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Journal of International Technology and Information

Management
Volume 20
Article 2
Issue 1 Double Issue 1/2

2011

Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into


your Organization: A Six-Step Conceptual Model
Hossein Bidgoli
California State University Bakersfield

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization: A


Six-Step Conceptual Model
Hossein Bidgoli
California State University Bakersfield
USA

ABSTRACT

Cloud computing is the fastest area of application within the information systems field. The adoption of
cloud computing by businesses, government agencies, and academic institutions is on the rise. Cloud
computing platforms could reduce cost, offer scale, and increase information systems responsiveness for
those companies that are adopting it properly. However, still many decision makers do not really know
what exactly cloud computing is, its unique capabilities, and how it may increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of IT services. Also cloud computing may mean different things to different people. This paper
first examines different applications within the cloud computing domain and then explores the existing
applications, trends, opportunities, and challenges in cloud computing environment and presents a series
of guidelines summarized under a six step conceptual model. Managers and IT personnel should benefit
from following these steps by being able to choose the right application for their organizations and be able
to minimize the security and privacy concerns associated with the introduction of this fast growing
technology.

LITERATURE SURVEY: THE LANDSCAPE OF CLOUD COMPUTING

A recent survey on the status, applications, versatilities, popularities, and opportunities gained by using
cloud computing platforms reveals interesting facts as follows:

Many banks including ING are testing cloud computing for integrating it into their operations. In a survey
of 186 banking technology professionals interested in cloud computing 73 percent of the participants
indicated that cloud computing will enable them to meet user demands quickly and achieve scale
(Crosman, 2010). Morgan Stanley is another major bank that is planning to integrate cloud computing into
its operations. However, security and privacy in cloud computing are among the major concerns (Cohen,
2008).

Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring the use of cloud computing in one of the following four
categories (Anonymous, 2010):

 Use commercially provided cloud services

 Deploy cloud computing within DoD networks

 Develop a multi-agency cloud computing network for data processing and storage

 Develop a combined DoD/commercial provider system

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Journal of International Technology and Information Management Volume 20, Numbers 1& 2 2011

Key decision makers believe cloud computing will provide greater agility and flexibility for the DoD,
today and in the future. Cloud computing will also increase efficiencies and incur marked cost savings
during their life-cycles to alleviate some of the pressure of budget reductions. Once again, security and
privacy are major concerns for this deployment (Forbes, 2011, Anonymous, 2011). In addition, experts
believe that, the department of defense could run more effectively using cloud technologies. DoD could
become a model and show other large organizations how cloud computing applications could be used
(Linthicum, 2010d).

According to experts it makes no sense for smaller enterprises to operate their own data centers. Cloud
computing will be both cost effective and also environmentally safer and cleaner for such organizations
(Krill, 2010). Cloud computing platforms clearly support the growing phenomenal of green computing and
could help organization to achieve their “green” goals.

An executive at global consultancy CSC predicts that half of all IT workloads will become cloud services
by 2016 (Knorr, 2011).

Despite millisecond delays cross-ocean cloud applications are gaining in popularity because of major cost
saving and other advantages (Thibodeau, 2011c).

President Barack Obama relies heavily on cloud computing and data center consolidation to keep IT costs
under control (Thibodeau, 2011b). The Obama administration aims to cut costs by embracing the cloud in
place of in-house, proprietary technology (Samson, 2010).

A report published in Techland.time.com in February 2011 indicates that YouTube uses cloud computing
infrastructure to split video processing between "hundreds of thousands of machines," allowing them to
process video seven times faster than in 2008 (and even four times faster than just six months ago)
(McMillan, 2011).

Tata Communications will offer cloud computing that includes services for computing, data transfer, and
storage (Ribeiro, 2010).

Joining Microsoft, Oracle, Google and others, IBM plans to offer a cloud-based office suite (Jackson,
2011). IBM also puts Notes and collaboration in the cloud (Knorr, 2010).

China is building a city-sized cloud computing and office complex that will include a mega data center.
Cloud computing is among the projects supporting that country's double-digit growth in IT spending
(Thibodeau, 2011a).

BACKGROUND

As reviewed in the previous section, cloud computing is one of the fastest area of application within the
information systems field. Most computer and networking companies are trying to either enter into this
area or increase their existing market share. Even during the economic down turn, cloud computing related
jobs have been in high demand (Linthicum, 2010b). Some experts believe that cloud computing could save
the economy. In a survey conducted by CRN, 68 percent of the respondents indicated that cloud
computing will help their businesses recover from the recession. More than 600 IT and business decision

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

makers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore participated in the survey (Linthicum,
2010c).

The adoption of cloud computing by businesses and academic institutions is on the rise. Cloud computing
platforms could reduce cost and increase the information systems responsiveness for those companies that
are properly adopting it. Table 1 summarizes the advantages of cloud computing (Brodkin, 2010).

Table 1: Advantages of Cloud Computing.

Reduced cost Cloud computing cost is paid incrementally,


saving organizations money. Also because the
software development cost is divided among many
participants, it is generally cheaper than traditional
computing methods.
Increased storage Organizations can store more data than on private
computer systems and storage can grow as the
organization grows.
Highly automated No longer do IT personnel need to worry about
keeping software up to date. The “what version of
the software do I need” syndrome is eliminated.
Flexibility Cloud computing offers much more flexibility
than traditional computing methods. It can offer
vertical as well as horizontal flexibility.
More mobility Employees can access information wherever they
are, rather than having to remain at their desks. It
offers a true portability for both data and
application.
Allows IT to shift focus No longer having to worry about constant server
updates and other computing issues, the adopting
organization will be free to concentrate on
innovation and growing the business. Mission
critical applications become the main focus.

The ROI, total cost of ownership, and payback period for cloud computing have been explored by several
studies and experts (Skilton, 2010a, Skilton, 2010b, Hinchcliffe, 2009). Some experts believe that cloud
computing may not be initially cost justified (Linthicum, 2011b). However most studies have concluded
that cloud computing is cost justified and if it is property implemented it offers a very high ROI. One such
study was conducted by IBM Research. According to this study the many benefits of cloud computing
amply and quickly justify that investment. IBM has identified cost saving in the following five categories:
hardware, software, productivity improvements, automated provisioning, and system administration (IBM
Research, 2009)

The following two case studies set the stage for our presentation:

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Journal of International Technology and Information Management Volume 20, Numbers 1& 2 2011

Case 1: Cloud Computing in Action.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, says, “You don’t generate your own electricity. Why
generate your own computing?” (Mcfedries, 2008). Amazon.com has established a computing
platform that companies can use, regardless of their location. This platform provides storage and
processing power on demand, and companies pay only for the resources they use. By using this
service, companies don’t have to invest in technology that might become obsolete quickly
(Dignan, 2008). With decreasing prices and better offerings, Amazon.com has become a major
cloud infrastructure provider (Linthicum, 2011a). Google Apps, a cloud platform, introduced in
February 2007, is competing with Microsoft’s Office suite, and many companies use it now,
including universities such as Arizona State University and Northwestern University (Brodkin,
2009).

Case 2: Cloud Computing in Action.

Queensland University of Technology in Australia implemented cloud computing to provide


enterprise software to more than 140 universities in the Asia Pacific. According to Glenn
Stewart, Professor of Information Systems, a cloud computing platform not only has reduced
cost it has also provided greater reliability and scalability. Professor Stewart is in charge of the
SAP University Competence Centre (UCC), which provides the SAP suite of business software
to over 800 academics and 42,000 students from 140 universities in the Asia Pacific and Japan. If
a university chooses to run this suite of software without the help of UCC it has to invest in
hardware, software, backup facilities, and so forth. The upfront investment would be over
$300,000, which is a major undertaking for any university. By migrating the services into a
private cloud, each university pays $6,760 for that same package, which is more than a 74%
reduction in cost (Ng, 2010).

However, many organizations do not follow a systematic approach before adopting this technology, and to
be able to better understand the many opportunities and challenges that this fast growing platform offers.
This paper presents a series of guidelines summarized under a six step conceptual model that if followed
should increase the chances of success when introducing cloud computing into your organization (see
Figure 1). These steps provide managerial literacy as well as checklists that organizations could use before
introducing this technology into their organizations. The steps include: (1) understanding grid computing,
(2) understanding application service providers, (3) understanding utility (on-demand) computing, (4)
understanding the components of a cloud platform, (5) understanding the security issues in cloud
computing, and (6) preparing a cloud computing plan for implementation.

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

Figure 1: A Six-Step Conceptual Model.

Introducing Cloud
Computing

Combining
Processing YES Grid
Power

Computin
g

Software YES
on ASPs
Demand

IT YES
Services Utility

Computin
g

Iaas, YES
Paas, Cloud
Saas
Platform

Analyze

Security

Implementation
Plan

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Step-1: Understanding Grid Computing

Grid computing involves connecting all the different computers combining their processing power to solve
a particular problem. With this configuration, users can make use of other computers’ resources to solve
problems involving large-scale, complex calculations, such as circuit analysis or mechanical design, that a
single computer is not capable of solving. Each participant in a grid is referred to as a “node.” Cost savings
is a major advantage of grid computing because companies don’t have to purchase additional equipment.
In addition, processing on overused nodes can be switched to idle servers and even desktop systems. Grid
computing has already been used in bioinformatics, oil and gas drilling, and financial applications. Other
advantages of grid computing include the following:

 Improved reliability—If one node in the grid fails, another node can take over.

 Parallel processing nature—Complex tasks can be performed in parallel, which improves


performance. In other words, a large complex task can be split into smaller tasks that run
simultaneously on several nodes.

 Scalability—If needed, more nodes can be added for additional computing power without
affecting the network’s operation. Upgrades can also be managed by segmenting the grid and
performing the upgrade in stages without any major effect on the grid’s performance
.
Grid computing does have some drawbacks, however. Some applications cannot be spread among nodes,
so they are not suitable for grid computing, and applications requiring extensive memory that a single node
cannot provide cannot be used on a grid. In addition, licensing agreements can be challenging,
synchronizing operations in several different network domains can be difficult, and require
sophisticated network management tools. Finally, some organizations are resistant to sharing
resources, even if doing so benefits them.

After examining the pros, cons, and capabilities of grid computing, an organization should
decide if this platform is suitable for its needs. If the answer is “yes”, then the decision maker
should go to steps 5 and 6 as shown in Figure 1. If the answer is “no” then step 2 should be
examined.

Step-2: Understanding Application Service Providers

Internet service providers (ISPs) provide access to the Internet for a fee. A more recent business
model called application service providers (ASPs) provide access to software or services for a
fee. Software as a service (SaaS), or on-demand software, is a model for ASPs to deliver
software to users for a fee; the software might be for temporary or long-term use. With this
delivery model, users do not need to be concerned with new software versions and compatibility
problems because the ASP offers the most recent version of the software. Users can also save all
application data on the ASP’s server so that the software and data are portable. This flexibility is
convenient for those who travel or work in different locations, but it can also create privacy and
security issues. Saving data on the ASPs’ servers instead of users’ own workstations might leave
this data more exposed to theft or corruption by attackers (Bidgoli, 2010).

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

Here is a simple example of how SaaS might work: say you want to edit a document, TEST.doc,
and you need word-processing software for this task. With SaaS, you do not need the software
installed on your computer. You simply access it from the SaaS provider site. You can then run
the software from the provider’s server (and not take up your computing resources) or on your
computer. The location of the TEST.doc file does not matter. You make use of the provider’s
SaaS service to edit the document, which stays on your hard drive (or wherever you had it
stored—a flash drive, for example). The word-processing application is not stored on your
computer, so the next time you access the word-processing software from the provider’s SaaS
site you might get a newer version of the word-processing software. SaaS deals only with
software, not with data and document storage or with hardware resources, such as processing
power and memory. The SaaS model can take several forms, such as the following:

 Software services for general use, such as office suite packages

 Offering a specific service, such as credit card processing

 Offering a service in a vertical market, such as software solutions for doctors, accountants, and
attorneys

Generally, the advantages of outsourcing, such as being less expensive and delivering
information more quickly, apply to the ASP model, too. However, ASPs have some specific
advantages, including the following:

 The customer does not need to be concerned about whether software is current.

 IS personnel time is freed up to focus on applications, such as customer relationship


management and financial information systems, which are more important strategically to the
organization.

 Software development costs are spread over several customers, so vendors can absorb some
expenses of software development and develop more improved software.

 Software is kept up to date, based on users’ request.

 The ASP contract guarantees a certain level of technical support.

 An organization’s software costs can be reduced to a predictable monthly fee.

Some disadvantages of ASPs are as follows:

 Generally, users must accept applications as provided by ASPs; they are not customized for
users’ needs.

 Because the organization has less control over how applications are developed, there is the risk
that applications might not fully meet the organization’s needs.

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 Integration with the customer’s other applications and systems might be challenging.

Google, NetSuite, Inc., and Salesforce.com are three companies that offer software as a service.
Google Apps (www.google.com/apps) is a service from Google with several Google products. It
features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including:
Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs, and Sites. The standard edition is free. In addition,
Basecamp (basecamphq.com) and Mint.com (www.mint.com) also offer SaaS. Basecamp is a
web-based project collaboration tool that allows users to share files, meet deadlines, assign tasks,
and receive feedback. Mint.com is a free web-based personal financial management service.
SaaS is also common for human resources applications and has been used in ERP systems with
vendors such as Workday (www.workday.com).

After examining the pros, cons, and capabilities of ASPs, an organization should decide if this
platform is suitable for its needs. If the answer is “yes”, then the decision maker should go to
steps 5 and 6 as shown in Figure 1. If the answer is “no” then step 3 should be examined.

Step-3: Understanding Utility (On-Demand) Computing

Utility (on-demand) computing is similar to the SaaS model and provides IT services on demand.
Users pay for computing or storage resources on an as-needed basis, similar to paying for
utilities. Convenience and cost savings are two main advantages of utility computing, but this
service does have drawbacks in the areas of privacy and security. Because the service is outside
the company’s location, theft or corruption of data is a concern.

Utility computing can work with the SaaS discussed earlier. Returning to the example of editing
a Word document, suppose the TEST.doc file is very large because it contains a lot of images.
You notice that your computer is running slowly because it has an older CPU and does not have
enough RAM to handle the file size adequately. With utility computing, you can request
computing power and memory from the provider. It is like leasing a more powerful computer
just for the period you need it. So to compare utility computing with SaaS, utility computing
handles hardware resources, such as CPU processing and memory, not software.

Utility computing has been available at universities and research centers that need to run
complex programs and do not have the necessary resources. For example, NASA has offered to
lease its supercomputer for a fee, which ensures the supercomputer is being used and adds
income for NASA. Other organizations, such as Sun Microsystems (a part of Oracle now) and
IBM, offer this service in the form of storage and virtual servers. Some companies offer virtual
data centers with services that enable users to combine memory, storage, and computing
capabilities. Liquid Computing’s LiquidIQ is one example (www.liquidcomputing.com). Enki
(www.enkiconsulting.net), Joyent (www.joyent.com), and Layered Technologies
(www.layeredtech.com) are other vendors.

After examining the pros, cons, and capabilities of utility computing, an organization should
decide if this platform is suitable for its needs. If the answer is “yes”, then the decision maker
should go to steps 5 and 6 as shown in Figure 1. If the answer is “no” then step 4 should be
examined.

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

Step-4: Understanding the Components of a Cloud Platform

Cloud computing is a platform incorporating many recent technologies under one platform,
including the SaaS model, Web 2.0, grid computing, and utility computing, so that a variety of
resources can be provided to users over the Internet. Business applications are accessed via a
Web browser, and data is stored on the providers’ servers (Knorr & Gruman, 2008). In addition,
cloud providers, such as Amazon, set up an environment that enables the user to subscribe to
SaaS, utility, grid, and other services the user needs and coordinates all these services for the
user.

Nearly all tech vendors are involved in cloud computing. BTC Logic, an IT consulting firm, has
classified seven areas within cloud computing and has identified some of the top players in each
category. The summary is provided in Table 2 (Brodkin, 2010).

Table 2: Major Categories and Players in Cloud Computing.

Cloud Categories Cloud Players

Foundations (tools and software that make it VMware, Microsoft, Red Hat
possible to build cloud infrastructure)
Infrastructure Amazon
Network Services (the communication Amazon, Level 3 Computing Services ,Cisco,
components that combine with cloud Citrix
foundation and infrastructure to form
cloud architecture)
Platforms Amazon, IBM
Applications Google, Salesforce.com, Oracle, DROPBOX
Security EMC/RSA , Symantec, IBM
Management Amazon, IBM

Going back to the example of editing the TEST.doc file, say you are using your iPhone instead
of your computer. Clearly, your iPhone doesn’t have the storage space to save such a large file,
and it does not have the necessary computing power or Word installed. With cloud computing,
you can subscribe to Word at the provider’s SaaS site, store the document on an external storage
unit provided by the vendor, and run Word on a multiprocessor system the vendor provides. You
might even get extra RAM from another computer available in the cloud, and the cloud provider
coordinates all these tasks for you. Your iPhone is simply the device for viewing the document
while you are editing it, and because it is a mobile device, you can do your work anywhere. In
other words, the document, the software, and the computing resources are like a cloud that

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surrounds you wherever you go and is available whenever you need it. Generally, cloud
computing includes components in the form of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a
service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS).

Cloud computing offers many of the advantages and disadvantages of distributed


computing. With this platform, users can request services, applications, and storage. For small
and medium businesses, it means they do not have to invest in expensive equipment to compete
effectively with large companies and can concentrate on the services and products they provide.
Cloud computing services typically require a fee, although some are free. Google Apps, which
includes Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Docs, provides commonly used applications accessed
via a Web browser; software and data are stored on Google’s servers, not on the user’s computer.
The standard edition for personal use is free (Knorr & Gruman, 2008).

Step-5: Understanding the Security Issues in Cloud Computing

Security, privacy, spam, and mobile computing issues, acceptance, and vulnerabilities of all
network-based systems have been addressed by several studies (Bidgoli, 2003; Lu et al., 2005;
Marchewka et al., 2003; Ryker et al., 2005).

Most experts believe that security and privacy could be particularly a concern when using a
cloud computing platform and users play an important role in its success. In any case some
degree of trust must exists between the user and the provider for a successful implementation of
cloud computing. The organization that uses cloud computing should provide end-user
education, force software updates, and work with the cloud computing provider in order to spot
unusual activities (Knorr & Gruman, 2008).

In a cloud computing environment there are two types of security issues: The client side (the
user) and the server side (the provider). The organization that uses the cloud services basically
does not have much control over the security issues of the server side. The provider of the cloud
services is responsible for that. However, the client side security is the responsibility of the
organization that uses cloud services. Table 3 lists common client-side threats. Table 4 lists
important client-side security measures.

Table 3: Common client-side threats.

Viruses
Worms
Trojan programs
Logic bombs
Backdoors
Blended threats (e.g., worm launched by Trojan)
Rootkits
Denial-of-service attacks
Social engineering

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Table 4: Important client-side security measures.

Biometric security measures


Nonbiometric security measures (firewalls and intrusion detection systems)
Physical security measures
Access controls
Virtual private networks
Data encryption
E-commerce transaction security measures

The mobile users in particular play an important role in improving the security of cloud
computing environment. Mobile users increasingly use smart phones and tablet computers such
as iPad/ iPad 2 to access various applications from the servers of the cloud providers. One
popular application is Chatter from Saleforece.com. Chatter is a social networking and
collaborative application that works with Sales Cloud. All users of Salesforce can access Chatter
for no additional cost. Similar to Facebook Pages, Chatter enables groups to collaborate on
projects, share information and documents, and control the privacy so that information is only
shown to appropriate team members.

Generally speaking mobile devices pose additional threats to the network security because
anyone walking or driving within the range of an AP (even outside of homes and offices) could
connect and use the network (Bidgoli, 2011). An AP (access point) is a part of a wireless LAN
(WLAN) that connects the WLAN to other networks. Finding WLANs is an easy task. A user
can walk or drive around different office buildings or homes with a WLAN-equipped computer
and see if it can pick up a signal. There are free software tools available on the Internet that can
teach you more about the network that was just broken into. Wireless signals can also be
intercepted and they are susceptible to DoS attacks similar to wired networks.

There are several techniques that could improve the security of wireless networks and mobile
devices in a cloud environment as follows:

Using SSID (Service Set Identifier) - This technique requires all client computers that try to
access the AP to include a SSID in all of their packets, a packet without a SSID will not be
processed by the AP. The major weakness of using SSID is that it can be picked up by other
devices in the range with the right software.

1. Using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - This technique uses a key that must be
manually entered into AP and the client computer. This key encrypts the message before
transmission. Because of the manual process this technique is not suitable for large
networks as the key management becomes a complex and time consuming task.

2. Using EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) - This technique dynamically generates


the WEP keys based on the user’s ID and password. When the user logs out of the system
the key is discarded. A new key will be generated when the user logs back into the
network.

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3. Using WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - This technique combines the strong features of
WEP and EAP. Keys can be fixed such as in WEP or dynamically changed as is in EAP.
However, the WPA key is longer than the WEP key; therefore it is more difficult to
break. Additionally, the key is changed for every frame (a distinct and identifiable data
set) before transmission.

4. Using WPA2 or 802.11i - This technique uses EAP to obtain a master key. With this
master key a user’s computer and the AP negotiates for a key that will be used for a
session. After the session termination the key is discarded. This technique uses Advanced
Encryption Standard, which is more complex than WPA and much harder to break.

Step-6: Preparing a Cloud Computing Plan for Implementation

Now that various options within the clod computing domain have been analyzed and security
issues and measures have been addressed, then the organization is ready to prepare an
implementation plan. An organization’s employees are an essential part of the success of any
cloud computing initiatives, so training and education on strengths and weaknesses of this
platform and security awareness and security measures are important. Some organizations use a
classroom setting for training, and others conduct it over the organization’s intranet. Tests and
certificates should be given to participants at the end of training sessions. In addition, making
sure management supports the training program is important to help promote the adoption of this
new technology throughout the organization. The following steps should be considered when
developing a cloud computing implementation plan (Bidgoli, 2008):

1. Set up a cloud computing committee with representatives from all departments as


well as upper management. The committee’s responsibilities include the following:

 Developing a clear, detailed cloud computing acquisition and use plan

 Providing cloud computing awareness for key decision makers and users

 Conducting a basic cost/benefit analysis and calculating an ROI for the cloud computing
acquisition

 Overseeing enforcement of the cloud computing policy

2. Define the organization’s needs. A clear definition of needs will assist the organization
to decide on the following:

 Does the organization need grid computing?

 Does the organization need SaaS?

 Does the organization need utility (on-demand) computing?

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Successful Introduction of Cloud Computing into your Organization H. Bidgoli

 Does the organization need a full featured cloud platform?

3. Force software updates and work with the cloud computing provider (s) in order to
spot unusual activities.

4. Examine the providers of cloud platforms (see Table 2) and match their offerings
against your needs, not all vendors are equal. Choose the provider (s) whose offerings
are the closest to your needs.

5. Post the security policy in a visible place, or post copies next to all workstations.

6. Raise employees’ awareness of security problems in a cloud environment.

7. Revoke terminated employees’ passwords immediately to prevent attempts for


retaliation.

8. Exit programs and systems promptly and never leave logged-on workstations
unattended.

9. Limit computer access to authorized personnel only.

10. Examine security threats outlined in Table 3 and offer countermeasures outlined in
Table 4.

11. Examine wireless security threats and implement measures outlined in the paper.

CONCLUSION

This paper first provided a comprehensive literature review in order to highlight the potential opportunities
and challenges in cloud computing environment. Secondly, it examined different applications within the
cloud computing domain in order to provide a general understanding of different cloud options. Thirdly,
the paper presented a series of guidelines summarized under a six step conceptual model for cloud
computing acquisition and implementation. The guidelines and steps presented should offer the following
benefits to key decision makers interested in cloud computing deployment in their organizations:

1. Should assist an organization to decide on the type of cloud that would be the most beneficial
to a particular situation. For example, should the organization choose grid computing, ASPs,
utility computing, or a full featured cloud platform?

2. The organization will know the justification for ROI that will come from hardware, software,
productivity improvements, automated provisioning, and system administration.

3. The organization will know the security and privacy issues in the cloud environment and will
know how to guard against these issues.

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Journal of International Technology and Information Management Volume 20, Numbers 1& 2 2011

4. The organization will be able to follow the implementation plan presented in the paper as a
guide and checklist.

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