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Abstract

Cloud computing is one of the most talked about topics in the world of technology and entrepreneurship. Until now it has never been so easy for people, especially small business owner’s, to have the tools and resources readily available just one click away and at the fraction of the cost of the typical investment a few years back. Cloud computing offers cost-effective solutions at various levels that can be customize to meet the needs of anyone. Cloud computing can be thought of as a new found technology and this paper defines the concept of the cloud and provides a brief background of where most business are in regards to the use of this technology. This is then continued by describing the types of cloud currently available and potential use. The paper then presents a short but important section of cloud security issues and challenges. Finally, the paper discusses the benefits each of the different levels of cloud computing can provide small business.

Introduction

The use of cloud computing has grown exponentially in the last decade, according to Weins (2015) eight-four percent of enterprises that make use of such services in one way or another. Could computing by definition is internet-based computing, where by shared resources, software and information are provided to the end user as metered services much like a utility does(Bradley, 2014). For businesses in many cases could computing is use for IT solution purposes as it can provide IT-related capabilities as a service using internet technologies.

With the fast pace of today’s market businesses need to provide fast and reliable services to their customers in order to remain competitive. The concept of could computing is not something new as it uses existing technology and processes; however it can be consider new in sense that using these technologies has revolutionized the manner in which we host and cater services to customers. Startup companies and small businesses can take advantage of could computing to reduce spending on IT, be more adept to changes in the market, change scale and lower risk and cost.

Given the structural complexity of larger organization, Alijani (2014) states that it is essential for cloud computing to deliver rear value rather than serve as a platform for simple task. The need to deliver rear value is just as important for small businesses. For small businesses value is important but it’s their customer relationship and public image, flexibility and continuity. As such small business owners need to consider the benefits, drawback s and the effect of cloud computing on their organization before taking the decision to implement.

Types of cloud computing

There are three categories or levels cloud computing, this are: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), is the lowest level of service which provides the infrastructure resources such as processors and storage as services for user to run their own operating systems and applications. Virtualization of servers is the main technology used in this service by providers. For example, Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud can be used by the client to run Linux servers on virtual machines and scale up usage as needed.

Platform as a Service (PaaS), enables the customers to install their own applications using a platform provided by the service provided were applications and services can be developed and hosted. For example, in Google Apps Engine users’ can write and install applications using the Python language.

Software as a Service (SaaS), In this type of Cloud both the data and application (software) is store in the cloud; thus allowing the end user to have full access to the different applications from any machine with internet connection. A great example of this is virtual machines (VM) use in education to provide students access to software that otherwise would have to be individually purchase also applications such as Google apps for education and Microsoft Live@edu (Sclater, 2010).

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), there are four types of deployment methods for cloud computing; these are: Public cloud, Private cloud, Community Cloud and Hybrid cloud. Cloud services have distinctive characteristics that can differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is available on-demand and the service is fully managed by the provider Public clouds are the typical web-based services provided over web and billed as per the usage and metered for the services consumed (Alijani, 2014). This type of cloud service is preferred by start-ups and small/medium scale enterprises as it can be implemented relatively easy and at a minimum cost.

Private clouds are created and implemented for internal use only, sort of like an intranet. The main goal here is to provide a greater level of security and protection of data, as the cloud would typically have limited or no access from the external web. The downside with this is the cost to implement which is extremely costly. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, only seven percent of organization use private clouds. Only those well stablish companies can afford to design, build and maintain private clouds.

Hybrid clouds, as the name implies, are compose of a combination of private and public cloud elements in a way to provide the end user access to certain information and applications while providing a more secure method of storing data. It is estimated that 58% of all organization using cloud services use this approach (MSCS, 2014).

For the most part the typical cost of maintenance of IT infrastructure runs above 40% of the total IT budget. The use of could services such as SaaS can virtually eliminate this expense as there is no need for a server room or large space dedicated for computers. Also, there is no need for someone to perform the routine backups, patches and updates as all is this is now the responsibility of the provider .Take for example, Turbo Tax. It’s a SaaS that provides accounting solutions which can be customized based on the customer’s needs and can also provide support the web such as live chat or via phone. The software works well and looks the same across all platforms regardless of the operating system the customer is using (Bradley, 2014).

Security of the Cloud

Information security is always a hot topic in the word of information technology, whether we are talking about a large or small business type of security available for any given technology must be consider before think of adopting it for the organization. In the case of cloud computing there are several issues and challenges to take into consideration.

Take for instance public cloud; enterprises using type of cloud are sharing resources with other enterprises and it’s likely they don’t know the location of where their data is being store or where the resources are being access to. As Meva and Kumbharana (2015) state, if data encryption is use for protection, the question then becomes who will control key management. Should it be the customer or provider? In either case you customer should be made aware of the protocols being use by the provider. Other challenges in cloud security are data integrity and data level security.

To ensure proper security protocols are set up, specific to SaaS, the consulting firm Gartner has propose seven security issues that must be discuss as part of the any SaaS implementation:

1. Privileged user access

2. Regulatory compliance

3. Data location

4. Data segregation

5. Recovery

6. Investigative support

7. Long term viability

As Meva and Kumbharana (2015) noted “we have seen security issues and challenges for SaaS. A security management team can be established which takes care of all aspects for policy, standard and their implementation as well as training and testing aspects which can be a part of SDLC. Similar kind of challenges can be there for IaaS and PaaS also.”

On the other hand, for PaaS one way of addressing the security concerns is to employ the use of third party security system. In his discussion Bradly (2014) states that small business wouldn’t need to worry about scalability or security as this is handle by the provider, i.e Google App Engine. However, one of those small companies saw the lack in data protection and enterprise level control created in the cloud and took it upon themselves to develop applications and protocols that could take care of this issues to provide a better way for data transmission over the cloud.

In order for cloud computing to become the prominent technology of the future it must first overcome many of this issues and challenges presented here. Although this is relatively a new and widely emerging domain a lot of research is being conducted in this regard to solve these major issues. At the same time that are still many unknown issues that live room for improvement and continuous research (Hussain and Ashraf, 2014).

Effects of cloud computing on small businesses

Over the last decade cloud computing has revolutionized the way we do business especially in the small privet sector. Could computing has become an essential tool for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to start their own business. This has also prompted a higher level or collaboration between companies as never seen before.

The two greatest commodities that cloud computing can offer small business is control over usage and self-provisioning. As mentioned previously, IaaS and PaaS users can connect and venture with the resources available to them where they can increase or decrease the use of space depending on the market demand of their respective business. This kind of flexibility provides the user a sense of confidence seldom seen in the business world. The goal of using these services is to minimize the risk and financial impact small business owners must undertake when investing in IT infrastructure to grow their business.

First let’s start with the highest level and most commonly use type of cloud computing SaaS. Software as a Service (SaaS) is often described as “software-on-demand.” For the most part all the major activities like coding can be perform over the cloud, which can get rid-of the need of a dedicated server for a small business. This means that the client only needs a laptop or desktop to connect to the cloud to start using the desired software. At that point the services are provided to the client computer for utilization. These services could range from simple accounting software, Work Management Information System (WMIS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Human Resource Management (HRM).

The benefit of adopting these services is that small businesses do not need to invest large amounts of money to get access to cloud. They need only to pay the monthly/annual fee to get the license for those softwares. However if the user does not want to make the initial investment and want to try the software, there are many cloud services that are given as a freemiun which allows the user the explore the software with limited functionality (Bradley, 2014).

Take for example DropBox, this is one of the SaaS products in high demand. DropBox it’s essentially a cloud database center that allows its users to “drop-off” music, pictures, documents etc. to an online folder. The benefit of doing this is that it gives employers of small business the ability to set up multiple accounts for different users (other employees) to access files under the same system, essential creating a low level corporate sharedrive. The advantage of creating multiple accounts is that it records who last modified the file which provides the small business owner an additional level of accountability for the employees.

The second type of cloud computing most frequently used is PaaS. Platform as a Service provides small business with the ability to deploy applications without the high cost and complexity of buying and maintaining the hardware, software and provision hosting capabilities. Rather, PaaS facilities this by offering the required facilities needed in order to support the complete life cycle of developing and delivering web applications and services. The benefit of doing this on a PaaS is that since everything is handled remotely, all the computational resources are being done on the host server and not on the user’s computer. This means that while all the computing is being done over the cloud, the cloud does not store the information. Instead, the data storage function is done by the host server (Bradley, 2014).

A great example of this technology being use today by small businesses is Oracle. Many small business use Oracle for database activities or as a form of RFS (Remote file-server process). The advantage of using Oracle as a RFS is that it runs in the background when Oracle is started to serve as a backup data collector to ensure data is saved in the event the computer shouts down unexpectedly or unintentionally.

Finally, the lowest level of cloud computing IaaS is define by Bradley (2014), as “a provision model in which an organization outsources equipment used to support operations, including storage hardware , servers and networking components”. To his point this is the most basic form of cloud computing but it does provide some benefits to small business owners. IaaS can be used to provide virtual access to other computers that have specific software that a client want to test before buying or as means to providing customers with the necessary tools as it is the case for many virtual labs use by Colleges and Universities across the nation to provide students a way of accessing virtual desktops with specialize software that would otherwise have to be purchase by the student or provided by the institution as part of the class. The advantage here is the amount of capital that can be saved by using these virtual machines which can increase the revenue margin or allow for additional investment elsewhere.

Another advantage of using IaaS, PaaS and SaaS is the capability to monitor and record their resource usage on a given time frame. This can enable the client create their own repository of data/resource consumption that can later be used to create forecasting model to better predict resource usage, thus allowing user to make smarter decision regarding investment which can have a possible impact in the organization’s overall performance and an increasing in their overall revenue.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is about sharing resources, minimizing organizational expenditures and enhancing collaboration between networks or organizations. Although, the concept might not be something new to those in the IT industry, it does give the entrepreneurs and small business owners the opportunity and means to concentrate their efforts in the core capabilities of their business and use this technology to increase their chances of achieving their goals. At the same time as with any new technology there are positives but also negatives but only time can determine the future of the cloud. For now I think it is safe to say that the positives of using cloud computing far outweigh the few drawbacks that is has. The used of the cloud seem to have a very promising future but it still has some issues to overcome particularly in regards to data security.

References

Bradley III, D. B., & Cooper, J. (2014). CLOUD COMPUTING'S SELECTION AND EFFECT ON SMALL BUSINESS. Entrepreneurial Executive, 1987-94.

Weins, K. (2015, February 18). Cloud Computing Trends: 2015 State of the Cloud Survey. Retrieved November 8, 2015.

Alijani, G. S., Fulk, H. K., Omar, A., & Tulsi, R. (2014). CLOUD COMPUTING EFFECTS ON SMALL BUSINESS. Entrepreneurial Executive, 1935-45

Sclater, N. (2010). CLOUD COMPUTING IN EDUCATION. Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214674.pdf

MSCS Infographics. (2014). Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://graduatedegrees.online.njit.edu/mscs-resources/mscs-infographics/security-of-cloud-services/

Meva, D., & Kumbharana, C. K. (2015). Issues and Challenges of Security in Cloud Computing Environment. International Journal Of Advanced Networking & Applications, 108-111.

Hussain, I., & Ashraf, I. (2014). Security Issues in Cloud Computing - A Review. International Journal Of Advanced Networking & Applications, 6(2), 2240-2243.