In the world of information technology, it seems that every few
years a new concept comes along that emerges as being the next great leap in
technology. One of the current concepts that fits that description in the IT
world is called cloud computing. However, before a company decides that it will
embrace cloud computing, it needs to make sure that it understands all the
implications of this new offering. As with most technologies, there are many
benefits that can be gained, but along with understanding the benefits, the
business risks must also be evaluated. When making this evaluation, it is
important to keep in mind not only the short term needs, but the long term
objectives and goals of the organization. In recent years, the Obama
administration has pushed for all federal agencies to investigate cloud
computing to see if it will benefit each agency.
"The Federal CIO Council
under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal
Chief Information Officer (CIO), Vivek Kundra, established the Cloud Computing
Initiative to fulfill the President's objectives for cloud computing."5
With the recent push from the current administration, cloud computing is
expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years. In some studies,
there are predictions that "cloud services will reach $44.2 billion in
2013, up from $17.4 billion of today, according to research firm IDC."4
This paper will lay out the considerations that an organization should consider
at before making a decision to use or dismiss cloud computing at the present
time.
Overview of Cloud Computing:
"Cloud Computing is a
model for enabling convenient, on-demand network-based access to a shared pool
of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications,
and services) that can be
rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service
provider interactions."2 This definition is one of many that have been
introduced within the IT industry, but what does this actually mean? The
concept of a cloud can be looked at as a "leasing-versus-owning concept -
an operational expense versus a capital one."4
To understand the cloud
computing concept more clearly, let us compare it to a more common concept:
paying for electric utility. Each month, a household or business utilizes a
certain amount of electricity which is monitored by a company and the consumer
is billed based on their usage. If each household had their own power source,
that would be congruent with non-cloud computing; there is no central power source
that households take advantage of. If, as is the standard case, households buy
their power from a consolidated power source (e.g. a power plant), that would
be like taking advantage of a cloud; many users sharing a resource to fulfill
their independent needs. Using this simple example, the cloud would be similar
to the power plant, providing either infrastructure or software to customers on
pay-per-use basis.
Some experts may disagree, but
in many regards, cloud computing is similar to the way that computers were used
when they first entered the market. At the advent of computers, computers (and
associated facilities) were extraordinarily expensive and only owned by a few
select organizations such as universities or the government. Few had the
expertise to support a separate computing facility in house. Therefore,
companies would lease time on computing resources provided by a small number of
providers, only purchasing what they needed for what they were working on. In a
similar model, cloud computing introduces the concept of buying resources as
needed, and similar to the past, the resources can be accessed from a remote
location. Key differences include quality of service, and variety of services
offered by cloud computing vendors.
The National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) serves as a guide towards helping government
agencies achieve cloud. NIST's cloud model "promotes availability and is
composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four
deployment models."2 As this paper continues, each of these components
will be addressed.
Development Models:
Prior to being able to evaluate
if cloud computing is a good fit for a given organization, the general concepts
of cloud computing must be understood. There are a number of different
deployment models as well as applications of clouds that make up a cloud
environment. The cloud deployment models include: public cloud, community
cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. There are strengths and weaknesses to
each deployment model as it relates to the specific case that a cloud is being
considered for use with. The following provides a summary understanding of each
deployment model so that one can be chosen to move forward with consideration
of cloud implementation.
Public Cloud
"Made available to the
general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization
selling cloud services"2
A public cloud is owned by a
third party vendor that sells, or offers free of service, a cloud that can be
used by the general public. A public cloud is the quickest to setup within an
organization, but it also has a limited amount of transparency and limits the
amount of customization.
Community Cloud
"Shared by several
organization and supports specific community that has shared concerns" 2
A community cloud is an
architecture that is established when a group of organizations come together to
share resources. A community cloud is a mini public cloud, but only a select
group of organizations will be authorized to use the cloud. In contrast to the
public cloud, it will generally be more expensive since it will only be used
within a smaller group of organizations and all of the infrastructure must be
established. A community cloud is a great choice for a group of organizations,
such as a group of federal agencies that desire to share resources but want to
have more control over security and insight into the cloud itself.
Private Cloud
"Operated solely for an
organization" 2
A private cloud is one that is
established to support a small singular organization. There is much debate if a
private cloud should be considered a cloud at all, as the infrastructure and
management of the cloud remains within the organization.