Cloud Computing

1
Caitlin Dickson
IT 104-006
9/22/16
Research Paper
Cloud Computing

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Introduction
This research paper will include the basic information about cloud computing. Cloud
computing has many benefits, drawbacks, security issues, and impacts. It is becoming more and
more prevalent as time goes on. These aspects of cloud computing will be expanded on in the
following sections: background, benefits, drawbacks, security, and how its impacting everyone.
These sections influence how cloud computing is used in businesses, whether small or large.
They determine how much cloud computing will impact our society. The benefits will draw
people to switch to the cloud, but the drawbacks/security issues will intimidate users from
switching to the cloud.
Background
Cloud computing has been out for quite a while and is been such a huge impact on us today.
Cloud computing, uses the Internet to do your everyday tasks without using your hard drive and
computers software. This includes, accessing your files, applications, etc. stored on your hard
drive, however; accessing them through the Internet instead. Cloud computing usually is
provided as a service by a company and is paid for. People have switched over to cloud
computing, whether its for a business or to store personal data over the internet. You can
access as many resources as you need, almost instantly, and only pay for what you use. [1]
Also, there are different service models of cloud computing: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),
Software as a Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). [2] Cloud computing means
that instead of all the computer hardware and software you're using sitting on your desktop, or
somewhere inside your company's network, it's provided for you as a service by another
company and accessed over the Internet, usually in a completely seamless way. Exactly where
the hardware and software is located and how it all works doesn't matter to you, the userit's

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just somewhere up in the nebulous "cloud" that the Internet represents. [2] Cloud computing
also has four different types, which are: The Public Cloud, the Private Cloud, the Community
Cloud, and the Hybrid Cloud. They say that There are different types of clouds that you can
subscribe to depending on your needs. As a home user or small business owner, you will most
likely use public cloud services. [9] The Public cloud is straightforward. Anyone can access it
as long as they are subscribed and are connected to the Internet, hence Public. A Private cloud is
just limited to the people who are part of a group or organization that its shared with. A
Community Cloud is shared by two companies or organizations that contribute to the cloud when
they have indistinguishable necessities. Lastly, Hybrid Cloud is when at least two of the previous
three types are mixed together. They can be a mix of Public Cloud and Private Cloud,
Community Cloud and Public Cloud, or Community Cloud and Private Cloud.
Benefits
Cloud computing benefits include, its flexibility, the ability to work from anywhere, it is
cheaper in general, and its low maintenance. [3] Cloud computing is flexible, which means you
can change the size of your cloud capacity whenever you need to. If you need a bigger capacity,
you can just change the capacity without any difficulty, and vice versa. This level of agility can
give businesses using cloud computing a real advantage over competitors [3] You can work
anywhere using the cloud as long as you have an Internet connection. Cloud computing doesnt
require a hard drive to store data, it stores it over the Internet. This is a benefit for employees
who would rather work at home or at a different location. They also dont have to be using the
same computer because again, their data is stored over the Internet. Another benefit is that cloud
computing is cheaper. Although there is a cost to use Cloud Computing, you will not have to pay
the expensive cost for hardware, since everything is done through the Internet. You simply pay

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as you go and enjoy a subscription-based model thats kind to your cash flow. [3] Cloud
Computing is low maintenance, meaning it has automatic updates. The service providers take
care of all of this. You dont have to worry about maintaining the system. [3]
Drawbacks
Even though there are some good benefits to cloud computing, there are also some draw
backs. Some drawbacks include downtime and limited control. The drawback to using cloud
computing is that, since it is based off the Internet you will not be able to access your data if the
Internet connection is turned off. Also, As cloud service providers take care of a number of
clients each day, they can become overwhelmed and may even come up against technical
outages. [4] With cloud computing your control is limited. Because the service provider is
basically the manager of the cloud, so you dont have the ability to do administrative tasks. The
customer can only control and manage the applications, data and services operated on top of that,
not the backend infrastructure itself. Key administrative tasks such as server shell access,
updating and firmware management may not be passed to the customer or end user. [5]
Even though cloud computing is flexible, the initial switch from hardware to the cloud is not
easy. So with this, people would be reluctant to switch over to the cloud. These drawbacks
provide reasons why people dont favor the cloud and choose to stick with the hardware in their
computers.
Security
The security of cloud computing has both good and bad sides. Even though cloud
computing has good security standards, your important files could still be prone to risk. Using
cloud-powered technologies means you need to provide your service provider with access to
important business data. [5] Some people dont want their information available to their

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services providers to access. No matter how careful you are with your personal data, by
subscribing to the cloud you will be giving up some control to an external source. [9] This
violates peoples privacy. Also, people using the cloud can find loopholes to the cloud system
and then hack into your files or data. Keep in mind also that your cloud data is accessible from
anywhere on the internet, meaning that if a data breach occurs via hacking, a disgruntled
employee, or careless username/password security, your business data can be compromised. [4]
Information Technology businesses would not want their data and information to be stolen
because of security reasons. This would not be a good thing for any business who uses the cloud.
This does not only apply to Information Technology businesses or any business, but it also
applies to anyone who uses the cloud. Having information and data susceptible to common
security threats does not make cloud computing very inviting. You have to take into
consideration what security measurements your cloud service provider has and adjust
accordingly to what your needs are. What encryption methods do the providers have in place?
What methods of protection do they have in place for the actual hardware that your data will be
stored on? Will they have backups of my data? Do they have firewalls set up? If you have a
community cloud, what barriers are in place to keep your information separate from other
companies? [9]
Impact
Cloud computing has a huge impact on us. This article says that With the current
popularity cloud computing is experiencing, it is not surprising to expect that it will have a great
impact on the global economy. In fact, according to the International Data Corporation, it is
expected for cloud computing to generate at least 14 million jobs worldwide. In a recent Forbes
article by Joe McKendrick, he pointed out 5 ways in which cloud computing will change how

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businesses are implemented. According to him, cloud computing will also indirectly affect jobs.
[6] So the impact of cloud computing will greatly generate jobs but also affect them. The use of
cloud computing will significantly benefit businesses because it offer a strategic advantage to
them. [6] Cloud computing has created a reverberation in the IT landscape. The cloud adoption
rate is increasing dramatically. [7] This is saying that cloud computing has a lasting effect on
the Information Technology industry and that everyone is switching to the cloud.
Conclusion
All in all, cloud computing has many benefits and drawbacks including security issues,
and it has definitely impacted us in one way or another and it is a significant change to how we
store and access data. It has impacted the IT world and The movement of switching to the cloud
is affected by all of these factors talked about, and the choice of using cloud computing depends
on all these benefits and drawbacks. This new way of storing data and applications seems like a
good idea, but you have to take into consideration the negatives that come along. Many people
use the cloud for businesses and personal use, but some people are still using the original
hardware from computers to store their data. Switching to the cloud is also based on personal
preference along with all the characteristics the cloud has, and everyone views them differently.

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References

[1] What is Cloud Computing? - Amazon Web Services. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2016,
from https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-computing/
This source basically talks about what cloud computing really is and how it works. It also
explains the advantages of cloud computing in six different ways which include: Trade capital
expense for variable expense, benefit from massive economies of scale, stop guessing capacity,
increase speed and agility, stop spending money on running and maintaining data centers, and go
global in minutes.

[2] Woodford, C. (2016). Cloud computing - A simple introduction. Retrieved September 22,
2016, from http://www.explainthatstuff.com/cloud-computing-introduction.html
This article is a broad introduction to cloud computing. It talks about the basic
information about what cloud computing is and what is does. They provide examples to show
cloud computing and generally talk about the different types. This also provides some
advantages and disadvantages to cloud computing.

[3] Why Move To The Cloud? 10 Benefits Of Cloud Computing. (n.d.). Retrieved September
22, 2016, from https://www.salesforce.com/uk/blog/2015/11/why-move-to-the-cloud-10benefits-of-cloud-computing.html
This article from Salesforce gives ten benefits of cloud computing. It also briefly defines
what cloud computing is; however, this article focuses on the benefits of cloud computing. The
benefits provided in this article are: Flexibility, Disaster recovery, Automatic software updates,

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Capital- expenditure free, Increased collaboration, Work from anywhere, Document control,
Security, Competiveness, and Environmentally friendly.
[4] 5 Reasons the Cloud Might Not Be Good for Business. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2016,
from https://www.thebalance.com/disadvantages-of-cloud-computing-4067218
This article describes 5 reasons or disadvantages that cloud computing is not so good for
businesses. They go in detail for the 5 reasons. These reasons are: Possible downtime, Security
issues, Cost, Inflexibility, Customer support. They finish this article saying that cloud computing
is good for small businesses and the costs of IT management, but theyd still have to undergo all
the disadvantages.
[5] Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing | LevelCloud. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 22, 2016, from http://www.levelcloud.net/why-levelcloud/cloud-educationcenter/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing/
The article on Level Cloud talks about both the advantages and disadvantages. They
dont talk about anything but the advantages and disadvantages. With the disadvantages, they
talk about security as being a risk with cloud computing.
[6] De Borja, F. (2012, October 12). How Cloud Computing is Affecting Everyone. Retrieved
October 02, 2016, from http://cloudtimes.org/2012/10/12/how-cloud-affecting-everyone/
The article published in Cloud Times, talks about how cloud computing affects everyone
and how it is expected to affect us. It explains how IT businesses will be affected greatly. Not
just IT companies but other large businesses as well. The main focus of this article is saying that
jobs will be greatly affected as more businesses and organizations move to the cloud.

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[7] Hossain, S. (2014, February 4). Cloud computing basics - Cloud computing news. Retrieved
October 05, 2016, from https://www.ibm.com/blogs/cloud-computing/2014/02/cloud-computingbasics/
IBMs article talks about what cloud computing is and the three main types of service
models for cloud computing. It also lists the basic characteristics of cloud computing. It gives
five of the characteristics and three of the service models.

[8] Huth, A., & Cebula, J. (n.d.). The Basics of Cloud Computing (pp. 1-4, Rep.).
This report by Alexa Huth and James Cebula explains the basics of cloud computing.
They include the four types of cloud computing and explain each. The types of cloud computing
are Public, Private, Community, and Hybrid.