Formal Report: Cloud Computing Implementation
Executive Summary
This report will be constructed on the benefits and expenses of introducing cloud computing to the organization. After conducting research regarding our company’s use of cloud computing I have concluded that our organization is not utilizing cloud computing to the best of our abilities. I believe it is in the country’s best interest to take time to review this matter and develop a plan to implement new technology on form of marketing. Implementing a computing cloud software for the company would be an integral part of staying competitive and will offer the company several opportunities. It is imperative that, as a company, we understand what cloud computing is, what it has to offer and then we take advantage of that.
Current situation;
The main purpose of this report is to introduce and explain the significance of cloud computing and how it can become a perfect solution for modernizing our customer management systems. Currently our company has been at risk if cyber-attacks and some insider threats, problems that I believe could be solved by the implementation of the cloud system. In this report I will give detailed data about the cost and the benefits that cloud computing will be able to provide for our company. Upon further research, I believe that our company is currently in dire need of the software as it will result in improved efficiency, cost reduction for the firm, as well as mobility and scalability. It will also enable our company to have more control over sensitive data which is significant to any company like ours.
Objectives
Reliability; Cloud storage systems are highly reliable and hence will be of great benefits to the company.
Cost savings. Cloud storage system is cheaper than most traditional on-premise softwares and it does even charge much license fees for new users. There are several different options to pay for the cloud storage system making it easy for the company to choose the best option for them and still save costs.
Automatic software updates. For cloud-based systems, software updates occur automatically (Rittinghouse&Ransome, 2016). This will be beneficial to the company since the company won’t have to worry about the stress of their system being outdated because once they update the cloud software, it will automatically be updated for all other users.
Access anywhere; Cloud computing is accessible anywhere provided there is access to Internet. It can also be accessed through portable devices like laptops and tablet making it more convenient to be used by the company.
Storage capacity; the cloud system has unlimited storage capacity which is important to the company. Therefore, the company will not run out of storage space or even worry about the need to add more storage space
Cloud computing is a new technology in the market which involves computer connectivity and information technology services. Cloud is on very high demand currently in the market. One of major objectives of cloud computing is that it offers an easy way of database, wise set of request over the internet, servers and storage. Computing also provides a platform for the cloud based service providers to own and turn the equipment which are interconnected through networks (Rittinghouse&Ransome, 2016). Another benefit of cloud computing is that it allows an easy access malleable and low budget information technology resources. Making big and investments in hardware is not really necessary when using cloud computing. When applying this technology, one does not really need to spend a lot of time managing and running the hardware with its associated services
Cloud computing involves a comprehensive set of on-demands programs which include: deployment services, applications, analytics, global computing, database and storage. This program will really help a company in scaling systems, reducing the information technology cost, and running program within a short time. Cloud computing is grouped into three categories (Vines &Krutz, 2010). These are; Software as a service (Saa), Mobile as a service(MaaS), Platform as a Service(PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS).
Derivables and costs
I understand that executing a new cloud system can be very intimidating if one is not comfortable with the computer software. However I can suggest that our firm learns how to do it and take advantage of all the benefits of the cloud software. I suggest that the implementation be done in the following stages;
Creating a detailed implementation plan
The first step would be making a plan for the overall implementation of the system. This plan will enable the company to have everything ready so that we can start working on the software as soon as possible. This step will involve a system set-up, how the system will be built and how it will adapt to the needs of the company. The company will have to decide who will do the initial step. This will obviously be the company’s IT team (Vines &Krutz, 2010). The company will then come up with ways in which it wants the infrastructure of the system to work.
I believe that some more basic systems are easy to set up and are very intuitive with various features that are customizable to the needs of our company. I still believe that our preferences can always be adjusted in the future.
Data transfer
Depending on the program that our company is currently using, we will be required to download the data that we had already had and upload it to the new system. Since every system is different, we may have a difficult time recreating data from the past in the current system. If uploading all our previous data will not be possible or will be too expensive, we can still choose to upload data only after a given period. For instance since our cutoff is at the beginning of the present year, we should only upload the present year’s data and ignore the data from the past years.
The company should then train their employees on how to use the new software. This will be helpful to the company in ensuring that their workers get to understand the efficiency of the cloud software. The company should ensure that their workers are comfortable with the new system by helping them to customize it into their needs and to evaluate all its features. As much as the employees are expected to embrace this change, it is obvious to have somewill resist it. It is therefore better to have a more personalized training, whereby each team is assigned a leader to conduct it (Ullah et al., 2019). This will allow the team to manage the questions and comments about the new software just as they arise.
The company should also establish a feedback process. For the new software system to succeed and be adopted in the company, it is important to take into consideration other users’ feedback and make changes where necessary.
User adoption; we should then create a plan for the order in which employees will start using the system. We should consider topics like, which will be the first department to use the system, what will happen to will happen to the former systems, and what will take place in case of an overlap as the new system comes online. Rather than immediately buying the licenses, we can stagger start dates to reduce costs
Timing; wasted time is one of the biggest problems when implementing system (Vines &Krutz, 2010). To avoid unnecessary delays, it is essential we set deadlines for the completion of the different steps.
Once all the details are out, the implementation process can begin. The software company will always be available to help in case one needs help. The system should first be set up as planned. Usually the modules are already configured for standard use.
If one is short on time, the operation can be started with a basic system set-up and then take time in the future weeks and months to fine-tune the controls.
Sometimes all it takes to get started is changing some names and adding the user names, and it is done. The implementation can also take a few months. If one is integrating other software into the system, the data should be uploads in the software. The passwords, permitted access of the user should be generated in this step. It is best to prepare all the access and security items before training for better user adoption. This prior work will allow the team to hit the ground running (Ullah et al., 2019). Implementation is usually messy, and therefore complication should be expected. Computing will be able to highly benefit any company today.
Conclusion
` Cloud computing is able to make a company more versatile, and it also saves a great deal of money instead of purchasing expensive hardware and installing on-site. Not only does this give a company a real advantage over competitors, but the availability gives us an advantage over most of the world today. The cloud servers will be able to free up the computing power of the computers of a company and also free up the memory if the databases, platforms and different software’s are used as hosts. Perhaps one of the biggest concerns with cloud computing for every business, regardless of size or industry, is the concern of data security. Like many of the cybercrimes that can arise today, many data breaches can also happen as a result and devastate the revenue of a company, as well as its customer loyalty and brand. These issues can be heavily decreased with added security measures of our own with the use of cloud data protection.
References
Rittinghouse, J. W., &Ransome, J. F. (2016). Cloud computing: implementation, management, and security.CRC press.
Ullah, R., Rehman, M. A. U., & Kim, B. S. (2019). Design and Implementation of an Open Source Framework and Prototype for Named Data Networking-Based Edge Cloud Computing System. IEEE Access, 7, 57741-57759.
Vines, R. L. K. R. D., &Krutz, R. L. (2010). Cloud security: A comprehensive guide to secure cloud computing (pp. 35-41). Wiley Publishing, Inc.