Cloud Computing Case Study. Q1: In recent years, many companies have started using cloud computing for the various

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1 Lynn 1 Ryan Lynn Professor Wang MIS 220 Cloud Computing Case Study Q1: In recent years, many companies have started using cloud computing for the various business benefits and solutions to problems it offers. Throughout the case, the major benefits of cloud computing mentioned included affordability, flexible computing power and scalability, product testing, efficiency, and expertise (Laudon and Laudon). These benefits solve various problems for companies, such as obtaining the correct amount of computing resources, providing scalability, providing technology access, and lessening the need for data centers (Laudon and Laudon). The first company using Amazon s cloud service described in this case is Zynga, which uses the cloud to determine the amount of computing resources necessary to run new services (Laudon and Laudon). By doing this, Zynga can test for the success of its new service and purchase the right amount of hardware to run the service remotely, lessening the risk of product failure. The case goes on to mention cloud computing s application for small businesses. It allows these businesses to access technology that they couldn t get before due to the high costs of data centers and consultants needed to run them (Laudon and Laudon). Salesforce.com claims that with just an Internet browser it is possible to run any app they supply, cutting the need for data centers and experts. They also say that the cloud offers great scalability since you can use as much computing resources as needed and pay for only what is used ( What is Cloud Computing ). Overall, cloud computing has become a strong resource for many businesses.

2 Lynn 2 Q2: While cloud computing may provide benefits and solve problems, it also has some disadvantages. The main disadvantages of cloud computing are reliability, security, and compatibility. Since the provider of a cloud service owns and operates all of the systems necessary to run that service, a company subscribed to the service has no control over possible service outages that may occur. The case mentions a couple occasions when Amazon s cloud went down, bringing down other popular sites such as Reddit, Foursquare, and Zynga with it (Laudon and Laudon). During these outages in 2012, one company, Whatsyourprice.com, decided that the four hours of downtime was too much and left the cloud, switching their systems over to their own machines (Babcock). Even though the cloud was only down for a short period of time, it was still down long enough to cost the company a significant amount of money (Babcock). The problem of security in cloud computing services is the location of corporate information outside of the companies own systems (Laudon and Laudon 185). The biggest threat to security is the ability of hackers to slip through any of the various windows into the cloud (Samson). With the high amount of services running on the cloud, hackers only need to find one service with a flaw in it to break into the system and access the data of many companies all in one place (Samson). Another security problem comes from the possibility of a cloud provider s employee stealing corporate data for their own benefit (Samson). Compatibility can also be an issue with cloud computing, mainly dealing with older companies. These companies have built up large amounts of legacy infrastructure and cannot switch their systems easily to the cloud without possible issues and large costs (Laudon and Laudon). The overall point is that any level of cloud computing services has some amount of risk attached to it, but this is true of many other business decisions as well.

3 Lynn 3 Q3: The concepts of capacity planning, scalability, and total cost of ownership (TCO) apply to both Amazon and its various customers in this case. In the case of Amazon, it must first, through capacity planning, decide how much computing power will be necessary to serve its varying number of subscribers, as well as itself. It must then make sure that it can scale these resources up or down depending on the actual volume needed. Most likely Amazon will need to have the ability to scale its operations up due to the increasing interest in cloud computing and expected growth that Amazon plans to see in the near future (Laudon and Laudon). Finally, Amazon must make sure that their profit from allowing others use their computing power will be higher than the TCO of constructing and operating the higher level of infrastructure. The subscribers to Amazon s cloud services can expect a platform to test capacity needs, high levels of scalability, and a reduction in their TCO of the services they use on the cloud. As stated earlier, Zynga uses Amazon s cloud to test out its new games before committing to the cost of the infrastructure needed to run them (Laudon and Laudon). By doing this, they are able to make an accurate plan of the capacity the service will require. Zynga also uses the scalability of Amazon s cloud by using only the volume of computing power the service requires, only paying for that amount (Laudon and Laudon). Another subscriber, Etsy, is able to analyze customer information and provide the best fit advertisements for customers by allowing the processing to occur on Amazon s systems (Laudon and Laudon). By operating this way, Etsy s TCO is only what they pay Amazon for the use of their services since they don t have to build their own data centers to process the information. By controlling its own capacity planning, scalability, and TCO, Amazon is able to provide benefits in these three areas to its subscribers. Q4: Due to cloud computing s wide range of benefits and solutions, almost all companies can benefit in some way from using it, however, it is most useful to new start-up businesses and

4 Lynn 4 small businesses. New businesses can greatly benefit from the cloud due to their lack of IT infrastructure and legacy systems. Instead of investing in creating their own data banks, these companies can subscribe to a cloud service at a cheaper cost (Laudon and Laudon). The same goes for small businesses, who can now acquire technology that requires massive amounts of computing power, once only available to larger companies (Laudon and Laudon). Large corporations can also benefit from cloud computing by having the ability to integrate new programs that update themselves into their infrastructure without the need for consultants ( What is Cloud Computing ). According to a recent Forbes post, research has found that now over half of U.S. businesses are using cloud computing (Cohen). As more and more interest in cloud computing accumulates, this percentage will grow even higher, showing the cloud s ability to fit into any company s IT infrastructure in some way. In the cloud s short existence, it has already become a mainstream component in many businesses today and is expected to prove more useful in the future to come (Cohen). Q5: Salesforce.com is a cloud service with many strong capabilities, including customer relationship management (CRM), file sharing and storage, customization and apps, and networking. It is very easy to get started with Salesforce.com due to its various methods to help and train people to use it. This program provides CRM by allowing the company to create and view different accounts, reports, transactions, files, etc, and decide who has permissions to see these files. By setting these permissions, the company is able to share information that their customers need in a secure way. This sharing of information is another strong capability of Salesforce.com as it allows for storage of information and grants access to said information to the employees and customers that need to access it. Salesforce.com also offers various ways to tailor the layout of the website to fit specific job needs and allows for the installation of apps that

5 Lynn 5 give more functionality to the site (see photos below). The Chatter system implemented in this program seems to replicate Facebook, but with a more business oriented layout, which can help with networking and collaboration (See photo below). By bringing in a social networking platform, employees are able to converse with each other easily and obtain the help they need, increasing productivity. One problem with Salesforce.com, as with any cloud service, is security. In 2007, an employee of Salesforce.com was phished and accidentally gave out a list of customer information, subsequently allowing the phisher to send phishing s to all the customers (Fiveash). While downsides exist with all services, the benefits that Salesforce.com offers are enough to offset the risk. Overall, I feel that this platform would be useful to businesses and would recommend it to my future employer based on the benefits it provides.

6 Lynn 6 Installable Apps Chatter Customizable Navigation Tabs

7 Lynn 7 Works Cited Babcock, Charles. "The Business Value of Technology." InformationWeek. UBM Tech, 6 July Web. 20 Oct Cohen, Reuven. "The Cloud Hits the Mainstream: More than Half of U.S. Businesses Now Use Cloud Computing." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Apr Web. 20 Oct Fiveash, Kelly. "Salesforce.com Gone Phishing." The Register. The Register, 7 Nov Web. 21 Oct Laudon, Ken and Jane Laudon. Management Information System. 13th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, Print. Samson, Ted. "9 Top Threats to Cloud Computing Security." InfoWorld. International Data Group, 25 Feb Web. 20 Oct "What Is Cloud Computing?" Salesforce.com. Salesforce.com Inc., n.d. Web. 20 Oct