Unit 1

FUNDAMENTALS OF CLOUD COMPUTING

An Overview of Cloud computing

Cloud computing is a computing paradigm, where a large pool of
systems are connected in private or public networks, to provide
dynamically scalable infrastructure for application, data and file
storage. With the advent of this technology, the cost of computation,
application hosting, content storage and delivery is reduced
significantly. Cloud computing is a practical approach to experience
direct cost benefits and it has the potential to transform a data center
from a capital-intensive set up to a variable priced environment. The
idea of cloud computing is based on a very fundamental principal of
reusability of IT capabilities'. The difference that cloud computing
brings compared to traditional concepts of “grid computing”,
“distributed computing”, “utility computing”, or “autonomic computing”
is to broaden horizons across organizational boundaries. Forrester
defines cloud computing as: “A pool of abstracted, highly scalable, and
managed compute infrastructure capable of hosting endcustomer
applications and billed by consumption.”
Cloud computing is a growing idea in the world of IT, born
out of the necessity for computing on the go. It brings the user access to
data, applications and storage that are not stored on their computer.
For a very simple cloud computing overview, it can be understood as a
delivery system that delivers computing the same way a power grid
delivers electricity. To the average computer user it offers the
advantage of delivering IT without the user having to have an in depth
knowledge of the technology. Similar to the way a consumer can access
electricity without being an electrician.
By delivering this computing, storage and applications as a
service, not a product, the cloud offers both a cost and business
advantage. The cloud moves all these services off-site to either a
contractor, or a centralized facility. Centralizing the data allows the
cost to be shared amongst all the users. The cloud accomplishes what
IT is always seeking to; increase computing capabilities, without
having to provide a new infrastructure. The possible uses of cloud
computing are exponential. Users interface with the cloud through
their web browser, eliminating the need for installing numerous
software applications.
The popular trend in today's technology driven world is ‘Cloud
Computing’. Cloud computing can be referred to as the storing and
accessing of data over the internet rather than your computer's hard
drive. This means you don't access the data from either your
computer's hard drive or over a dedicated computer network (home or
office network). Cloud computing means data is stored at a remote
place and is synchronized with other web information.
One prominent example of cloud computing is Office 365 which
allows users to store, access, edit their MS Office documents online (in
browser) without installing the actual program on their device.
Definitions of Cloud Computing

1) The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the

Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server
or a personal computer. This is an internet definition of Cloud
computing.

2) Cloud computing is a computing term or metaphor that evolved in

the late 2000s, based on utility and consumption of computing
resources. Cloud computing involves deploying groups of remote servers
and software networks that allow centralized data storage and online
access to computer services or resources

3) Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services like servers,

storages and more over the Internet. The companies that offer these
computing services are called cloud providers. They charge for cloud
computing services based on usage.
Architecture of Cloud Computing

The architecture of cloud computing comprises of the following

components −

 Front-end device
 Back-end platform
 Cloud-based delivery
 Network

Front-end Devices − These are basically the devices that are used by
clients to access the data or program using the browser or special
applications.
Back-end Platform − There are various computers, servers, virtual
machines, etc. that combine to become a back-end platform.
The evolution of cloud computing
Cloud computing can be seen as an innovation in different
ways. From a technological perspective it is an advancement of
computing, applying virtualization concepts to utilize hardware more
efficiently. Yet a different point of view is to look at cloud computing
from an IT deployment perspective. In this sense cloud computing has
the potential to revolutionize the way, how computing resources and
applications are provided, breaking up traditional value chains and
making room for new business models. In the following section we are
going to describe the emergence of cloud computing from both
perspectives.
4.1 A new computing paradigm
To judge, whether cloud computing is a new computing
paradigm, one needs to reflect its development in the context of
computing history. In this chapter we are going to provide a short
summary of the history starting with the calculating machine,
describing the development of computers and the internet and
eventually the beginnings of cloud computing. We also describe a
layered model of the constituting components of cloud computing
4.1.1 From the calculating machine to cloud computing
Computing history can be traced back to the invention of the
first calculating machine. In 1623 Wilhelm Schickard was the first who
documented the assembly of such a calculating machine, which worked
according to the principle of Napier's bones, a sort of abacus (Freytag-
Löringhoff et al. 2002). Another milestone in computing history is
Charles Babbage’s description of the Analytical Engine in 1837, a
mechanical calculating machine for general purpose tasks (Babbage
1864). Additional milestones were Allan Marquand’s draft of an
electrical logic machine (1885) and Herman Hollerith’s development of a
tabulating machine (1890). The electrical logic machine was first
realized in 1936 by Benjamin Burack (1949). However, the actual
history of the modern computer began with Konrad Zuse’s construction
of the Z3 in 1941. Zuse’s machine was the first functioning digital
computer, it was based on the binary digit system, programmable, and
Turing capable (Rojas 1997). In 1945, John Mauchley and J. Presper
Eckert have built ENIAC, an Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer, which was considered the first fully electronic tube computer
(Goldstine et al. 1946). The ENIAC was as well programmable and
Turing capable, but was based on the decimal system. Depending on the
definition of the term “Computer”, either the Z3 or the ENIAC is
considered the first Computer in the world.

Types of Cloud

The storage options on cloud is in 3 forms −

 Public
 Private
 Hybrid
 Community

Public Cloud –
A service provider makes the clouds available to the general
public which is termed as a public cloud. These clouds are accessed
through internet by users. These are open to public and their
infrastructure is owned and operated by service providers as in case of
Google and Microsoft.

In the public cloud model, a third-party cloud service

provider delivers the cloud service over the internet. Public cloud
services are sold on demand, typically by the minute or hour, though
long-term commitments are available for many services. Customers
only pay for the CPU cycles, storage or bandwidth they consume.
Leading public cloud service providers include Amazon Web Services
(AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM and Google Cloud Platform.

The public cloud infrastructure is available for public use

alternatively for a large industry group and is owned by an organization
selling cloud services. A Public Cloud is implemented using a shared
data center infrastructure of hardware and software that is shared by
multiple organizations. The data center is generally off-premises.

The Cloud Computing Stack in a Public Cloud is also shared with

other organizations. The data, however, for each organization is kept
separate. If the data center is shared but not the Cloud Computing
Stack, that is a Virtual Private Cloud. When neither the Cloud
Computing Stack nor the data center is shared, then that is known as a
Private Cloud. A Public Cloud may participate in a Hybrid Cloud.
Private Cloud –
These clouds are dedicated to a particular organization.
That particular organization can use the cloud for storing the
company's data, hosting business application, etc. The data stored on
private cloud can't be shared with other organizations. The cloud is
managed either by the organization itself or by the third party.
Private cloud services are delivered from a business's data
center to internal users. This model offers the versatility and
convenience of the cloud, while preserving the management, control
and security common to local data centers. Internal users may or may
not be billed for services through IT chargeback. Common private cloud
technologies and vendors include VMware and OpenStack.

A Private Cloud is implemented using a dedicated data center

infrastructure of hardware and software that is used privately by an
organization. The data center can be on-premises or off-premises. It is
not shared with another organization. If the data center is shared, then
its called a Virtual Private Cloud.

The Cloud Computing Stack in a Private Cloud is dedicated to the

organization. If the data center is shared but not the Cloud Computing
Stack, that is a Virtual Private Cloud. When both the Cloud Computing
Stack and the data center are shared, then it becomes a Public Cloud. A
Private Cloud may participate in a Hybrid Cloud.

Hybrid Cloud –
When two or more clouds are bound together to offer
the advantage of both public and private clouds, they are termed as
Hybrid Cloud. Organizations can use private clouds for sensitive
application, while public clouds for non-sensitive applications. The
hybrid clouds provide flexible, scalable and cost-effective solutions to
the organizations.

A hybrid cloud is a combination of public cloud services

and an on-premises private cloud, with orchestration and automation
between the two. Companies can run mission-critical workloads or
sensitive applications on the private cloud and use the public cloud to
handle workload bursts or spikes in demand.The goal of a hybrid cloud
is to create a unified, automated, scalable environment that takes
advantage of all that a public cloud infrastructure can provide, while
still maintaining control over mission-critical data.

Hybrid cloud solutions are a blend of public and private

clouds. This is a more complex cloud solution in that the organization
must manage multiple platforms and determine where data is stored.
An example of a hybrid cloud solution is an organization that wants to
keep confidential information secured on their private cloud, but make
more general, customer-facing content on a public cloud.

Community Cloud:
A Community Cloud can be a Private Cloud, Virtual
Private Cloud, Public Cloud, or Hybrid Cloud. A Community Cloud is
specifically designed to meet the defined needs of a community. Such
communities involve individuals or organizations that have shared
interests. This includes industrial groups, research groups, standard
groups, and so on. Therefore, a Community Cloud is not so much a type
of Cloud as it is a way to look at how Clouds could be used. The data
center that supports the Community Cloud could be one of the member
organizations or it could also be in a location away from all member
organizations.
 A Community Cloud can be a Private Cloud, Virtual Private
Cloud, Public Cloud, or Hybrid Cloud. A Community Cloud is designed
to meet the needs of a community. Such communities involve people or
organization that have shared interests. This includes industrial
groups, research groups, standards groups, and so on. So, a Community
Cloud is not so much a type of Cloud as it is a way to look at how Clouds
could be used. The data center supporting the Community Cloud could
be one of the member organizations or it could be in a location separate
from all member organizations.

A community cloud is similar to a public cloud except that its

access is limited to a specific community of cloud consumers. The
community cloud may be jointly owned by the community members or
by a third-party cloud provider that provisions a public cloud with
limited access. The member cloud consumers of the community typically
share the responsibility for defining and evolving the community cloud.
Membership in the community does not necessarily guarantee access to
or control of all the cloud's IT resources. Parties outside the community
are generally not granted access unless allowed by the community.

Personal Cloud
There is a Private Cloud implemented utilizing an
organization a data center infrastructure of hardware and software
that’s used by an organization. The data center can be on-premises or
off-premises. It isn’t shared with another organization. In case the data
center is shared, that’s a Virtual Personal Cloud.
 The Cloud Computing Stack in a Personal Cloud is
dedicated for the organization. In case the data center is shared but not
the Cloud Computing Stack, that’s a Virtual Personal Cloud. If the data
center and the Cloud Computing Stack are shared, that’s a Public
Cloud. A Personal Cloud might participate in a Hybrid Cloud.

Intranets and the Cloud

While your operation is not big as Amazon S3 cloud

computing, you can use the same sorts of principles within your
organization to develop your IT infrastructure. By setting up thin
clients to run applications and services on a local server, rather than on
their desktops, you ease the costs of deployment and maintenance, as
well as reducing power costs.
Some organizations use cloud computing to deliver
their corporate intranet. Intranets are customarily used within an
organization and are not accessible publicly. That is, a web server is
maintained in-house and company information is maintained on it that
others within the organization can access. However, now intranets are
being maintained on the cloud. To access the company’s private, in-
house information, users are having to log on to the intranet by going to
a secure public web site. In this section we’ll talk about the merits of
developing your own in-house “cloud” and what is used in its
composition.

Components

There are two main components in client/server

computing: servers and thin or light clients. The network map in Figure
1-5 shows how they are deployed. The servers house the applications
your organization needs to run, and the thin clients—which do not have
hard drives—display the results.
Hypervisor Applications

Applications like VMware or Microsoft’s Hyper-V allow

you to virtualize your servers so that multiple virtual servers can run
on one physical server. These sorts of solutions provide the tools to
supply a virtualized set of hardware to the guest operating system.
They also make it possible to install different operating systems on the
same machine. For example, you may need Windows Vista to run one
application, while another application requires Linux. It’s easy to set up
the server to run both operating systems.

Thin clients use an application program to communicate

with an application server. Most of the processing is done down on the
server, and sent back to the client. There is some debate about where to
draw the line when talking about thin clients. Some thin clients require
an application program or a web browser to communicate with the
server. However, others require no add-on applications at all. This is
sort of a discussion of semantics, because the real issue is whether the
work is being done on the server and transmitted back to the thin
client.

Characteristics of Cloud Computing

1. On demand self services : computer services such as email,

applications, network or server service can be provided without
requiring human interaction with each service provider. Cloud service
providers providing on demand self services include Amazon Web
Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google, IBM and Salesforce.com. New York
Times and NASDAQ are examples of companies using AWS (NIST).
Gartner describes this characteristic as service based

2. Broad network access : Cloud Capabilities are available over the

network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use
by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms such as mobile phones,
laptops and PDAs.

3. Resource pooling : The provider’s computing resources are pooled

together to serve multiple consumers using multiple-tenant model, with
different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and
reassigned according to consumer demand. The resources include
among others storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, virtual
machines and email services. The pooling together of the resource
builds economies of scale (Gartner).
4. Rapid elasticity : Cloud services can be rapidly and elastically
provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and
rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities
available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be
purchased in any quantity at any time.

5. Measured service : Cloud computing resource usage can be

measured, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the
provider and consumer of the utilized service.
Cloud computing services use a metering capability which
enables to control and optimize resource use. This implies that just like
air time, electricity or municipality water IT services are charged per
usage metrics – pay per use. The more you utilize the higher the bill.
Just as utility companies sell power to subscribers, and telephone
companies sell voice and data services, IT services such as network
security management, data center hosting or even departmental billing
can now be easily delivered as a contractual service.

6. Multi Tenacity : is the 6th characteristics of cloud computing

advocated by the Cloud Security Alliance. It refers to the need for
policy-driven enforcement, segmentation, isolation, governance, service
levels, and chargeback/billing models for different consumer
constituencies. Consumers might utilize a public cloud provider’s
service offerings or actually be from the same organization, such as
different business units rather than distinct organizational entities, but
would still share infrastructure.
 While these five core features of cloud computing are on almost
anybody’s list, you also should consider these additional advantages:

 Lower costs: Because cloud networks operate at higher efficiencies

and with greater utilization, significant cost reductions are often
encountered.

 Ease of utilization: Depending upon the type of service being

offered, you may find that you do not require hardware or
software licenses to implement your service.

 Quality of Service: The Quality of Service (QoS) is something that

you can obtain under contract from your vendor.

 Reliability: The scale of cloud computing networks and their

ability to provide load balancing and failover makes them highly
reliable, often much more reliable than what you can achieve in a
single organization.

 Outsourced IT management: A cloud computing deployment lets

someone else manage your computing infrastructure while you
manage your business. In most instances, you achieve
considerable reductions in IT staffing costs.
 Simplified maintenance and upgrade: Because the system is
centralized, you can easily apply patches and upgrades. This
means your users always have access to the latest software
versions.

 Low Barrier to Entry: In particular, upfront capital expenditures

are dramatically reduced. In cloud computing, anyone can be a
giant at any time.

This very long list of benefits should make it obvious why so many
people are excited about the idea of cloud computing. Cloud computing
is not a panacea, however. In many instances, cloud computing doesn’t
work well for particular applications.
Benefits of Cloud
There are many benefits of clouds. Some of them are listed below.
 Cloud service offers scalability. Allocation and de-allocation of
resources is dynamically as per demand.
 It saves on cost by reducing capital infrastructure.
 It allows the user to access the application independent of their
location and hardware configuration.
 It simplifies the network and lets the client access the application
without buying license for individual machine.
 Storing data on clouds is more reliable as it is not lost easily.

 Reduced Cost:
There are a number of reasons to attribute Cloud
technology with lower costs. The billing model is pay as per usage; the
infrastructure is not purchased thus lowering maintenance. Initial
expense and recurring expenses are much lower than traditional
computing.

 Increased Storage:
With the massive Infrastructure that is offered
by Cloud providers today, storage & maintenance of large volumes of
data is a reality. Sudden workload spikes are also managed
effectively & efficiently, since the cloud can scale dynamically.

 Flexibility:
This is an extremely important characteristic. With
enterprises having to adapt, even more rapidly, to changing business
conditions, speed to deliver is critical. Cloud computing stresses on
getting applications to market very quickly, by using the most
appropriate building blocks necessary for deployment.
Benefits of Cloud Computing

1. On demand self services : computer services such as email,

applications, network or server service can be provided without
requiring human interaction with each service provider. Cloud service
providers providing on demand self services include Amazon Web
Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google, IBM and Salesforce.com. New York
Times and NASDAQ are examples of companies using AWS (NIST).
Gartner describes this characteristic as service based

2. Broad network access : Cloud Capabilities are available over the

network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use
by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms such as mobile phones,
laptops and PDAs.

3. Resource pooling : The provider’s computing resources are pooled

together to serve multiple consumers using multiple-tenant model, with
different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and
reassigned according to consumer demand. The resources include
among others storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, virtual
machines and email services. The pooling together of the resource
builds economies of scale (Gartner).

4. Rapid elasticity : Cloud services can be rapidly and elastically

provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and
rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities
available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be
purchased in any quantity at any time.
5. Measured service : Cloud computing resource usage can be
measured, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the
provider and consumer of the utilized service.
Cloud computing services use a metering capability which
enables to control and optimize resource use. This implies that just like
air time, electricity or municipality water IT services are charged per
usage metrics – pay per use. The more you utilize the higher the bill.
Just as utility companies sell power to subscribers, and telephone
companies sell voice and data services, IT services such as network
security management, data center hosting or even departmental billing
can now be easily delivered as a contractual service.
6. Multi Tenacity : is the 6th characteristics of cloud computing
advocated by the Cloud Security Alliance. It refers to the need for
policy-driven enforcement, segmentation, isolation, governance, service
levels, and chargeback/billing models for different consumer
constituencies. Consumers might utilize a public cloud provider’s
service offerings or actually be from the same organization, such as
different business units rather than distinct organizational entities, but
would still share infrastructure.

While these five core features of cloud computing are on almost

anybody’s list, you also should consider these additional advantages:

 Lower costs: Because cloud networks operate at higher efficiencies

and with greater utilization, significant cost reductions are often
encountered.

 Ease of utilization: Depending upon the type of service being

offered, you may find that you do not require hardware or
software licenses to implement your service.

 Quality of Service: The Quality of Service (QoS) is something that

you can obtain under contract from your vendor.
 Reliability: The scale of cloud computing networks and their
ability to provide load balancing and failover makes them highly
reliable, often much more reliable than what you can achieve in a
single organization.

 Outsourced IT management: A cloud computing deployment lets

someone else manage your computing infrastructure while you
manage your business. In most instances, you achieve
considerable reductions in IT staffing costs.
 Simplified maintenance and upgrade: Because the system is
centralized, you can easily apply patches and upgrades. This
means your users always have access to the latest software
versions.

 Low Barrier to Entry: In particular, upfront capital expenditures

are dramatically reduced. In cloud computing, anyone can be a
giant at any time.
CHALLENGES OF CLOUD COMPUTING

Several of the most critical cloud computing challenges and

the security risk pertaining mostly to cloud consumers that use one of
the services described above located in clouds are examine

 Increased Security Vulnerabilities

The moving of private and organizational data to the cloud
guarantee access to share the data with the cloud provider. The remote
usage of the services requires an expansion of trust boundaries by the
cloud consumer to include the external cloud. It can be difficult to
establish a security architecture that spans such a trust boundary
without introducing vulnerabilities, unless cloud consumers and cloud
providers happen to support the same or compatible security
frameworks which is unlikely with public clouds. There can be
overlapping trust boundaries from different consumers who share the
same cloud services and resources. The overlapping of trust boundaries
and the increased exposure of data can provide malicious cloud
consumers (human and automated) with greater opportunities to attack
IT resources and steal or damage business data.

 Reduced Operational Governance Control

Cloud consumers are usually allotted a level of governance
control that is lower than that over on premise IT resources. This
reduced level of governance control can introduce risks associated with
how the cloud provider operates its cloud, as well as the external
connections that are required for communicate between the cloud and
the cloud consumer.
  Limited Portability Between Cloud Providers
Due to a lack of established industry standards within the
cloud computing industry, public clouds are commonly proprietary to
various extents. For cloud consumers that have custom-built solutions
with dependencies on these proprietary environments, it can be
challenging to move from one cloud provider to another.

 Multi-Regional Regulatory and Legal Issues

Cloud providers establish there data centers in affordable or
convenient geographical locations. There is transparancy of the physical
location of their resources and the data hosted in the clouds. For some
organizations, this can pose serious legal concerns pertaining to
industry or government regulations that specify data privacy and
storage policies. For example, some UK laws require personal data
belonging to UK citizens to be kept within the United Kingdom. Some
countries have laws that require some types of data to be disclosed to
certain government agencies or to the subject of the data. For example,
a European cloud consumer's data that is located in the U.S. can be
more easily accessed by government agencies (due to the U.S. Patriot
Act) when compared to data located in many European Union countries.
Usage Scenarios of Cloud Computing
Here are a few situations where cloud computing is used to
enhance the ability to achieve business goals.

1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS)

When it comes to IaaS, using an existing infrastructure

on a pay-per-use scheme seems to be an obvious choice for companies
saving on the cost of investing to acquire, manage and maintain an IT
infrastructure. There are also instances where organizations turn to
PaaS for the same reasons while also seeking to increase the speed of
development on a ready-to-use platform to deploy applications.

2. Private cloud and hybrid cloud

Among the many incentives for
using cloud, there are two situations where organizations are looking
into ways to assess some of the applications they intend to deploy into
their environment through the use of a cloud (specifically a public
cloud). While in the case of test and development it may be limited in
time, adopting a hybrid cloud approach allows for testing application
workloads, therefore providing the comfort of an environment without
the initial investment that might have been rendered useless should the
workload testing fail.
Another use of hybrid cloud is also the ability to expand
during periods of limited peak usage, which is often preferable to
hosting a large infrastructure that might seldom be of use. An
organization would seek to have the additional capacity and availability
of an environment when needed on a pay-as you-go basis.

3. Test and development

Probably the best scenario for the use of a
cloud is a test and development environment. This entails securing a
budget, setting up your environment through physical assets,
significant manpower and time. Then comes the installation and
configuration of your platform. All this can often extend the time it
takes for a project to be completed and stretch your milestones.
With cloud computing, there are now readily available environments
tailored for your needs at your fingertips. This often combines, but is
not limited to, automated provisioning of physical and virtualized
resources.

4. Big data analytics

One of the aspects offered by leveraging cloud
computing is the ability to tap into vast quantities of both structured
and unstructured data to harness the benefit of extracting business
value. Retailers and suppliers are now extracting information derived
from consumers’ buying patterns to target their advertising and
marketing campaigns to a particular segment of the population. Social
networking platforms are now providing the basis for analytics on
behavioral patterns that organizations are using to derive meaningful
information.

5. File storage
Cloud can offer you the possibility of storing your files
and accessing, storing and retrieving them from any web-enabled
interface. The web services interfaces are usually simple. At any time
and place you have high availability, speed, scalability and security for
your environment. In this scenario, organizations are only paying for
the amount of storage they are actually consuming, and do so without
the worries of overseeing the daily maintenance of the storage
infrastructure.
There is also the possibility to store the data either on or off
premises depending on the regulatory compliance requirements. Data is
stored in virtualized pools of storage hosted by a third party based on
the customer specification requirements.

6. Disaster recovery
This is yet another benefit derived from using
cloud based on the cost effectiveness of a disaster recovery (DR) solution
that provides for a faster recovery from a mesh of different physical
locations at a much lower cost that the traditional DR site with fixed
assets, rigid procedures and a much higher cost.
7. Backup
Backing up data has always been a complex and time-
consuming operation. This included maintaining a set of tapes or drives,
manually collecting them and dispatching them to a backup facility
with all the inherent problems that might happen in between the
originating and the backup site. This way of ensuring a backup is
performed is not immune to problems such as running out of backup
media , and there is also time to load the backup devices for a restore
operation, which takes time and is prone to malfunctions and human
errors.
Cloud-based backup, while not being the panacea, is certainly a
far cry from what it used to be. You can now automatically dispatch
data to any location across the wire with the assurance that neither
security, availability nor capacity are issues.
Issues of Cloud Computing
1.Data Security concern
When we talk about the security concern of the cloud
technology, then a lot of questions remain unanswered. Multiple serious
threats like virus attack and hacking of the client’s site are the biggest
cloud computing data security issues. Entrepreneurs have to think on
these issues before adopting cloud computing technology for their
business. Since you are transferring your company’s important details
to a third party so it is important to ensure yourself about the
manageability and security system of the cloud.

2. Selecting the perfect cloud set-up

Choosing the appropriate cloud mechanism as per the needs
of your business is very necessary. There are three types of clouds
configuration such as public, private, and hybrid. The main secret
behind successful implementation of the cloud is picking up the right
cloud. If you are not selecting the right cloud then maybe you have to
face some serious hazards. Some companies having vast data so they
prefer private clouds while small organizations usually use public
clouds. A few companies like to go for a balanced approach with hybrid
clouds. Choose a cloud computing consulting service which is aware and
clearly disclose the terms and conditions regarding cloud
implementation and data security.

3. Real time monitoring requirements

In some agencies, it is required to monitor their system in
real time. It is compulsory term for their business that they
continuously monitor and maintain their inventory system. Banks and
some government agencies need to update their system in real time but
cloud service providers are unable to match this requirement. This is
really a big challenge for cloud services providers.
4.Resolving the stress
Every organization wants to have a proper control and
access over the data. It is not easy to handover your precious data to a
third party. The main tension between enterprise and executives is they
desire to control over the new modes of operations while using
technology. These tensions are not unsolvable, but they do suggest that
providers and clients alike must deliberately address a suite of cloud
challenges in the planning, contracting and managing the services.

5.Reliability on new technology

It is a fact of human nature that we trust on the things
present in front of our eyes. Normally entrepreneurs feel hesitation in
letting out the organizational information to any unknown service
provider. They think that information stored in their office premises is
more secure and easily accessible. By using cloud computing they have
fear of losing control over the data. They think that data is taken from
them and handover to an unknown third party. Security threads are
increase as they do not know and where is the information stored and
processed. These frights of the unknown service providers must very
amicably be dealt with and eliminated form their minds.
6.Dependency on service providers
For uninterrupted services and proper working it is necessary that you
acquire a vendor services with proper infrastructural and technical
expertise. An authorized vendor who can meet the security standards
set by your company’s internal policies and government agencies. While
selecting the service provider you must carefully read the service level
agreement and understand their policies and terms and provision of
compensation in case of any outage or lock in clauses.
7.Cultural obstacles
High authority of the company and organizational culture
has also become a big obstacle in the proper implementation of the
cloud computing. Top authority never wants to store the important data
of the company somewhere else where they are not able to control and
access the data. They have misconceptions in their minds that cloud
computing puts the organization at the risk by seeping out important
details. Their mindset is such that the organization on risk averse
footing, which makes it more reluctant to migrate to a cloud solution.

8.Cost barrier
For efficient working of cloud computing you have to bear
the high charges of the bandwidth. Business can cut down the cost on
hardware but they have to spend a huge amount on the bandwidth. For
smaller application cost is not a big issue but for large and complex
applications it is a major concern. For transferring complex and
intensive data over the network it is very necessary that you have
sufficient bandwidth. This is a major obstacle in front of small
organizations, which restrict them for implementing cloud technology in
their business.
9.Lack of knowledge and expertise
Every organization does not have sufficient knowledge about
the implementation of the cloud solutions. They have not expertise staff
and tools for the proper use of cloud technology. Delivering the
information and selection the right cloud is quite difficult without right
direction. Teaching your staff about the process and tools of the cloud
computing is a very big challenge in itself. Requiring an organization to
shift their business to cloud based technology without having any
proper knowledge is like asking for disaster. They would never use this
technology for their business functions.
10.Consumption basis services charges
Cloud computing services are on-demand services so it is
difficult to define specific cost for a particular quantity of services.
These types of fluctuations and price differences make the
implementation of cloud computing very difficult and complicated. It is
not easy for a normal business owner to study consistent demand and
fluctuations with the seasons and various events. So it is hard to budget
for a service that could consume several months of budget in a few days
of heavy use.

11.Alleviate the threats risk

It is very complicated to certify that the cloud service
provider meet the standards for security and threat risk. Every
organization may not have enough mechanism to mitigate these types
of threats. Organizations should observe and examine the threats very
seriously. There are mainly two types of threat such as internal threats,
within the organizations and external threats from the professional
hackers who seek out the important information of your business. These
threats and security risks put a check on implementing cloud solutions.

12.Unauthorised service providers

Cloud computing is a new concept for most of the business
organizations. A normal businessman is not able to verify the
genuineness of the service provider agency. It’s very difficult for them to
check the whether the vendors meet the security standards or not. They
have not an ICT consultant to evaluate the vendors against the
worldwide criteria. It is necessary to verify that the vendor must be
operating this business for a sufficient time without having any
negative record in past. Vendor continuing business without any data
loss complaint and have a number of satisfied clients. Market
reputation of the vendor should be unblemished.
13. Hacking of brand
Cloud computing carries some major risk factors
like hacking. Some professional hackers are able to hack the application
by breaking the efficient firewalls and steal the sensitive information of
the organizations. A cloud provider hosts numerous clients; each can be
affected by actions taken against any one of them. When any threat
came into the main server it affects all the other clients also. As in
distributed denial of service attacks server requests that inundate a
provider from widely distributed computers.
14. Recovery of lost data
Cloud services faces issue of data loss. A proper backup
policy for the recovery of data must be placed to deal with the loss.
Vendors must set proper infrastructures to efficiently handle with
server breakdown and outages. All the cloud computing service
providers must set up their servers at economically stable locations
where they should have proper arrangements for the backup of all the
data in at least two different locations. Ideally they should manage a
hot backup and a cold backup site.
15. Data Portability
Every person wants to leverage of migrating in and out of
the cloud. Ensuring data portability is very necessary. Usually, clients
complain about being locked in the cloud technology from where they
cannot switch without restraints. There should be no lock in period for
switching the cloud. Cloud technology must have capability to integrate
efficiently with the on premises. The clients must have a proper
contract of data portability with the provider and must have an updated
copy of the data to be able to switch service providers, should there be
any urgent requirement.
16. Cloud management
Managing a cloud is not an easy task. It consist a lot of
technical challenges. A lot of dramatic predictions are famous about the
impact of cloud computing. People think that traditional IT department
will be outdated and research supports the conclusions that cloud
impacts are likely to be more gradual and less linear. Cloud services can
easily change and update by the business users. It does not involve any
direct involvement of IT department. It is a service provider’s
responsibility to manage the information and spread it across the
organization. So it is difficult to manage all the complex functionality of
cloud computing.
17. Transparency of service provider
There is no transparency in the service provider’s
infrastructure and service area. You are not able to see the exact
location where your data is stored or being processed. It is a big
challenge for an organization to transfer their business information to
such an unknown vendor.