What is cloud computing?

It is a model for delivering information technology services in which resources are retrieved from the internet. It is done through webbased tools and applications, rather than a direct connection to a server. Data and software packages are stored in servers. However, cloud computing structure allows access to information as long as an electronic device has access to the web. This type of system allows employees to work remotely.
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Cloud computing is a representation of computers that bring efficient benefits to customers, administrators and business. This model also creates risks and challenges at the same time.

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Fig 1.1: Represents the architecture of cloud.

This technology is used by a vast variety of end users: I. Consumers: a. for email, b. file storage, c. content and information sharing, d. payment services e. Music and video streaming.

II.

III.

Business: a. basic office tools b. collaboration c. project management d. design of custom applications Administrator: a. same ways as businesses b. innovating in the quality of services c. online help to citizens through e-government solutions

Types of clouds or Deployment Models There are mainly four kinds of clouds:

PUBLIC

PRIVATE

Types of CLOUD COMMUNITY HYBRID

Public clouds If any subscriber has the internet connection and access to cloud they can very well and easily access public cloud. When any company opts for public cloud then they have no visibility over the spot of the cloud computing infrastructure. Infrastructure is always shared between different organisations and firms on public cloud. The best vendor for public cloud services is Salesforce.com. When they opt the public cloud they can store the unlimited data.

Private clouds A private cloud is established for a specific group or organization and limits access to just that group.

When you compared to Public cloud,it has more security.In public cloud infrastructure can be

shared between organization,but in private cloud,infrastructure can be dedicate to particular organization,so the service is expensive. Private Cloud computing is more secure and expensive.

Community clouds

A community cloud is shared among two or more organizations that have similar cloud requirements.

It is very useful for same government sectors or same community.In between organizations,infrastructure can be shared in same community.Still you are confusing? then have a small example.Any government organizations can share the data to same agency but not for non-government agencies.

Hybrid clouds

A hybrid cloud is essentially a combination of at least two clouds, where the clouds included are a mixture of public, private, or community.

Normally and based on the data security, Organizations can use either of Private or public cloud.Hybrid computing is nothing but Using the combination of public and private cloud.Here organizations can put their data in public cloud,when the data is not critical and i other hands if the application is so critical then organization can choose private cloud to give the full secure to data.

Choosing a cloud provider Each provider serves a specific function, giving users more or less control over their cloud depending on the type. When you choose a provider, compare your needs to the cloud services

available. Your cloud needs will vary depending on how you intend to use the space and resources associated with the cloud. If it will be for personal home use, you will need a different cloud type and provider than if you will be using the cloud for business. Keep in mind that your cloud provider will be pay-as-you-go, meaning that if your technological needs change at any point you can purchase more storage space (or less for that matter) from your cloud provider.

There are three types of cloud providers that you can subscribe to: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). These three types differ in the amount of control that you have over your information, and conversely, how much you can expect your provider to do for you. Briefly, here is what you can expect from each type.

1. Software as a Service - A SaaS provider gives subscribers access to both resources and applications. SaaS makes it unnecessary for you to have a physical copy of software to install on your devices. SaaS also makes it easier to have the same software on all of your devices at once by accessing it on the cloud. In a SaaS agreement, you have the least control over the cloud.

2. Platform as a Service - A PaaS system goes a level above the Software as a Service setup. A PaaS provider gives subscribers access to the components that they require to develop and operate applications over the internet.

3. Infrastructure as a Service - An IaaS agreement, as the name states, deals primarily with computational infrastructure. In an IaaS agreement, the subscriber comppletely outsources the storage and resources, such as hardware and software, that they need.

As you go down the list from number one to number three, the subscriber gains more control over what they can do within the space of the cloud. The cloud provider has less control in an IaaS system than with an SaaS agreement.

What does this mean for the home user or business looking to start using the cloud?

It means you can choose your level of control over your information and types of services that you want from a cloud provider. For example, imagine you are starting up your own small business. You cannot afford to purchase and store all of the hardware and software necessary to stay on the cutting edge of your market. By subscribing to an Infrastructure as a Service cloud, you would be able to maintain your new business with just as much computational capability as a larger, more established company, while only paying for the storage space and bandwidth that you use.

However, this system may mean you have to spend more of your resources on the development and operation of applications. As you can see, you should evaluate your current computational resources, the level of control you want to have, your financial situation, and where you foresee your business going before signing up with a cloud provider.

If you are a home user, however, you will most likely be looking at free or low-cost cloud services (such as web-based email) and will not be as concerned with many of the more complex

After you have fully taken stock of where you are and where you want to be, research into each cloud provider will give you a better idea of whether they are right for you.

Benefits of cloud computing

Cloud Computing brings with it many benefits to the end user. These include:

Access to a huge range of applications without having to download or install anything

Applications can be accessed from any computer, anywhere in the world

Users can avoid expenditure on hardware and software; only using what they need

Companies can share resources in one place

Consumption is billed as a utility with minimal upfront costs

Scalability via on-demand resources

There are several differences from traditional hosting to cloud hosting. The main differences are:

Cloud Computing is sold on demand

The service is managed by the provider

User can determine the amount of service they take

Users can log on to the network from any computer in the world.

Risks related to cloud computing

Security in the cloud is of paramount importance. Massive online databases are attractive to cybercriminals, and Internet services have proven to be difficult to protect. Organizations must protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information they handle. Tools such as Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) or Threat Risk Assessments (TRA) could be valuable to help make assessments of safeguards. In order to ensure that personal

information is protected, organizations using cloud computing services should:

Limit access to the information and restrict further uses by the provider. Set parameters for restricted access and use of personal information that is appropriate for the context and sensitivity of the information. Find out if personal information will be segregated or stored in the same database as information from the cloud providers other clients. Ensure access to personal information is only granted to those who need it to do their job. Ensure that access to personal information is logged in protected audit trails. Do not assume that the providers general terms of service or policies will be adequate to establish such restrictions, review them carefully.

Ensure that the provider has in place appropriate authentication/access controls. Stronger methods of authentication are recommended, such as multi-factor authentication2. The level of authentication should be commensurate with the risk to the personal information being protected. Ensure there are procedures and technical controls to manage who has access rights to the personal information.

Manage encryption. Understand what type of encryption method is being used and identify where data is encrypted or unencrypted at each stage (e.g., data in transit,

data at rest). Conduct an assessment of the risks associated with any lack of encryption. Determine if the encryption method is adequate and the access to encryption keys is properly managed. Risks may be reduced if organizations encrypt personal information before it is sent to the cloud provider.

Ensure that there are procedures in place in the event of a personal information breach or security incident. These should include technical and organizational measures that will be implemented in the event of accidental or deliberate loss, or unauthorized access

or disclosure of personal information. Ensure there are provisions in the agreement with the cloud provider that specify when it will provide notification to the organization in the event of a security breach. Organizations subject to breach notification requirements will want to ensure the contract is clear about when the cloud provider is to provide reports on breaches in order for it to meet its legal obligation3.

Ensure that there are procedures in place in the event of an outage to ensure business continuity and prevent data loss. Business continuity plans should be clearly documented in the contract.

Ensure periodic audits are performed. It is important for an organization to have some measure of oversight over a cloud providers policies and practices. Ensure the cloud provider logs all accesses and uses of personal information. Audits should be conducted periodically to inspect access logs and confirm that physical locations where personal information is processed and stored are inspected. Organizations should verify practices and procedures to ensure the provider is handling personal information in accordance with the agreements in place and request evidence of effective auditing and timely response to security incidents.

Have an exit strategy. Ensure the termination procedures permit the transfer of personal information back to the organization and require that the cloud provider securely delete all personal information within reasonable and specified timeframes.

What are SMES?

The SMEs abbreviation is used by the European Commission, World Bank the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO).The SMEs outnumbers large companies by a greater edge. SMEs in European Commission The current definition of what constitutes a micro, small and medium sized enterprise (SME) was adopted by the European Commission in 2003. The main factors determining whether a company is an SME are: number of employees and Either turnover or balance sheet total. Employees <250 <50 <10 Turnover < 50 m Euro < 10 m Euro < 2 m Euro or Balance sheet total < 43 m Euro < 10 m Euro <2 m Euro

Company category Medium sized Small Large

These ceilings apply to the figures for individual firms only. A firm which is part of larger grouping may need to include employee/turnover/balance sheet data from that grouping too.

Why will SMEs in Ireland choose cloud?

With the moving century SMEs are realizing the importance of the technology. They have recognised that growth, productivity and competitiveness edge can only be achieved with the help of adapting the advanced technology. With the above stated realisation it is becoming difficult for the SMEs to take the return on investment and profits from the modern offers. The major reasons for the same are: a. high capital costs b. access to scarce skills c. the retention of legacy IT systems This dilemma can be solved with the help of solutions provided by the Cloud Computing. With the use of the solutions the SMEs can take the same advantage edge that only high end companies can gain.

It typically happens on pay-as-you go basis. By adapting these solutions the following stated issues can be addressed easily: a. Issues such as buying hardware b. Providing technical support c. Recruiting specialist d. IT skills are removed e. allows decision-makers to give attention on sales f. growth g. Profitability.

Whenever there has been talk about Cloud solutions there has always been questions arises about security and standardisation in other words how to get best from the CLOUD.One thing is for sure that and step towards had to be business oriented. Following are the key reasons why SMEs move to cloud. Reducing IT costs Keeping IT costs down was vital to a SMEs was said by Darron Walton, managing director of consultancy De Villiers Walton. Whenever a SME starts they look for a virtual business with no in house initial cost. Having to achieve what the requirement was the underline point is to choose the cloud. The reason was Cloud works on a simple basic rule for pay as you go. The SMEs dealing with servers will find the cloud a liberating experience as it will release the worry of looking after a batch of servers. So no separate department will be required to keep an eye on the server maintenance reducing the IT cost. For Marcus East, head of future media and technology at Comic Relief, keeping costs down at peak times is essential. The charity has a unique challenge in that most of the year it is a normal business but on Red Nose Day it becomes one of the busiest websites in the world. We need the scalability cloud provides when we take 200 transactions per second on an infrastructure which is only necessary for a couple of weeks, he said The adoption of cloud in the public sectors has also relieved the companies with the initial IT costs. Adoption of Cloud removes IT equipment from offices and expensive property can be released.

Security Security has always been the talk of the town whenever any discussion has happened around the topic of Cloud Computing. The major concern arises of securing the data with the help of encryption and other tools. One way to take the edge off the hazard is to use a PRIVATE CLOUD. In countries like India use of private cloud is practiced because getting the IP(Intellectual Property) is too high. Another important thing for SMEs is to revise information about the cloud vendor. They must be aware that where the datacenter is for the cloud vendor is situated.

Another crucial decision is of choosing the right Cloud Partner. This is from the point of view of the following aspects: a. b. c. d. Technical Growth Commercial Security

If virtualisation of servers happens with trusted partners and if something goes wrong then partner can provide service levels and data protection. SMEs should choose cloud partners that guarantees the data centres in UK or IRELAND as these countries can never go wrong with internet. In case the SMEs wishes to change the vendor then they should have a roadmap set for taking the data back.

In-house IT skills If most of the IT is on the cloud then the question arises that what core IT skills should be retained in the organisation. If a business moves to cloud they have the positive edge of not spending too much on IT resources because all their IT related work is always done by cloud partner. The problem arises only when bunch of people doesnt like to open a file from the browser and would like to store it locally. Another aspect is catered for SMEs that even if they grow to a certain size they would never have to bring the IT back. The can just easily outsource the possible work and the monthly bill rather than investing for the department itself.

Innovation For many SMEs moving to cloud negotiates an area to give attention on the new ideas as most of the IT work will be done by Cloud partners. The SMEs used to spend more time in running the back-offices tasks in the past era or in other words before moving to the cloud. Now that everything is taken care by the cloud resources are all free from the regular usual tasks of back office. They can spend their entire time in innovating new ideas for business. Moving to cloud advantages SMEs to re-engineer and recreate the organisations processes and moreover provides an opportunity to introduce innovation. The company gets flexible enough to innovate in the stream of customer service. YMCAs Barratt said everything is going to the cloud and we should be mindful of what is coming from countries like India as they use the cloud to run their business and innovate. In the UK you have a laptop and a workstation. In India entrepreneurs run million-pound

businesses via an iPhone and a PDA and are doing things on them were not doing on the mainframe. If we dont address the way we do business we will be left behind, he said. Mobility The cloud has brought flexibility and mobility to his business. Now that everything is taken care by the cloud resources are all free from the regular usual tasks of back office. They can spend their entire time in innovating new ideas for business. I can go anywhere in the world and operate my business by just dialling in as long as Ive got a phone and a laptop, he said. Barratt said the cloud is helping bring the YMCA into the 21st century. We are working in more countries and have a bigger take-up of services. Young consultants all have iPads and want to access information. We can use the cloud to provide updates as they happen and bring us forward as a vibrant organisation from our legacy and we must embrace technology to achieve that, he said

Benefits of Cloud Computing for SME Businesses

Reduced Capex & Opex Costs Moving to cloud for SMEs provides tremendous edge in terms of both initial costs and on going operational costs. Pay-As-You Go, On-Demand If you have a seasonal business then you can increase the bandwidth because it is as simple as you pay as you go on. Scalable Storage Options As a start up you dont have to go and purchase expensive infrastructure and also in the software side you dont have to worry about the software update. This will be taken care by your vendor. Remote Access Employees get the freedom of working anywhere. They dont have to remain in the office to access the information. They can be present at any part of the globe. Green Computing It consumes a smaller amount of energy in comparison to traditional data centres in todays time which is era of threatening Global warming Ease of Implementation It gives you an amazing experience of starting your business right away with no cost for hardware and software. Its much easier than making a Gmail account. Skilled Vendors - Microsoft, Google, Sales Force, Amazon, IBM and Yahoo who are tycoons in IT taking care of your data over your semi skilled IT professionals. Response time Standard server hardware lags behind the response time in comparison to the Cloud in most cases. Even playing field for small start-ups Allowing SMEs to compete more successfully with some of the well-built businesses, in point of fact balancing the playing field.

Performance, durability & high availability The websites and the software applications can be run at a much faster rate with the robust and obtainable services

Challenges for SME moving to CLOUD

The biggest challenge for the SMEs to have the formal strategy ready before they even think on moving to cloud. While SMEs think of getting the solution they need to understand that the services provided may not likely to be business oriented but it will just be in no time the core business modules will migrate to cloud, e.g. Spreadsheets . Readily migration of the core business processed can be easily shown by the success of Sales Force (a cloud based CRM) With the nucleus business applications migrating to cloud this way, SMEs planning to move to cloud needs to keep in mind the answers of the following technical questions: a. Will the existing internet connection cope with the additional bandwidth demands? b. Is their ISP reliable enough? c. Do they have a backup line if their main one fails? d. How secure are the cloud services theyre using?

The following questions needs to be understood by the SMEs before signing up for the cloud. The answer to the question will vary from company to company as the medium sized companies involves a large variety of domains. WILL IT WORK? We need to understand one very crucial thing and that is that: cloud-based applications are not for everyone? The answer to this question will entirely depend upon your domain and definitely by the experience of the users dealing in the cloud with the same domain, One thing needs to be understood and that is that if you have a very domain or industry specific needs as a solution then cloud might be the best answer to your problem. If the above case matches your profile then you may be better off with packaged or customdesigned software.

IS THE MONTHLY FEE A DEAL? It works on a simple principle of pay as you go. This clearly means that you are going to be charged for the amount of usage from your end. For SMEs to realise that if they move to cloud will they be end up paying more per month or it going to bring a significant amount of differences in the expenditure? There are some people that still feels that its better to buy a book then renting it coz when u buy it..its going to be with you forever. The bottom line is if you want to save out on large and small expenses then jump on to the cloud.

WILL YOU ALWAYS GET ACCESS? SMEs move to cloud for one very dominant reason and that is when they have the business running in different locations. Its more significant when the crucial employees are present in the different geographical location and they want them all to be on same page by getting the access for all the information for all at the same time. The other dominant reason is that they cant afford on losing out on the information in the computers. This predominantly happens in case of natural calamity. But when on cloud everything is on cloud. The enslavement on the reliability of the internet service is likely to hamper the cloud services. The bottom line is that the cloud is principle if employees in your company are placed in different geographies but at the same time they need to access the information from a common repository. But if your internet is not fast and reliable then getting on cloud can be a problem specially when you have bulk data to transact.

WILL YOU GET SUPPORT? When you have a cloud provider its always easy to get someone on the telephone or by email, and they provide instant fix for the problems. Cloud-based services always make it easy in comparison with most packaged or custom-built software However, if you talk about the custom designed packages they generally let you rely on FAQs. The bottom line is if you need instant access to someone seeking help and if you are not comfortable trying to find solutions on FAQs, the cloud probably is the deal for you.

IS YOUR DATA SAFE? Some companies dont favour the fact of keeping the private and critical data on cloud. They still feel uneasy or nervous about the whole idea of handing over your personal data to someone. While there are users who keep the confidential data out of cloud and they set up in house servers for them. But others believed that their cloud partners are doing a good job in taking care of the data at least better than they were doing themselves. The bottom line is if you are not convinced with the whole deal in giving your data to anyone but yourself the cloud may not be able to maintain the comfort zone for you.

Some considerations for companies thinking of migrating to Cloud

SMEs before moving to cloud should communicate with their cloud provider in terms of the guarantee he is going to provide for the services. Before increasing the availability of your internet you need to be clear as to what part of your business will on cloud. When any SMEs thinks about moving on to cloud then the company needs to consider the following areas .By doing so it will help to them to come up with an answer as to should they move on cloud or not. How clean is my data? Will the new and old data needs to be maintained hand in hand? How far will be my data centres? Is my internet connection enough and will i be able to increase the bandwidth if required? Will you be using browser or remote window? Will moving to cloud will be a phased approach? Can scalable is your service? How well trained is your staff?