Managing Information System Chapter 5

CASE STUDY: Should Businesses Move to the Cloud?

Q1. What business benefits do cloud computing services provide? What problems do they solve?

Ans. 1. Cloud computing is a way to store and access information virtually over the internet. It has several benefits like:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) had streamlined cloud computing and made it an affordable and sensible option for companies ranging from tiny internet startups to established companies like FedEx So, AWS support the biggest marketplace for global trade.

•       Cloud computing is providing an efficient way for companies to discover what amount of computing resources needs to be dedicated to a particular software. Like when Zynga releases a new game it launches on AWS platform and it only pays for resources it ends up using, and , once game traffic stabilizes and reaches a steady number of users, Zynga moves the game onto its private zCloud. •      If companies use the cloud computing in business, they can reduce lots of cost which support and maintenance on the hardware and software.

•       Cloud computing solves several other problems, such as reducing cost; improve efficiencies, providing sources for customers, and remote services.

Cloud computing solves many problems such as:

•      Expensive IT: The solutions provided by Cloud as an alternative to expensive IT is in a form of paying for what you need. Just as anyone can pay for storage by AWS and then use it by having an internet connection had readily decreased the cost for setting up an IT infrastructure by all small companies.

•      Mobility Barriers/Restrictions: Many of the applications on smartphones are upgraded frequently and to perform this update we use a cloud based software management. Cloud-based providers solve the challenge of mobility by providing service updates almost immediately.

•      Growth Capacity: The storage in cloud is almost more than enough to satisfy many company’s storage needs all together. It can hold an unprecedented amount of data and cloud technology can be continuously rescaled to fit a company’s changing needs. Cloud capabilities offer companies more opportunities and greater reach, solving the challenge of limited growth capacity. 

Q2. What are disadvantages of cloud computing?

Ans. 2. Some of the disadvantages of cloud computing includes:

• It always require internet connection. If your internet services suffer from frequent outrages or slow speed, then cloud may not be suitable for the business.
• Dependent on Cloud Service Provider: Unless you are not that big company to have your own cloud storage, you are dependent on Cloud service provider and the example in the case shows that AWS experienced outages in April and August 2011 and on June 13 and 29, 2012. Even this small amount of downtime can lead to large revenue losses for firms that need 24/7 availability.
• Risks in privacy and confidentiality: cloud computing also brings in risk for privacy and confidentiality area as in the recent past there have been cases where the cloud servers have been hacked and all the information stored on cloud was leaked. This can be a trouble if the company lost the information about customer credit cards or any other personal data.
• Also, the cloud can be easily accessible from internet so is more vulnerable to risks and attacks.

Q3. How do the concepts of capacity planning, scalability, and TCO apply to this case? Apply these concepts both to Amazon and to subscribers of its services.

Ans. 3. Capacity planning is the process of determining the production capacity required by an organization to meet changing demands for its products and services.

Scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work in an efficient and effective manner or its ability to effectively accommodate the growth.