BUS303: Strategic Information Technology

5a. Explain cloud computing, including server hosting

1. "Cloud computing" means performing computer tasks using services provided over the Internet. A cloud symbol was used to represent the Internet when IT professionals diagrammed computer systems. The terms "cloud" and "Internet" have become interchangeable and typically mean the same thing when technology firms reference using the "cloud" for computing.

• Cloud computing involves using cloud- or Internet-based applications you probably already use, such as Microsoft Office with Office 365 as the cloud-based suite of Office products.
• Cloud computing enables individuals and organizations to pay a cloud vendor a monthly service fee for services rather than paying for a yearly license, which is more expensive.
• Products such as Office 365 are categorized as software as a service (SaaS), allowing companies to access a large assortment of software packages without having to invest in hardware or install it on a local machine.
• Understand the difference between SaaS, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) groups.

Read Computer Networks and Cloud Computing.

2. Server hosting is the offsite or remote management of hardware resources. Think about server hosting as you do cloud computing but with hardware.

• Organizations can pay a monthly fee for server hosting services to establish a complete IT infrastructure without the cost of physical machines, maintenance, and updates.
• Server hosting enables organizations to lease server resources for on-premises use.
• Organizations may select server hosting to lease dedicated servers for a monthly fee through server hosts.

 

5b. Identify why an organization might want to use cloud computing

Cloud computing offers organizations a list of advantages and disadvantages.

• Organizations can reduce costs by paying a monthly fee for applications instead of more expensive license fees.
• Purchasing and installing software and data processing equipment is time-consuming versus cloud computing services that can get organizations up and running in a shorter time.
• Understand how cloud computing offers scalable solutions and mobilization to an entire workforce.

 

5c. Analyze how current trends in e-commerce technologies, including cloud computing, online transactions and user interface, influence an organization's competitive advantage

Current cloud computing trends include a public, private, and enterprise cloud, each with different levels of security and access to public and private information in the cloud.

• Public clouds are used for e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Azure, Microsoft, and any publicly accessible service or application. About 1/3 of the overall market is moving to the public cloud.
• Private clouds are hosted onsite at an organization for data center use. Systems of record such as core business assets such as financial applications and HR are hosted on private clouds.
• Enterprise clouds are used to run modern business applications for organizations off-premises.
• Understand the different uses for each cloud type and why organizations may choose to host certain information and applications in an onsite private cloud instead of a public cloud, and what key aspects organizations have on a public cloud.

Review The State of Cloud Today and Top 5 "Giants" of Cloud Computing.

 

Unit 5 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms that might help you answer some of the review items above and some terms you should be familiar with to be successful in completing the final exam for the course.

• Cloud computing
• Private cloud
• Public cloud
• Enterprise cloud
• Server hosting
• Software as a service (SaaS)
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
• Platform as a service (PaaS)
• Client-server system