Executive Summary Recommendation I believe our company, Preferred Capital Management, can utilize cloud computing services to significantly increase our performance and efficiency in the workplace, while minimizing our costs of production. After reviewing the concepts and benefits involved in transitioning to a cloud environment, I believe our company would benefit the most by shifting to a PaaS (platform as a service) structure in a hybrid cloud environment. Background One of the biggest evolutions in technology in the last few decades has been the concept of virtualization, or simulated environments that separate a machine’s functions from its physical hardware. From this concept, the principle of cloud computing has been developed to supply resources, services, platforms, applications, and infrastructure virtually over the Internet to individuals or companies all over the world on a subscription basis. Transitioning our company’s services to the cloud will be an intensive process and require rigorous planning and oversight, but it is in our company’s best interest to undergo this technological shift. Integrating cloud computing technology services with our current infrastructure would benefit the company in cost, speed, global scale, productivity, performance, security, and reliability. While there are many benefits that can be gained from incorporating cloud computing into our operations and transitioning some or all our workloads to the cloud, there are different models we could choose to deploy: a public cloud, a private cloud, or a hybrid cloud. Each type offers different solutions for diverse needs. Beyond the three types of cloud computing models, there are also managed and subscription-based cloud services that can be divided into three main service packages: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). I will explore these factors and shed light on how cloud computing will benefit and provide value to our own company in a significant way. Then, we will discuss the most advantageous course of action and the steps that need to be taken to implement and transition to the cloud. Courses of Action • • • IaaS PaaS SaaS Criteria • • • • • • • Physical hardware Servers Networks Data storage Operating systems Business and analytical tools Software Analysis Criteria Physical hardware Servers Networks Data storage Operating systems Business and analytical tools Software IaaS X X X X Courses of Action (in terms of company needs) PaaS SaaS X X X X X X X X X X X X X Needs X X X After analyzing the differences between the IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS cloud platforms, I believe the PaaS service model of computing would be best suited for the needs of our company since we are a small organization with minimal infrastructure and overhead but require strict security and privacy controls in certain situations. It would be helpful to have the option to rent additional data storage if necessary. While an infrastructure-based model (IaaS) would provide data storage technology we could employ, our small company does not use enough physical equipment (physical hardware, networks, operating systems) to justify moving any resources to the cloud. Our building houses our systems perfectly without the need for more space. A software-based service model (SaaS) would provide services our company could benefit from, but we need to keep and design our software in-house as our brokerage company has strict compliance and fiduciary rules that need to be maintained. Alternatively, an IaaS cloud structure could be a viable option for Preferred Capital Management if operating systems and business and analytical tools are not necessary or PaaS does meet our yearly budget. IaaS would provide us with virtual data storage we could use to boost performance and speed of our business operations, while allowing us to subscribe to any virtual infrastructure we might need in the future. Courses of Action • • • Public Private Hybrid Criteria • • • • Cost-efficiency Security Flexibility Ease of use CLOUD SECURITY Analysis Criteria Cost-efficiency Security Flexibility Ease of use Total Public 4 2 3 3 51 Courses of Action (in terms of company needs) Private Hybrid 1 3 5 4 3 5 4 4 54 67 Weight 5 5 4 3 After analyzing the differences between the public, private, and hybrid cloud environments, I believe that computing through a hybrid cloud would be the best cloud deployment strategy for Preferred Capital Management. A hybrid cloud configuration would allow us to optimize our current infrastructure, but gradually phase in workloads when we need them during busier time of the year. This ease of use and flexibility in increasing or decreasing managed services will be most beneficial and cost-effective for us. We can keep operations such as e-mail, customer relationship management applications, data storage, and business intelligence and analytic software in the public cloud. Since we are in the financial industry, however, we would benefit from the managed services provided in the private cloud for workloads such as asset management, asset movement, financial reporting, and storing sensitive client data. The private cloud enables our data to be encrypted and has tighter security controls and auditing processes to ensure that data is well protected. Restated Recommendation I highly recommend that Preferred Capital Management begin to transition to a platformbased (PaaS) service model through a hybrid cloud environment. Integrating cloud computing technology services with our current infrastructure would benefit the company by decreasing cost and increasing speed, global scale, productivity, performance, security, and reliability on many levels. Running Head: CLOUD SECURITY Transitioning to the Future of Security: A Study into the Benefits of Cloud Computing The Benefits of Transitioning to a Cloud Security Platform In the information-based environment we live in today, technology is continuously transforming the workplace and shifting the way traditional businesses think about information CLOUD SECURITY management and how they use their resources. Along with each technological innovation comes a development in informational systems and the evolution in the handling of data in terms of processing, management, and storage. One of the biggest evolutions in technology in the last few decades has been the concept of virtualization, or simulated environments that separate a machine’s functions from its physical hardware. From this concept, the principle of cloud computing has been developed to supply resources, services, platforms, applications, and infrastructure virtually over the Internet to individuals or companies all over the world on a subscription basis. I believe our company, Preferred Capital Management, can utilize cloud services to significantly increase our performance and efficiency in the workplace, while minimizing our costs of production. After reviewing the concepts and benefits involved in transitioning to a cloud environment, I believe our company would benefit the most by shifting to a PaaS (platform as a service) structure in a hybrid cloud environment. Transitioning our company’s services to the cloud will be an intensive process and require rigorous planning and oversight, but it is in our company’s best interest to undergo this technological shift. Microsoft (n.d.) illuminates that the top motivations for organizations turning to cloud computing services are cost, speed, global scale, productivity, performance, security, and reliability. I will explore these factors and shed light on how transitioning to a hybrid cloud environment will benefit and provide value to our own company in a significant way. Cost is one of the biggest reason’s companies are moving their data to the cloud in lieu of a serverless infrastructure. Cloud computing can save tremendous amounts of money and time by mitigating the costs associated with the purchase and maintenance of hardware, software, and system infrastructures. It can also minimize the costs of paying for IT professionals to manage CLOUD SECURITY our equipment and for utilities, such as air-conditioning, electricity, and physical property to shelter and protect the equipment. The amount of capital we can save depends on the type and number of services we move to the cloud. For example, if the maintenance of our physical infrastructure contributes to 65% of our total cost of operations, then moving services to the cloud would save the company a lot of money that could be used for more beneficial purposes, like furthering research and development (365 Data Centers, n.d.). Another advantage of moving away from the traditional on-premise data structure is that we would only need to pay for the cloud infrastructure we would need to run our operations appropriately and effectively. We can employ “pay-as-you-go” cloud storage services to fulfill company needs. Speed is a key factor when it comes to the productivity and product delivery for our organization. There are a wide variety of cloud computing services that can be utilized to accelerate and maximize business operations. Firstly, virtual resources can be accessed in a very quick manner. This availability of cloud services leads to a more flexible and less stressful work environment. Processes like collecting data, analytics, and logs, or developing new platform features can be outsourced through managed cloud services. Letting other companies oversee these activities means we can spend less time on maintenance and more time to spend on research or upgrading products. Secondly, cloud computing allows for the consolidation and integration of products. Mainstreaming technologies will only increase productivity and output for the company. Global scalability is an important concept that can affect both the productivity and revenue stream for our organization. In terms of online services, operations need to be adaptable to meet customer’s growing demands and needs, especially during tax season. Scalability is much easier in the cloud and is apt to managing traffic more efficiently on bigger scope because CLOUD SECURITY cloud computing can increase or decrease the scale of our business operations elastically to meet consumer demand. Running from the cloud can also be more cost effective in meeting high traffic situations than employing large numbers of physical servers for the job. Subscribing to one or more of the services the cloud supplies could increase our productivity significantly in the workplace. There are many features and operations that can be streamlined to decrease the on-site responsibilities of the business and eliminate workloads that would normally be done by traditional development teams and financial advisors. New projects or products can be finished faster and more efficiently with production-ready services available through the cloud. Working through the cloud can also increase productivity when technological or security issues arise. Not only can issues be resolved more quickly since it is a virtual platform, but the production and deployment of security are immobile for shorter amounts of time. Performance enhancement is a huge factor when transitioning to a cloud environment because of the speed, scalability, security, and reliability of having a virtual and managed platform. The cloud has a management platform that makes application and performance testing much easier because there is a heavy push to the automation of infrastructure and workload deployment. Infrastructure in the cloud is written as a code so security, application updates, and compliance can be built within that infrastructure through a virtual machine. This makes runtime for applications more efficient, makes infrastructure quick to build, and makes it easier for IT professionals to evaluate configuration periodically to make sure applications and data are secure. Overall, processes run through the cloud are more organized, designed properly, and easily constructed. CLOUD SECURITY Security parameters and policies are strengthened considerably through using cloud technology because security implementation is faster and more easily applied to applications. Online security innovations and standards as such runtime application self-protection (RASP) are continuously evolving. RASP is a coding program, much like an internal system firewall, that is used to detect flaws within applications that are vulnerable and penetrable. It evaluates programs without having to run static application security tests, which makes using the cloud more secure, dependable, and speedier (ISSA, 2019). Stronger encryption methods and secret key management, such as API keys and tokens, can also be executed through cloud, and passwords can be vault-orientated and rotate on a regular basis to intensify security on the cloud level (ISSA). Cloud applications can also combat zero-day exploits by monitoring and identifying probable issues on a real-time daily basis. Reliability in cloud computing comes from redundancy, distributing computing power, and diminishing risk by out-sourcing workloads. Redundancy has been available for years, but not on this scale. Having backup data saves time and money for our company if situations like natural or human-induced disasters, server malfunctions, or technological issues arise. Distributed computing power adds reliability to an infrastructure when one system fails, so another can pick up the workload with ease and fluidity. And lastly, out-sourcing or subscribing to managed services through the cloud can mitigate the risk and responsibility of internal failures. There are many benefits that could be gained from incorporating cloud computing into our operations and transitioning some or all our workloads to the cloud. However, there are different models we could choose to deploy: a public cloud, a private cloud, or a hybrid cloud. Each type offers different solutions for diverse needs. Public clouds are owned and operated by CLOUD SECURITY third-party cloud providers and the cloud must be accessed through a web browser over the Internet. They are cheaper to maintain, require little maintenance, and dependable. Private clouds are used by a single business or organization where the cloud services can be hosted on-site or off-site by the cloud provider. They are highly flexible and provide a high level of security but are often used by larger companies and can be costly. Hybrid clouds are a mix of both public and private cloud structures, which allow for greater flexibility, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and control over private or sensitive information. Beyond the three types of cloud computing models, there are also managed and subscription-based cloud services that can be divided into three main service packages: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). IaaS involves renting physical infrastructure such as data centers, servers and storage, and networking firewalls and security that can be accessed virtually. The advantages of IaaS include eliminating start-up expenses and reoccurring expenses incurred from the purchase and upkeep of physical equipment, and adding in reliability, stability, supportability, and better security. IaaS is the most basic of the “pay-as-you-go” managed services. PaaS involves renting the structural components of IaaS but includes development tools, database management, business analytics, and operating systems. The advantages of PaaS are the ability to cut down on development and coding time, hosting multiple platforms, and added business and analytical tools. The PaaS model is ideal for developing and testing software and online or mobile applications. Finally, the SaaS service option includes the rental of both the IaaS and PaaS components along with hosted applications. The advantages of SaaS are basically that all features of the system are managed, or subscription based. Therefore, all infrastructure, networks, software, and applications are being updated and maintained regularly. CLOUD SECURITY The steps for transitioning to a cloud environment will need to be planned out in great detail and implemented strategically to avoid operational issues, temporary shutdown, or unforeseeable expenses. We should appoint a leader to oversee and design the conversion process so that the migration goes as smoothly as possible and will be the most efficient and time-effective for our chosen platform. If we officially decide to implement the PaaS level of cloud integration and the hybrid cloud deployment strategy, we will need to select a cloud provider. While there are many cloud providers to choose from, some of the top providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM, and Oracle Cloud. We can base our decision on the reputation and health of a provider’s business operations, cost of services, available administrative support, cloud capabilities and processes, and security standards and practices. There are many shifting factors and variables that would go into selecting the individual cloud computing services offered in each company, so today we are going to limit our discussion to the hybrid cloud option and PaaS cloud services I believe would best benefit our company. The next step in our course for action is establishing a transition and implementation plan. Since we are moving to a hybrid cloud structure, we must decide which services to move to the cloud and which to keep on-premises. The most logical services to move to the cloud would be managed services for our industry, such as our customer relationship management software, asset management software, data storage, and data analytics and intelligence software. Being that many of our business operations involve meeting with clients face to face, we will maintain our brick and mortar premises and day-to-day IT infrastructure such as our offices, computer systems, networks, and lower-level data storage. We want to switch production over to the cloud services we will subscribe to as quickly as possible since it would be in the best interest of our clients. In the financial industry, we cannot appear to be CLOUD SECURITY unreliable or unreachable or else we risk lowering both our monetary gains and our reputation. Which is why making sure the service provider we hire needs to have high security standards as well. We need to address security protocols, such as the use of firewalls and intrusion, prevention, and detection software that are in place to protect the applications and data that will be moved to the cloud. Since we need this rollover of workloads to the cloud to go as smoothly as possible, we should also discuss onboarding and production switching capabilities with our chosen cloud provider. It would be smart to capitalize on our cloud provider’s knowledge about data transfer and moving applications in the most efficient manner. Cost would need to be discussed and documented before any transition of services is performed to ensure both parties are on the same page and no unforeseeable expenses will be incurred from the rollover. Understanding the cost differentials between the cost of running a service on-site versus running it through a subscription service is important to consider. The transition and implementation plan should estimate the total costs of the business services that will be used on-site, in the cloud, and incurred during the transition. We need to discuss whether or not the storage and access to data back-ups would be included in our provider’s services or if we should shop around to find additional vendors who provide back-up services and insurances for data. Another factor to discuss would be what available administrative support comes included with the service packages we select and what additional resources can be purchased. After we successfully integrate with the cloud, we should perform regular auditing checklists and reviews of the risk management governance of our cloud services and make sure security and disaster recovery standards are maintained and updated periodically. If performance metrics are not met or surpassed, switching services to a new cloud provider should be considered. There are numerous criteria that need to be met for the cloud integration to be successful. Firstly, the platform-based CLOUD SECURITY services need to be easy to integrate into our current service infrastructure and be simple to use. They should also be cost-effective, scalable to meet operational demand, flexible in nature, easy to modify, dependable, and increase the overall productivity of our business operations. In conclusion, I highly recommend that Preferred Capital Management begin to transition to a platform-based (PaaS) service model through a hybrid cloud environment. Integrating cloud computing technology services with our current infrastructure would benefit the company by decreasing cost and increasing speed, global scale, productivity, performance, security, and reliability on many levels. Our financial advisors would be able to spend more time on financial planning, asset management, meeting with clients, and making the business money instead of wasting time on inputting data, doing administrative work, and using unfunctional applications. Firstly, I believe the PaaS service model of computing would be best suited for the needs of our company since we are a small organization with minimal infrastructure and overhead but require strict security and privacy controls in certain situations. While an infrastructure-based model (IaaS) would provide data storage technology we could employ, our small company does not use enough physical hardware (computers, networks, operating systems) to justify moving any additional infrastructure to the cloud. Our building houses our systems perfectly without the need for more space. A software-based service model (SaaS) would provide services our company could benefit from, but we need to keep and design our software in-house as our brokerage company has strict compliance and fiduciary rules that need to be maintained. Secondly, I believe that computing through a hybrid cloud would be the best cloud deployment strategy for Preferred Capital Management. A hybrid cloud configuration would allow us to optimize our current infrastructure, but gradually phase in workloads during the busier seasons of the year, such as tax season. This ease of use and flexibility in increasing or decreasing managed services CLOUD SECURITY will be most beneficial and cost-effective for us. Since we are in the financial industry, we would benefit from the managed services provided in the private cloud for workloads such as asset management, asset movement, financial reporting, and sensitive client data. The private cloud enables our data to be encrypted and has tighter security controls and auditing processes to ensure that data is well protected. The public cloud, however, would be cheaper and more sufficient in supporting most of our operations such as e-mail, customer relationship management applications, data storage, and business intelligence and analytic software. In conclusion, I feel that implementing cloud computing capabilities through the PaaS service model and a hybrid cloud deployment would be the biggest and most profound technological shift our company could make in the next decade. References 365 Data Centers. (n.d.). Best Practices to Transition to the Cloud. Retrieved September 10, CLOUD SECURITY 2019, from https://www.365datacenters.com/portfolio-items/best-practices-to-transitionto-the-cloud/. Atchison, L. (2018, June 4). Cloud Migration Checklist: 10 Steps You Need to Follow. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://blog.newrelic.com/engineering/cloud-migration-checklist/. Christiansen, R., & Hewlett Packard Enterprise. (2019, May 23). Cloud Transition – 5 Best Practices to Follow. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.cio.com/article/3397112/cloud-transition-5-best-practices-to-follow.html. Cloud Secure Tech. (2017, January 20). Cloud Computing in the Financial Industry. Retrieved September 25, 2019, from https://www.cloudsecuretech.com/cloud-computing-financialindustry/. Cox, A. (2019, July 30). Choose the Right Decision Criteria. Retrieved September 28, 2019, from https://netmind.net/choose-the-right-decision-criteria/. Ebbers, M. (2014, February 19). 5 Things to Know About Cloud Computing Performance. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/5things/entry/5_things_to_know _about_cloud_computing_performance?lang=en. Foote, K. D. (2017, June 22). A Brief History of Cloud Computing. Retrieved September 13, 2019, from https://www.dataversity.net/brief-history-cloud-computing/. Forbes, E. (2018, March 1). The Cost of Cloud Computing. Retrieved September 27, 2019, from CLOUD SECURITY https://read.acloud.guru/the-true-cost-of-cloud-a-comparison-of-two-development-teamsedc77d3dc6dc. ISSA International. ISSA International Series: New Trends in Security - Outsourcing and Other Tech. (2019, September 24). Retrieved from www.brighttalk.com/webcast/16125/358748 Microsoft Azure. (n.d.). How to choose a cloud service provider: Microsoft Azure. Retrieved September 14, 2019, from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/choosing-a-cloudservice-provider/. Microsoft Azure. (n.d.). Public Cloud vs Private Cloud vs Hybrid Cloud: Microsoft Azure. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-areprivate-public-hybrid-clouds/. Microsoft Azure. (n.d.). What Is Cloud Computing? A Beginner's Guide: Microsoft Azure. Retrieved September 20, 2019, from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-iscloud-computing/. Red Hat. (n.d.). What's the difference between cloud and virtualization? Retrieved September 12, 2019, from https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/cloud-computing/cloud-vs-virtualization. Stern, A. (2019, August 23). The State of Cloud Confusion: Who's Your Cloud Built For? Retrieved October 8, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/08/23/the-state-of-cloud-confusionwhos-your-cloud-built-for/#55ed8ad25baf. Course Project Choose an area of information security management, ethics, risk management, policy or privacy that interests you and research it through the electronic media and the library. This is NOT an academic research paper. This is a persuasive recommendation for one of the listed courses of actions. This submission consists of three components: 1)Executive Summary: This is a 1-2-page executive summary consisting of the following sections: recommendation, background, courses of action, criteria, analysis, and restated recommendation. The recommendation is 1-2 sentences. The background is 1-2 paragraphs. The courses of action and criteria are both bulleted lists. The analysis is a table comparing the courses of action against the criteria and 3-4 paragraphs. The restated recommendation is 1-2 sentences. Make sure to include a chart that compares your courses of action against the criteria in the analysis section of your executive summary. Immediately following the chart should be a paragraph of summary analysis. This summary analysis should explain the relative advantages of your recommendation compared to the other courses of action. You might also provide analysis of a second place course of action in case the recommendation is not accepted. 2)Free form paper: Eight or more pages of a persuasive argument that convinces me that you possess mastery of the details around your chosen topic. 3)Executive Presentation: This PowerPoint presentation consists of the following slides: title slide, agenda slide, recommendation, background, courses of action, criteria, analysis and restated recommendation and point of contact. Your goal should be to address a managerially significant issue and to propose an action plan to address it. Examples of interesting topics might be: “Multifactor Authentication for Small Startup Company”, “Mobile Device Management Policy for a Hospital System”, “Intrusion Detection System (IDS) implementation in a Government Agency”, “Training Approaches for User Phishing Education”. This is not an information paper. This is a decision brief – you are making a recommendation from among several viable options (at least 3).. TRANSITIONING TO THE FUTURE OF SECURITY: A Study into the Benefits of Cloud Computing AGENDA ❑ Recommendation ❑ Background ❑ Courses of action ❑ Criteria ❑ Analysis WHAT IS THE CLOUD? • A metaphor for the process of renting, storing, and accessing resources, services, platforms, applications, and infrastructure virtually over the Internet. • Made available to individuals or companies all over the world on a subscription basis using remote networks and data centers. RECOMMENDATION I believe Preferred Capital Management can utilize various cloud services to significantly increase our performance and efficiency in the workplace, while minimizing our costs of production. WHY SHOULD WE TRANSITION TO THE CLOUD? • • • • • • • • • • • Cost-efficiency Availability Large network access Ease of implementation Easy maintenance Speed Performance Reliability Scalability Flexibility Increases in productivity WHAT TYPES OF CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS ARE THERE? IaaS • Infrastructure as a Service • Physical hardware, servers, networks PaaS • Platform as a Service • Operating systems, business and analytic tools SaaS • Software as a Service • Software and hosted applications Courses of Action Criteria Physical hardware Servers Networks Data storage Operating systems Business and analytical tools Software (in terms of company needs) IaaS PaaS SaaS Needs X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ANALYSIS PaaS would be beneficial because: • We are a small organization with minimal infrastructure and overhead but require strict security and privacy controls in certain situations • We would benefit from business and analytical tools • There are options to rent additional data storage if necessary • We surpass the need for IaaS since we need more than virtual infrastructure • SaaS is unnecessary since we keep and design our software in-house as our brokerage company has strict compliance and fiduciary rules that need to be maintained WHAT TYPES OF CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS ARE THERE? Public • Entirely owned and operated by third-party cloud providers • Must be accessed through a web browser over the Internet • Cheaper to maintain, require little maintenance, and dependable Private • Used exclusively by a single business or organization • Hosted on-site or off-site by the cloud provider • Highly flexible, high level of security, often used by larger companies, can be costly Hybrid • A mix of both public and private cloud structures • Greater flexibility, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and control over private or sensitive information Courses of Action (in terms of company needs) [1= lowest, 5 =highest] Criteria Public Private Hybrid Weight Cost-efficiency 4 1 3 5 Security 2 5 4 5 Flexibility 3 3 5 4 Ease of use 3 4 4 3 Total 51 54 67 ANALYSIS The hybrid cloud would be beneficial because: • Would allow us to optimize our current infrastructure, but gradually phase in workloads when we need them during busier times of the year • Ease of use and flexibility in increasing or decreasing managed services • Public cloud: operations such as e-mail, customer relationship management applications, data storage, and business intelligence and analytic software • Private cloud: managed services such as asset management, asset movement, financial reporting, and sensitive client data • The private cloud enables our data to be encrypted and has tighter security controls and auditing processes to ensure that data is well protected CONCLUSION I highly recommend that Preferred Capital Management begin to transition to a platform-based (PaaS) service model through a hybrid cloud environment. Integrating cloud computing technology and services with our current infrastructure would benefit the company by decreasing cost while increasing speed, global scale, productivity, performance, security, and reliability on many levels.
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