Intersession 2 Final Project Projection: Develop Your Business Case and an Enterprise Cloud
Strategy
Introduction
Cloud hosting technology refers to the procurement of computing resources over the
cloud platform through a cloud service provider. It is a secure, cheap and sure solution to data
storage, management, and backup. Numerous benefits come with cloud computing gearing
companies to make a gradual move towards this recent computing tread. A cloud migration
entails movement of data resources and data applications from an already established cloud
platform to another or from one provider to another provider. This model is referred to as cloudto-cloud service migration, and it aims at providing more secure services in most cases (AlAqrabi, Hill & Antonopoulos, 2015).
The business in question needs cloud services so that it can Manage the storage and
sharing of information resources, Secure the state of information resources, Enjoy the many
benefits that come with cloud hosting and Keep up with the technology paradigm and be in line
with other competing forms
Important elements to consider when implementing cloud technology
o SaaS model
An important aspect that will best suit the business enterprise is the SaaS model. Security as
a service is the most appropriate model of the cloud to migrate to as it is the most advanced. This
model provides functionalities which solve user problems for individual clients and
organizations as per the need of the company. Security as a service provider operates through
application software which allows users to get access to resources provided over the platform.
Users may not be able to manage the cloud infrastructure under this model or operate the
platform where the applications run from. This helps the issue of having to re-install software
applications and managing them from the user end thus simplifying the maintenance aspect.
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ASP model
An important model to complement the cloud hoist is an Application service provider. This
business model will provide customers with computer services over a network platform. This
may include software application like standard protocol HTTP. ASP technology has advanced as
the costs for specialized software rises day by day far exceeding the cost range of medium-sized
computer services businesses. There are many application of ASP technology today. It has
revolutionized the business world with the business process becoming service oriented. The
importance of ASP technology in the computer service marketplace can be indicated by its everexpanding size. It is estimated that the ASP market in the United States ranged between 1.5 and
4.0 billion dollars. Consumers of ASP services are mostly businesses organizations, government
bodies, membership organizations, and non-profits organization (Tao, 2001).
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The type of cloud migration
There are different ways of cloud migrations that our enterprise can make depending on the
need and technical position of the enterprise. One of the best and mostly used model is the
transfer of data resources and data applications from local centers to a public cloud
infrastructure. A cloud migration, however, entails movement of data resources and data
applications from an already established cloud platform to another or from one provider to
another provider. This model is referred to as cloud-to-cloud service migration, and it aims at
providing more secure services in most cases. The third type of cloud migration could be the
process of un-clouding popularly known as de-clouding or reverse cloud migration where data
resources or data applications are removed off from the cloud environment back to the local data
reserves. The latter process is a very rare process in the current computing paradigm, and it may
only happen when the organization feels very insecure in the current state of information privacy
and feels that the data they clouded is very sensitive and therefore requires to be confiscated
from the cloud environment. Compliance is the most dominant issues as far as migration is
concerned. Depending on the type and need of migrating to the cloud, an organization may
choose to have its application hosted on the cloud environment with no modifications on it in
what is referred to as the lift-and-shift model migration. The organization may also find it
necessary to make changes to the architecture of the application before migrating it to the cloud.
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Information resource security
With the alarming cases and sophistication security attacks on the cloud, paramount attention
is needed to safeguard sensitive organizational and personal data. The cloud technology comes
with advantages and disadvantages. The hoisting of information resources in the cloud is an
issue that requires paramount consideration as attacks can happen at any moment of the day
(Pemberton, 2015). Security should, therefore, be a paramount consideration. All data store on
the cloud should be encrypted for safety.
In case of a data resource transfers from local data reserves to public cloud platforms, an
organization may choose between several options which include the public internet utilization,
offline transfer or private network connection where the organization uploads all of its local data
to a physical appliance device and physically moves that device to the public cloud provider who
then uploads the resource to the cloud environment. The method of migration chosen whether
offline or online depends on the type and volume of data intended to be move, and how fast it
requires to be migrated.
References
Al-Aqrabi, H., Liu, L., Hill, R., & Antonopoulos, N. (2015). Cloud BI: Future of business
intelligence in the Cloud. Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 81(1), 85-96.
Pemberton L. (2015). Principles of resilience in cybersecurity.
Tao, L. (2001). Shifting paradigms with the application service provider
model. Computer, 34(10), 32-39.
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Running head: CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
Intersession 3 Final Project Projection: Select Your Cloud Deployment Model
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CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
Cloud deployment models
Cloud deployment models are the representations of the specific cloud environment, that
is distinguished by ownership, size, and accessibility. There are four main cloud computing
models, which include; public cloud, private cloud, community cloud, and hybrid cloud.
Depending on the specific needs of the business, it is vital to select an efficient and effective
cloud that will also provide the company with a competitive advantage (Puthal, 2015). For this
case study project, I will apply the private cloud deployment model, as it will meet the available
needs. I will also develop a deployment plan for this model and describe its elements in the
report.
The private cloud deployment model, also known as the internal cloud or the corporate
cloud is a model that is dedicated to meeting the needs, the wants and the goals of a particular
organization. The private cloud is created and maintained by an individual enterprise and may be
based on either the resources available on the organization’s on-premises data center or new and
separate infrastructure (Chou, 2015). For this model to be useful, the organization owns and
controls the operations of the private cloud. This model is a single-tenant architecture that
operates on on-premises hardware directly controls the underlying cloud infrastructure.
The deployment plans
For the private cloud deployment model to be effective, there is a need for a well-defined and
laid out plan. Although these plans take different forms, the deployment plan had to be well
thought out for it meets the needs of the business.
To begin with, it essential to set and define the objectives of the model. Establishing the
objectives upfront helps decide on the features and the capabilities that will be required. It also
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CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
helps estimate the workload that the private cloud is expected to handle, therefore defining any
software compatibility requirements (Di Nitto, 2017). Finally, it helps to develop a cloud
architecture that is cost friendly and meets all the organizational needs.
The next step in the plan is designing for the future. Here, in addition to the private cloud being
developed to meet the long-term needs of the organization, it should increase in capacity. This
can either be done by installing more nodes that are compatible with the private cloud or using
alternative hardware in the private cloud design to scale the cloud capacity.
It is essential to provide for the transition from a private cloud into a hybrid cloud. This is
important because experience has shown that almost all private clouds later transition into hybrid
clouds.
Delegating template maintenance is also essential since the server environments are not static. It
is common for VM templets to become outdated; providing for this in the plan quickly is vital.
Finally, it is critical to defending against single points of failure. This is done by creating a
failure over failure over cluster, that makes the Virtual Machine Manager available.
Elements of the plan
Virtual and physical scalable management. This allows for the integration of virtual and
physical scalable management tools, which ensures efficiency.
Next generation architectures. These architectures use virtualization which enables the
customers to get more, delivers dynamic capacity management and increases business service
visibility.
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CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
Policy-based management. This enables users to understand all the policies to be followed,
standards to be met and the contractual agreements set.
Process standardization. This is effective in containing costs and resources, therefore making
the model effective and efficient.
Increased automation. This reduces and contains the costs
Self-service. This helps to empower the customers as they can request computing services and
those services are delivered on demand.
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CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODELS
Reference
Chou, D. C. (2015). Cloud computing: A value creation model. Computer Standards &
Interfaces, 38, 72-77.
Di Nitto, E., Matthews, P., Petcu, D., & Solberg, A. (Eds.). (2017). Model-Driven Development
and Operation of Multi-Cloud Applications: The MODAClouds Approach. Springer.
Puthal, D., Sahoo, B. P. S., Mishra, S., & Swain, S. (2015, January). Cloud computing features,
issues, and challenges: a big picture. In 2015 International Conference on Computational
Intelligence and Networks (pp. 116-123). IEEE.
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Running head: Intersession 4 Final Project Projection
Intersession 4 Final Project Projection: Select Your Cloud Service Model(s)
Software as a service(SaaS) model
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Intersession 4 Final Project Projection
Software as a service promotes these because the entire application is hosted on the web
and is accessed remotely, therefore, the end-user does not need to install it. This kind of
applications provide ubiquitous computing that is; ease of access anywhere and at any time as
compared to local applications which must be installed on one’s local device (Bateman, 2010).
Remote applications require customers to create an account in order to use it, therefore, it is
considered secure. In SaaS applications, the entire coding and infrastructure are abstracted
allowing it to be updated and new features added as well as user interface improvement without
affecting its normal running. SaaS applications are usually simple in design so as to ensure that
there is ease of access by a wider audience.
There are a number of reasons why I chose SaaS model. It is less costly since it
eliminates the need for acquiring hardware, software licensing as well as installation and user
support. This is because an individual does not need to install applications on their own data
centers instead, they will rent a hosting space in the cloud. This model is also flexible in terms of
payments as customers need to subscribe to the service using a pay-as-you-go model (Rouse,
2012). Customers can determine the affordable recurring cost and cancel them at their disposal
hence they can adopt a better budgeting culture. Scalability of SaaS allows customers to access
fewer or more services according to their demand. Automatic updates on the SaaS applications
reduce the burden from the employees who would otherwise do it manually.
SaaS implementation patterns
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Intersession 4 Final Project Projection
In order to achieve the target demographics and goals of adoption, a cloud computing service
needs to be built on certain fundamental principles. These principles are as follows;
Ability to be discoverable. Customers should be able to use the application with minimal
support in the entire process of adoption of the service.
Economic Feasibility. A cloud computing service should be able to accommodate the varying
scales of usage. SaaS implementation needs to follow models that incorporate the economical
use of resources.
Reachability. The application should be available at all times in order to serve customers at all
levels and offering global deployment capability.
Scalability. This is the ability to support the sharing of resources among customers so as to
provide performance consistency. This is useful because it will ensure that the application is in a
self-sustaining service environment.
Supportability. The infrastructure should provide room for the application support team to chip
in and help desk teams to fix any application problems. This is possible if they have full access
to the core of infrastructure and the state of the application at running time.
SaaS implementation requires an exhaustive approach towards assessment of cloud provider in
terms of operation as well as platform capabilities (Kommalati & Zack, 2011). SaaS
development life cycle consists of six stages namely: envisioning, platform evaluation, planning,
subscribing, developing and operations in that order.
Envisioning. In this phase, the leadership of the company leaders identify new market
opportunities, figure out how they will hype to new customers, expansion of customer base as
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Intersession 4 Final Project Projection
well as boarding new customers. This will ensure that they realize more value from their
intellectual property.
Platform evaluation. This phase focuses on cloud service provider exclusively. This is where
the platform in question is scrutinized in order to determine its capability in relation to the needs
of the business.
Planning. After deciding on which platform to be used, cause for the action of delivery of the
service is plotted. The activities include; project plan, risk analysis, design specifications, and
resource planning.
Subscribing. This is where the acquisition of subscription to product quality takes place. What-if
analysis, costs, further platform scrutiny, and disaster discovery is analyzed.
Developing. This is where refinery and translation of design specification into code and
documentation takes place. This phase is iterative based on new feature discovery and refinery of
the existing specifications.
Operations. In this phase, platform specifications and operational aspects go through
customization and integration prior to deployment of the service.
References
Bateman, K. (2010). Cloud computing models: Which one is best for your business? Retrieved
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Intersession 4 Final Project Projection
From https://www.computerweekly.com/news/1511165/Cloud-computing-modelsWhich-one-is-best-for-your-business
Perkins, M. (2010). The Software as a Service (SaaS) Pattern Explained. Retrieved from
http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmedia/2010/06/the_software_as_a_service_saas/
Rouse, M. (2012). Software as a Service (SaaS). Retrieved from
https://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/Software-as-a-Service
Zack, H. D. & Kommalapati, H. (2011). The SaaS Development Lifecycle. Retrieved from
https://www.infoq.com/articles/SaaS-Lifecycle
Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection - Assemble you Team
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Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
Introduction:
Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is a sort of re-appropriating of PC programs. Utilizing
cloud computing, clients can get to programming and applications from wherever they are; the
PC programs are being facilitated by an outside gathering and live in the cloud. This implies
clients don't need to stress over things, for example, storage and power, they can basically enjoy
the final product.
Life before cloud computing:
Traditional business applications have dependably been extremely entangled and costly. The
amount and variety of hardware and software required to run them are overwhelming. You need
an entire group of specialists to introduce, design, test, run, secure, and update them.
When you increase this exertion crosswise over handfuls or several applications, it's anything but
difficult to perceive any reason why the greatest organizations with the best IT divisions aren't
getting the applications they need. Little and moderate size organizations don't stand an
opportunity.
Cloud computing: a better way:
With cloud computing, you eliminate those headaches that come with storing your own data,
because you’re not managing hardware and software — that becomes the responsibility of an
experienced vendor like Salesforce. The shared infrastructure means it works like a utility: You
only pay for what you need, upgrades are automatic, and scaling up or down is easy.
Cloud-based apps can be up and running in days or weeks, and they cost less. With a cloud app,
you just open a browser, log in, customize the app, and start using it.
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Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
As cloud computing grows in popularity, thousands of companies are simply rebranding their
non-cloud products and services as “cloud computing.” Always dig deeper when evaluating
cloud offerings and keep in mind that if you have to buy and manage hardware and software,
what you’re looking at isn’t really cloud computing but a false cloud.
Team:
1. IT Director
2. Account Manager
3. Product Owner
4. Project Manager
5. Cloud Lead / Architect
6. Senior Developers
Roles and Responsibilities: Defining the phases of decisions regarding the adoption of cloud IT
Director and Account Manager are associated with the key period of choice, Director of
framework administrations, Project Manager are engaged with Tactical period of choices and
finally the operational dimensions includes Lead Network Engineer, Senior Software Developer
and Senior System Engineer. To sum things up the accompanying will clarify the individual jobs
and duties of various elements of at the particular periods of choice.
1. IT Director:
IT Director in our org primarily has attention on anticipating the
association's future and guiding the way to his/her subordinates properly of
accomplishing it.
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Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
Direction: IT Director jobs in Strategic period of choosing Cloud selection includes
having a reasonable vision on where the association's place is at current and what are the
profiting factors in adopting cloud innovation.
2. Account Manager: Account Manager is mainly involved in determining the business
perspective of the organization, its budget constraints and if the organization is a service
based, then he analyzes the impact of services and money constraints. Allocation of
resources, leveraging current infrastructure etc.,
3. Product Owner: PO in this project responsible for:
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Take lead of scrum teams as the Product Owner
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Providing vision and direction to Agile development team and stakeholders
throughout the project and create requirements
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Ensure that the team always has an adequate amount of prior prepared tasks to
work on
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Plan and prioritize product feature backlog and development for the product
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Define product vision, road-map and growth opportunities
4. Project Manager: Project Manager is to plan, budget, oversee and document all aspects
of the specific project you are working on. Project managers may work closely with
upper management to make sure that the scope and direction of each project is on
schedule, as well as other departments for support. Project managers might work by
themselves, or be in charge of a team to get the job done
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Leadership Skills: You will have to keep your employees motivated, resolve
conflicts and make hard decisions for your employees.
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Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
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Time Management: You will be working with employees, customers and
management, often spinning multiple plates at once.
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Math and Budgeting: Project managers are expected to keep and maintain a
budget in almost every field. You will need to be confident in using math skills to
make sure you know where your company's money is going.
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Analytical Skills: You will also need analytical skills to be able to solve problems
that may come up during a typical work day. You will be analyzing data and
making decisions that affect the project on a regular basis.
5. Cloud Lead/ Architect: As a Lead, the phase of the decision transfers to the operational
level and the roles are as below.
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Ability to help direct a team of Cloud Engineers, DevOps, and Jr Cloud
Engineers while running large projects for customers
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Experience in designing, building or supporting a hosted software products
/services
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Experience with networking, N-Tier applications stacks, Databases (MSSQL,
MongoDB, MySQL, etc)
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Experience with DevOps tools such as Octopus Deploy, Ansible, Chef, and
Jenkins, as well as helping companies roll out sound DevOps processes and
practices is critical
6. Senior Developer: As a Software Developer the roles and responsibilities include like
the other departments
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Design of code and application moving to cloud
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Running Head: Intersession 1 – Final Project Projection – Assemble your Team
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Reviewing the best practices, recommendation with the cloud service providers
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Application development as per cloud
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Allocation of resources at team level and responsible for day to day specified
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As above the team is responsible for the specific and respective roles in deciding
the cloud adoption mechanisms.
References:
1. https://www.salesforce.com/what-is-cloud-computing/
2. https://www.cloudtp.com/cloud-adoption-program.
3. https://blackboard.ottawa.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/IT-8003-Master-ContentEMBA/Intersession/Week%201%20Learning%20Resources.html
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