however, all the information you've uploaded to the cloud remains
safe and easily accessible from any computer with an internet connection, even if the
computer you regularly use isn't working.
In a cloud computing system, there is a significant workload shift. Local computers have no
longer to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to run applications. But cloud computing can
handle that much heavy load easily and automatically. Hardware and software demands on
the user's side decrease. The only thing the user's computer requires to be able to run is the
cloud computing interface software of the system, which can be as simple as a Web browser
and the cloud's network takes care of the rest.
Types of Cloud:-
There are the following 4 types of cloud that you can deploy according to the organization's
needs-
o Public Cloud
o Private Cloud
o Hybrid Cloud
o Community Cloud.
Public Cloud:-
o Public Cloud provides a shared platform that is accessible to the general
public through an Internet connection.
o Public cloud operated on the pay-as-per-use model and administrated by the third
party, i.e., Cloud service provider.
o In the Public cloud, the same storage is being used by multiple users at the same time.
Private Cloud :-
Private cloud is also known as an internal cloud or corporate cloud. It is used by
organizations to build and manage their own data centers internally or by the third party. It
can be deployed using Opensource tools such as Openstack and Eucalyptus.
Based on the location and management, National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) divide private cloud into the following two parts-
o On-premise private cloud.
o Outsourced private cloud.
Hybrid Cloud :-
Hybrid Cloud is a combination of the public cloud and the private cloud. we can say:
Hybrid Cloud = Public Cloud + Private Cloud
Hybrid cloud is partially secure because the services which are running on the public cloud
can be accessed by anyone, while the services which are running on a private cloud can be
accessed only by the organization's users.
Example: Google Application Suite (Gmail, Google Apps, and Google Drive), Office
365 (MS Office on the Web and One Drive), Amazon Web Services.
Community Cloud :-
Community cloud allows systems and services to be accessible by a group of several
organizations to share the information between the organization and a specific community. It
is owned, managed, and operated by one or more organizations in the community, a third
party, or a combination of them.
Example: Health Care community cloud
2) Vendor lock-in :-
Vendor lock-in is the biggest disadvantage of cloud computing. Organizations may face
problems when transferring their services from one vendor to another. As different vendors
provide different platforms, that can cause difficulty moving from one cloud to another.
3) Limited Control :-
As we know, cloud infrastructure is completely owned, managed, and monitored by the
service provider, so the cloud users have less control over the function and execution of
services within a cloud infrastructure.
4) Security :- Although cloud service providers implement the best security standards
to store important information. But, before adopting cloud technology, you should be aware
that you will be sending all your organization's sensitive information to a third party, i.e., a
cloud computing service provider. While sending the data on the cloud, there may be a
chance that your organization's information is hacked by Hackers.
6) Technical problem :- Besides that the use of Cloud Computing makes you
unable to manage it yourself when there is a problem or a problem, you must contact
customer support who is not necessarily ready 24/7. This is a problem because for some
support you also have to pay more money.
7) Data Mobility :- Which refers to the possibility of sharing data between cloud
services and how to retrieve data if one day the user makes a process of terminating cloud
computing services.And there is local storage where the data can be used at any time as
needed.