CLOUD COMPUTING: IS IT WORTH IT? By: Jennifer Varavithaya
ISSUE AT HAND Cut IT cost by 10% in 12 months and 35% within 3 years Should Welshire Partners switch to cloud computing for infrastructure t applications? How to do that? What about data/information security? Would ChromeOS or Chromium be helpful? Should Welshire Partners adopt Chromebooks for entire staff?
CLOUD COMPUTING Pros Access applications anywhere at any time Need for physical data servers decrease (if move data to cloud) Lower cost of obtaining software pay licensing fee Easily scalable Cons Data security & privacy Performance issues (when servers maintenance/outside attacks) Needs internet connection
DATA SECURITY Google s servers encrypt data, WP and Google can create system for maintaining data security Cloud-computing/storage vendors rely on reputation ti security should be reliable Auto-backups of data so less risk of loss In-house data security use resources to constantly monitor/update security measures (takes time and $)
CHROME PLATFORM & NATIVE CLIENT (NACL) Sandbox for running compiled C & C++ in the browser efficiently and securely, independent of user s operating system WP can develop new applications or move trading dashboard to NaCL to deploy as web application Alternative Utilize current development environment and enable to deploy to web application
CHROMEOS VS CHROMIUM ChromeOS Must be obtained via chromebook Auto-updates to maintain security Google support Chromium Free to download & customize Does not auto-update Supported by open source community
ALTERNATIVE: BEST OF BOTH WORLDS? Not all staff may like or have need to use Chromium (e.g. HR, Accounting, Finance, etc.) IT may get best use from Chromium Utilize desktop virtualization ti (virtual machines) to use Chromium Less time used in employee training with new OS IT can utilize Chromium in separate environment which if there s problem, can deal with it w/o disturbing original OS
EXAMPLES Xerox use cloud software from Oracle & Salesforce.com to manage sales accounts & HR Didn t transfer Enterprise resource planning systems to cloud Companies decide to use Office 365 service to help reduce cost of storing email and other data (NEU has this too)
RECOMMENDATION Utilize cloud computing for some applications Trading dashboard large undertaking to move to web application (already a headache before to run) Move HR/Client data to cloud (reduce storage cost) Can even do this with emails, docs, etc. Cut down physical server cost (trading data hosted via third party) No need for Chromebooks Limiting in functionality, Always online WP need ability to store data locally Free download of chromium and utilize with VM Or use licensed software (MS Virtual Studio) and deploy web application Transition to cloud in phases, larger/legacy applications may take more time Weigh cost of moving to cloud computing
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR WELSHIRE PARTNERS? Cost savings Pay-as-you-go subscription based software Less capital upfront (helps manage cash flow) Maintenance + support for cloud-computing services Scalability + Synchronization Greater flexibility Cloud providers help with upgrades Better Organization Information is current across company, archived data is accessible by those that need it & at single source Cloud security may be risky but risk outweighs the Cloud security may be risky but risk outweighs the reward (auto-backup)
SOURCES http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-big-companies-delay-using-the-cloud- for-some-applications-1405555098 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloudcomputing2.htm http://thoughtsoncloud.com/2014/05/pros-cons-cloud-computing/ http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing- /d/ l d ti / h t l d ti really-means-031 https://developer.chrome.com/native-client/index http://www.cnet.com/news/chromebooks-compared-new-and-upcoming- chrome-os-laptops/ http://www.diffen.com/difference/chromium_vs_google_chrome http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2c2817%2c2356201%2c00.asp http://www.technobuffalo.com/2011/05/23/how-secure-is-chrome-os/ chrome os/ http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-big-companies-delay-using-the-cloudfor-some-applications-1405555098 http://www.cpa2biz.com/content/media/producer_content/newsle tters/articles_2014/corpfin/switching-to-cloud-computing.jspto cloud computing.jsp