Research Objective
In the recent trend cloud computing is becoming an important tool for efficient business operation and better utilization of information technology. Without cloud computing adoption it is tough to cope up without environmental changes with traditional way of business. As per the need of the business it’s essential to develop competitive cutting edge advantages in business for moving with changes. Cloud computing is a concept where the business operation are run smoothly with better utilization of in formations. It is an advanced tool to fight competition and increase the value of business. Organization are adopting the concept of cloud computing as the business becomes smooth holding other advantages like flexibility, agility and better business efficiency suggested by (Avram 2014). Organization are moving to cloud computing from the traditional way of business as the tools is gaining profit for the organizations , as said by Abdulaziz, 2012. The investment in cloud computing in 2016 was 66 billion dollars and its investment will grow around 30% in the future, suggested by Amol, et al. 2015. With the technological advancement in cloud computing the security issues are getting controlled with times with better privacy statements. The objective of the research is to identify the pros of adopting cloud computing in business, identifying the challenge besides implementing cloud computing in business and the strategies to overcome the challenges.
The primary objective of the research is:
To determine the advantages & disadvantages of cloud computing process in business
Secondary research objectives include:
- To find the impact of cloud computing in business
- Critical analysis of cloud computing adoption process
- To determine the threats associated with process of cloud computing
- Provide recommendation for overcoming threat of cloud computing
The researchers have gone through number of limitation for completing the research. The research is designed to find the suitability of the cloud computing in business. Through critical analysis of the literature review the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing will be analyzed as due to lack of time primary data collection was challenging and the conclusion of the project will be drawn based on secondary data analysis.
There is debate regarding the definition of cloud computing as different experts in this field have produced different definition of cloud computing, via internet the users take benefit of different services in cloud computing environment. The applications and services associated with it get embedded within the cloud. In cloud computing concept the term cloud can be defined as a source of remote environment with the context of information technology, as defined by Nabil, 2010. On the other hand (Amol et al. 2015) defined cloud as the hub where the data gets stored for further operations. This provides users with a user friendly interface to process data as per the business operations.
There are four layer in the architecture of cloud computing. The physical components are in the first layer of the architecture. The integrated resources are injected in the second layer. The specialized tools for better operation management are kept in the third layer- the platform layer. The last layer is the application itself via which communication is done.
Various types of service model are found in cloud computing but the concept gets updated as per three service model that are discussed below:
Research Scope
Service as a Service (Saas) Model:
In this model the service providers installs some applications in the user systems for getting the desired result. In this model the user can pay as per their usage or buy a module as per their requirement which is low cost intensive for the user, suggested by (Assante 2015). In this model the users don’t have any control over the application package they just use it for business operation concluded by (May 2013). Google docs, Microsoft office are example of SaaS.
Platform as a Service (PaaS) Model: in this model the service provider provides applications, operating system, and compatible hardware to the user for performing their business operations and moreover the applications can get altered by the provider as per the requisite of the user, concluded by (Assante 2015).
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model: in this model the resources are stored virtually for the access of the user from anywhere with the compatible hardware. The users don’t have any responsibilities regarding application development or up gradation, it’s done by the provider as suggested by (Aniruddha 2013).
Cloud computing is different from other IT applications as the tool provides easy access to data with a user friendly interface. The concept of cloud is getting upgraded with times with advancement in technology. Users have their own perspective about cloud computing as some users treat it as a virtual computer resource and the other hand some users treat it as dynamic software development concept. In recent days cloud computing is playing an important role in driving business operation and (Reza 2013) found that the concept of cloud computing is an important tools for business in fighting competition. Cloud computing is bringing new features for business that was not driven by other traditional IT solutions.
Flexibility: the reason behind developing cloud computing in business is its flexibility hence the users become more flexible in business operations. As said by (Astri 2015), via cloud computing users can process their business operations from, anywhere if they have proper internet connection. The demand of the business can be handled by proper way by sharing and retrieving data in a simultaneous process. Users become updated in IT after getting access to cloud computing and gain the potential of working from anywhere respective to the business operation, concluded by Lakshmi, 2014. As the application is virtual to the users the stored data can get access from anywhere and anytime in a simultaneous mode.
Cost reduction: The main reason besides implementing cloud computing is that it reduces the cost to the company as the fixed cost gets reduced, said by (Reza 2013). The in house infrastructure supported by cloud computing is reducing the cost of developing cloud computing in the organization as per the conclusion of Buyya, et al., 2010. Moreover the user is paying for what they are using only.
Via cloud computing the cost of the company gets reduced by 45%, suggested by Anthony, 2011. On the other hand (Smith 2014) explained that the cloud computing model is reducing the cost of the company due to its subscription model. The implementation model of cloud computing is a easy process as the service providers supports all the necessities to the users, concluded by Sean et al. 2011. The users of the service don’t have problems regarding the IT as all supports are provided by the server with proper training and development program, suggested by Apostu et al. 2013.
Critical analysis of Literature review
Automatic system upgrades: Implementing IT solution in organization was a tough job in past as the actual budget of the project cost was dynamic and the cost associated with software development was high, as suggested by (Piotr & Zbigniew 2013). This negative impact of IT can get solved via cloud computing. Cloud computing can provide the platform of purchasing package based on usage, reduce the actual cost of the project, and deliver customer service in low cost manner, suggested by Abdulaziz, 2012. Due to the low subscription fees of cloud computing the users get the opportunity to buy package related to supply chain management and customer service management in true price. Besides reducing cost cloud computing helps business operations in reducing entry barriers to business markets, suggested by Eric, 2011. This leads the business to become global with the advent of cloud computing.
Agility: Today the business environment is very dynamic and competitive so for sustainable business. (Jafar et al. 2013) highlighted that to govern business policies the customer needs need to get satisfied with low turnaround time and that is possible through cloud computing. Due to the advent of the internet customer quarry can get solved in short time through the deployment of cloud computing, concluded by Seanet al. 2011.
The agility of cloud computing from the cloud can get achieved via low level administration process highlighted by (Arnon et al. 2010) and are discussed below:
- System infrastructure:maintenance of machine and spare parts.
- Policy of backup:management related to system backup
- Single applications:up gradation of the application package on time.
The customer response time via cloud computing is very quick compared to other applications.
Scalability: in cloud computing the resources associated with the business operations can get can get adjusted as per the need of the business. This is an easy process and the computing infrastructure is changed as per requirement as the interface is user friendly, suggested by (Buse, 2011.). As per the suggestion of (Angela 2012.) it’s seen that traditional IT support was not scalable and give rise to lot of malfunctioning. This produced lot of customer inconvenience and dissatisfaction. On the other hand the advent of cloud computing leads business to respond to customer query very quickly. As per the conclusion of (Michael et al. 2010) its seen that cloud computing is suitable for small business owners as the requirement can get expanded when required. Through cloud computing large amount of data can get analyses on a short period of time due to tasking capability of cloud computing, said by Charu, A., 2011. This helps in better decision making process and better profitability.
Beside smooth business operations implementation of cloud computing in business have some challenges that need to get analyzed properly to the maximum extent. Compute becomes deadlock when the utilization capacity of the cloud exceeds by 80%, revised by (Srinivas, 2013). If the clouds gets over utilized valuable data and information can get lost leading to bad output result. Other than this the cloud can get hacked by external hackers and the data gets used in wrong operations, concluded by (Hashizume 2013).
Data thieving: the probability of viral attack and cyber attack is increasing with the number of internet users. In Google Inc it’s seen that the programmed got hacked and data got used in wrong way, revised by (Anthony 2011).
Benefits of cloud computing
Security holds the main issues related to developing cloud computing in business. For enhancing the security issues the service provider is incorporating inbuilt security system for increasing the data security of the business, stated by Mathew 2013. Security leads to better networking, database management, transaction management etc. Some service provider of cloud computing don’t have their own server so the security issues becomes risky as the interface is highly flexible and the probability of data stealing is high as highlighted by (Abhinay et al. 2013). The report of [86] concludes that globally about 37% of cloud computing operations are getting hacked by external agents. The threat is seen in Zappos.
Attack due to malware injection: in this threat the application hosted in the clouds are hacked by external agents that leads to vulnerable business operations. Malicious applications are injected inside the cloud for changing the functioning of the cloud. Through this attack the hacker can perform the operation as per their requirement and misuse the stored data, highlighted by Te-Shun 2013. SQL injection is the common attack of malware injection described by (Atul, & Dhore 2012) .For gaining access to the cloud the hackers injects code to the SQL server and gains login gateway, seen by Sara & Kausar 2012.
Wrapping attack: in this type of attack extensible markup language are used by hackers to get the validation request of the server, concluded by (Wen & Ling 2010). This type of attack are done on the transport layer of the cloud architecture where the hackers inputs login details of the users with some malicious code and get access to the server, revised by (Subramaniam & Deepa 2015).
Attack due to authentication: in this type of attack the user id are hacked in the authentication stage and after that the hackers misused the stored data for their use stated by Subashini & Kavith 2011. The user’s confidential information is hacked by the hackers in the authentication stage.
Denial of Service (DoS) attack: this type of attack is becoming challenging in the field of cloud computing although experts are working hard to bring it under control, stated by (Wang, et al. 2014). The hackers inputs codes in network and application programs for making the hack and get access to the server, suggested by (Wang, et al. 2014). The hackers make the server either in accessible to the users or leads to improper functioning, highlighted by Andrew et al. 2015.
Data privacy: In cloud computing environment the data are used by the users in encrypted form. Improper control over the application and for some regulatory protocols data privacy issues goes under challenge said by [Waleed & Li 2016.]. Improper data storage in the cloud increases the data privacy challenge. Often data gets leaked out due to improper storage of data as the service providers are not liable for data storage defined by [Choubey & Namdeo 2015.]. The data in the systems are stored virtually so physically it’s not visible by the user which leads to challenge in data privacy.
Although cloud computing is a updated tool for making the business operations smooth the challenges that are seen above need to get solved by the service provider so that the applications becomes trusty for the users. The challenge seen above can be reduced by the following ways:
Solution for data stealing: while the external hackers remain busy in stealing customer confidential the providers should apply protocols by generating code in time of login. In every ends of time session new code should get generated by the provider so that hackers finds challenging in penetrating the cloud suggested by Angadi et al. 2013. In Amazon it’s seen that a unique identification number gets generated in every login. Proper user monitoring should be implemented for securing the details of the user.
Solution for Malware attack: a proper processing system between the web server and web browser can reduce this threat by enhancing the authorization and authentication activities. As this type of attack takes place in the operating system of the application cross checking of the security issues can restrict the hackers in injecting malware highlighted by (Kazi & Susan 2010).
Solution to wrapping attack: this type of attack can get prevented if the communication between the web server and web browser can done secure. Provider can utilize the concept of adding extra bits for enhancing the security system for this type of attack as suggested by Apurva et al. 2013.
Solution relevant to authentication attack: to control this type of attack the ID management between the server and the provider should get revised with key management system for enhancing the security system of the cloud as suggested by (Sumitra, et al. 2014).
Solution relevant for Denial service attack: the process for reducing these risk factors is under process still the provider can use the concept based on filter based, firewall and signature for enhancing the security system as said by (Poonam & Sujata 2013). Filter base protocol can restrict this type of attack in the initial stage and the firewall strategy can monitor the attack. Signature base activities can increase the security system via signature matching for getting the access to data kept in the cloud. The operating system should be installed with updated security system for reducing this type of attack.
Conclusion:
From the above research it is seen that cloud computing is an advanced tool for smooth business operation and the business are transforming their business to this mode for coping up with the environmental threats and better output. Definition of cloud computing is described from the view of different authors with pros and cons. Advantages of cloud computing like flexibility, agility, and security is analyzed to great extent. The main benefit of cloud computing is achieved via the critical analysis that it is low cost intensive project and the service requirement can get altered with the business demand.
Critical analysis of the negative aspects of cloud computing is done as like other technologies it also holds some threats. The action plan needed to rectify the cons of cloud computing is suggested by the researcher for better output. It can be concluded from the research work that if cloud computing can be incorporated with proper security system it will be a positive move for the business to go for cloud computing for better business operation. It will not only bring profit to the organization simultaneously it will fight competition.
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