Vendor Solution
As organizations are constantly facing harsh operation conditions, the concepts of outsourcing IT services, lean management and agility are becoming more popular. Essentially, these concepts improve functionalities and cost, outcomes that facilitate any change experienced by enterprises. Similarly, the project at hand aims to improve the accessibility and availability of health services. My Health Record Project will facilitate both patients and health practitioners in their roles by readily availing the relevant information. A modern information system may meet this requirement but its collaboration with a cloud infrastructure boosts its convenience. At the same time, it also helps in the management of IT resources as they regularly change. As such, this report highlights all the affiliated elements of this health project together with its link to cloud computing.
Several vendors can provide the necessary resources to meet the needs of My Health Record project. In this section, this report analyses some of these organizations and their respective features.
IBM: As outlined in its business objective, IBM offers holistic systems strategies through the robust management of ICT resources. Similarly, its services collaborate with the cloud environment which enhances its suitability.
- IBM business catalog stretch over 120 services that include data management, networking, and security among many others, therefore would facilitate all the project’s functions.
- Its services also include various deployment models, from public to private, a function that would allow the system used to be implemented based on the individual’s needs.
- Scalable resources through cloud infrastructure, a feature that enhances system’s adaptability.
- Redundant services thus no possibility of single point failures.
- IBM services also include security management, a function that enables the customer to host various backups in the leased infrastructure.
- Finally, the company is constantly rebranding itself which facilitates innovation and growth (IBM, 2018).
Microsoft: As the most popular provider of computer-based system, Microsoft is a reliable brand that can easily meet the needs of the end user. Moreover, through its facilities, it can enhance those of the developed project.
- Dedicated account managers thus any system developed is managed by a unique individual, thus assuring the user of a consistent functionality.
- Architecture advisors who enhance a system’s function as they are familiar with the market trends more so, the existing system challenges.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) which assures the user of 100 percent availability be it through its cloud resources or purchased systems.
- Scaling support which would help My Health Record project increase or reduce its functionalities.
- Supported OS, which can integrate with all systems developed. Therefore, no additional support or service is needed to link the project with the underlying system infrastructure.
- Finally, live support which assures the user of constant system function (Rackspace, 2018).
Amazon Web Services: As a cloud hosting service, AWS can enable this project to host its service online. Moreover, through its PaaS (Platform as a Service) solutions, it can help the industry implement the final system solution.
- Hybrid capabilities where My Health Record project can improve the system’s availability by having both on-premise and cloud services.
- A global network which also would facilitate the users’ access and connectivity regardless of their location.
- Deep features which include a wide range of servers, encryptions and big data tools.
- Extensive services which without additional cost come preinstalled in all purchased systems.
- A broad category of IT infrastructure which is cost efficient for the industry as they are paid for using a pay-per-use model.
- All solutions are developed with flexibility, scalability, and reliability in mind, benefits that would improve the application of My Health Record project (AWS, 2018).
Cloud computing enhances the availability of resources by increasing their access to multiple users. The same functionality also facilitates collaboration without the worry of systems such as operating systems and application software. For instance, in the project at hand, the cloud solution used will enable patients and doctors to access the same files while having different devices. Furthermore, in the case of medical practitioners (doctors and nurses among others), the content of My Health Record Project will be accessed simultaneously on different systems by using browsers or specialized applications (Apostu et al., 2010). Such operations will also be prioritized based on the access level given to the users, therefore, certain members of the industry will be able to make specific changes unlike other users within the same system. In all, cloud solutions will broadly enhance the project’s availability, accessibility, and flexibility.
Key features
From a general perspective, cloud solutions offer a significant cost saving benefit. Essentially, by adopting the facilities offered, My Health Record project will save on the costs of setting up the infrastructure, from storage to networking equipment. Furthermore, the available resources as leased from the vendor will be managed by the third party. As such, the medical industry will improve the manageability of its IT resources by having a component member maintain and improve its infrastructure. This benefit will also translate to a more reliable set up that through the connectivity of the internet is available to all participants. A guarantee that aligns with the default Service Level Agreement (24/7/365) that in most cases assures customers of a 99.9 percent availability (LC, 2018). Therefore, the end product is a consistent service that facilitates all the operations of the end user. Finally, through the innovative benefits of cloud computing, the industry will have a strategic edge in its function. A positive outcome that will also improve competition thus enhance the service offered.
Downtime is often a drawback of cloud-based services, particularly because of the number of clients handled by vendors. This limitation is similar to that experienced by internet providers as their functions are determined by several structures and processes. Thus, the entire infrastructure can be overwhelmed affecting the availability of online resources, which essentially would affect My Health Record project’s access objective. Moreover, cloud solutions introduce third party members to organizations’ resources (LC, 2018). Thus, sensitive items such as data and patient records would be readily available online which may affect security. Resource availability can also facilitate the work of hackers who through various loopholes and vulnerabilities of online systems can gain access to unauthorized resources. In addition to this cloud solutions limit the customer’s resources because of the data handled. Vendor Lock-in makes it difficult to migrate between different service providers because of the resources adopted. Finally, with cloud solutions, My Health Record project surrenders some of its control to third party members, which may affect its operations.
A competency domain that describes the process of planning and implementing an information system. Software/System Development Life Cycle offer various paradigms to implement applications depending on the user’s functionalities or objectives. In all, through the procedures outlined by SDLC, a project can efficiently meet its goals having had significant adaptation benefits. In this section, two contrasting SDLC methods are considered; predictive and adaptive SDLC.
This method defines the traditional technique of implementing applications or systems. This approach as initially developed only caters for minimal system requirements which by themselves are easily predicted, hence its name. Therefore, the project’s resources and requirements must be readily available to use this technique (Morris, 2016). Furthermore, a structured and sequential process is followed with each phase following the other. Thus, to move on to the next implementation step, the preceding one must be completed.
- Project’s objectives are easily outlined and understood.
- It also has consistent project requirements.
- This consistency also facilitates the evaluation of a project’s progress.
- Finally, it minimizes the chances of technical errors and risks.
Cons
- Predictive methods are time-consuming as each step must be sequentially completed.
- A traditional process that cannot facilitate backward implementation.
- It also lacks adaptive capabilities thus does not respond well to changes (Morris, 2016).
Adaptive SDLC
Classic methodologies such as Scrum are good examples of adaptive SDLC, where agile techniques are used to implement projects. In essence, this method uses iterative processes to support its functions which increases the adaptability of the end product. Through its functions, therefore, the adaptive approach lays emphasis on interactions over the tools (Half, 2017). Moreover, it prioritizes working systems over documentation. This method is thus by all account a modern outlook into the implementation of projects.
- Flexible and adaptive thus allows changes at any instance.
- Implementation is prioritized over functionality which improves system usability.
- Time efficient as the procedures used can be changed to meet the existing demand.
Cons
- Re-usability is limited because of the customization of resources.
- A new approach is needed for each project.
- Finally, it requires a lot of technical expertise (Half, 2017).
Conclusion
My Health Record project consists of a lot of stakeholders from the government to the public. Moreover, the project will also involve various resources and requirements which cannot be adequately predicted. Furthermore, other additional expectations may be introduced in the future after implementation. Thus, for an efficient system that will meet the current and future user requirements, the adaptive SDLC approach is better suited for this project. In all, an agile and adaptable outlook is needed for this project as it has various users and functionalities.
References
Apostu, A., Puican, F., Ularu, G., Suciu, G. & Todoran, G. (2010). Study on advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Computing – the advantages of Telemetry Applications in the Cloud. Recent Advances in Applied Computer Science and Digital Services. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/da62/49af5e0df8ed36334b34c2f1010ed19c53f4.pdf
AWS. (2018). Cloud Computing with Amazon Web Services. Solutions. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-aws/
Half, R. (2017). 6 Basic SDLC Methodologies: Which One is best? Robert Half. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/salaries-and-skills/6-basic-sdlc-methodologies-which-one-is-best
IBM. (2018). IaaS, PaaS and SaaS – IBM Cloud service models. Cloud Solutions. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/iaas-paas-saas
Level Cloud. (2018). Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing. Industry Solutions. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://www.levelcloud.net/why-levelcloud/cloud-education-center/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing/
Morris, A. (2016). 6 basic SDLC methodologies: Which one is best? Robert Half. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://www.roberthalf.com.au/blog/employers/6-basic-sdlc-methodologies-which-one-best
Rackspace. (2018). Empower your business with Microsoft Private Cloud. Features. Retrieved 16 May, 2018, from: https://www.rackspace.com/microsoft/microsoft-cloud-platform/features
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