After writing the last 11 blogs, I noticed that a big concern fellow classmates had was security. They didn't like the idea that the information they put into the cloud was on an unknown databases. They also feared that their information could he hacked and would be at higher risk of being hacked than if they kept the information on their personal computers. I felt a little unsure of the idea at first as well until I did some research. There are many safety measures you can take when using the cloud such as a series of different passwords depending on the level of security you want to use. You can also decide if you want to store you information on a private or public cloud also depending on the security of you information.
Many legal companies and even central governments are starting to put their trust into the cloud services as well. When cloud services were first introduced they were apprehensive of using the systems for fear of the information would be hacked or seen by unwanted people. However, in current times many companies are confident that there information will be secure on the cloud. After seeing so many big companies are transferring their information to the cloud. I think this is a big step for the cloud providers like Amazon, and will allow them to become very profitable in years to come.
Source: http://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2014/apr/16/turning-legal-industry-tanker-around-cloud-adoption/
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Amazon and Googles battle to be #1
When it comes to cloud computing,
there is a stiff competition between Amazon and Google to be the best. They
have been competing against each other for years, but Amazon has always
remained on top. Although Google is starting to catch up to Amazon, Amazon has
one advantage over Google: API. When cloud computing first became popular,
there was no common language between the servers and computers created yet.
Amazon took it upon themselves to create their own API in order to get
communication between the cloud and the devices. Since Amazon created the API,
they now dominate the field of cloud computing. Almost all big companies are
now customers of Amazons cloud systems because they need a reliable cloud. They
rapidly rent different software and computer power to major companies.
The main reason these two companies
are competing so aggressively is because they want to be the #1 provider for
the cloud services so they can increase their companies profits. “The total
corporate information technology is estimated to be worth $1.4 trillion in
2014, which is 6x the amount of Amazon and Google’s’ net income last year
combined.” (Mims) Although many companies don’t use the cloud to store personal
or sensitive information, they do use the software provided by the cloud, which
is where these two companies plan to make their money.
Amazon was the first company to
make moves with the cloud first, which is why they have remained on top. They
have a big advantage over Google because of the years they have invested in the
game. Amazon has been offering different cloud services since 2006, so Google
is now trying to play catch up to gain an advantage. Another advantage Amazon
has over Google is that their public cloud has more capacity than any other
company who offers cloud services. “1/3 of all people using the Internet are
running on Amazons cloud” (Mims). Both companies have been trying to lower the
cloud service costs to appeal to more customers. One of Google’s’ biggest
customers is the popular app Snapchat. Although most customers using cloud
services are customers of Amazon, I think Google will be catching up soon.
Source:
http://qz.com/196819/how-amazon-beat-google-attempt-to-dominate-the-cloud-before-it-even-got-started/
Friday, April 11, 2014
Most Profitable Cloud Computing Companies
With the
current expansion of the cloud computing market, many companies are taking
advantage of the evolution and have seen massive profit increases. It is
important to identify profitable companies at this point because of the growth
potential cloud computing offers. These will be the companies with power
and ability to enhance the market.
According to
Business Insider, salesforce.com is currently the most profitable
cloud-computing company at $25.5 billion. They are set apart from other
cloud-computing companies because of their invention of software-as-a-service
cloud industry. Being the first to offer this aspect gave them a
competitive advantage; they also offer customer relationship management as well
as marketing software.
LinkedIn has
not only been identified as a major social network, but it stands as the second
most profitable cloud-computing company. They offer cloud-based computing
resources to current business professionals. In addition, the actual
website allows for cloud-computing resources to collaborate through blogging
and Internet communication.
Occupying
the number three spot, Workday is valued at $11.9 billion. Workday found
its niche as one of the most profitable companies by targeting waste and cost.
They simplified cloud computing by creating a pay-as-you-go pricing model
reduced the actual cost of ownership. Workday centralizes data to reduce
energy through their unique architecture.
NetSuite
comes in at number four mainly because of their software that is made available
to accounting, enterprise resource management, and customer resource
management. This company offered a new variety of connection; because cloud
computing is rather new; NetSuite took the opportunity to create computing
software for business departments that would benefit most.
At $5.9
billion, ServiceNow is considered the fifth most profitable cloud-computing
company. Their concentration is to IT professionals such as providing
software that helps track tech problems.
Concur Technologies;
Athenahealth, and The Ultimate Software Group are a few other companies that
have benefitted from the increased profits. Hopefully, each company will
be able to continue their creativity and innovation to adapt to the
ever-evolving technology world.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-most-valuable-cloud-computing-companies-2013-7?op=1
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Cloud-Computing-61513
http://www.workday.com/why_workday/real_cloud.php
Picture from: http://www.vablet.com/salesforce/
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Cloud Computing Challenges
While the
accessibility to information makes cloud computing efficient, it generates an
enormous amount of security challenges. Allowing for your information to
be stored on a third party's hard drive is always risky. There is a
consistent risk of losing data, which is unattractive to any company. Hackers
will always be a problem when working with any type of Internet source.
Because cloud computing allows for a massive amount of information to be
stored publicly, hackers see an inexpensive opportunity to gather endless
amounts of data.
Cloud
computing seems like a very inexpensive way to store data. While the costs to
create and uphold a cloud are inexpensive, the expenses concerning the actual
communication can become rather large. The cost to actually move the data
in and out of a cloud and through database systems does expand. This
factor becomes apparent especially when you are using a hybrid cloud.
Cloud computing is such a new phenomenon that it requires a lot of
maintenance. For software to be supported through cloud computing,
re-design and re-development must happen to make them compatible.
The
integration of previous and new computing is one of the biggest challenges
faced. Each user has a different way of communication with the cloud;
this could allow for narrow data sharing. Once the cloud establishes a
pattern of a user's information, it continues to accommodate future use.
Not only does the cloud have a different "relationship" with
each consumer, but the migration of previous data into new software poses a
problem due to the outdate. Because of the steady growth of information
technology, consistent maintenance is a must. Throughout the years of
routine change, this would become an expensive liability.
Sources:
Cisco Intercloud
A key
feature of the Inter-Cloud is the ability for a cloud to be a hybrid of both
private and public. This way, customers are able to keep information
private while accessing public aspects of their data. Not only does this create
a competitive advantage for Cisco, costs are lowered and delivery is more
efficient. The hybrid creates a simpler way to manage information because
you are able to dictate what information is private/public through the same
database.
The Inter-Cloud Director enhances self-service because it creates a portal of
virtually any cloud resource and policy management, regardless of the
environment. Multiple clouds are able to connect through the use of the
Inter-Cloud Secure Fabric. This secure feature allows for all policies to
be maintained, even if they are used for specific information. Private
information can be specifically made public through the Inter-Cloud Provider
Enablement Platform. The platform provides a bridge from the specific
private cloud to public environments; users are able to decide which
information is available across the provider's environment.
Although Inter-Cloud is a modern information technology service, many factors
still make the program challenging. To see the optimal changes that
Inter-Cloud has to offer, free-based public cloud services would need to be
bought out to ensure they are not losing customers to soon-to-be outdated cloud
centers. A problem arises when dealing with large companies. To
experience the desired results from Inter-Cloud, it is rather important the
service is run company wide instead of through individual departments.
The whole point of the Inter-Cloud is to make it easier to share information
within an environment while keeping specific data private.
Sources:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/intercloud/index.html
http://www.cisco.com/web/services/enterprise-it-services/cloud-enablement-services/docs/cisco_data_center_assessment_for_cloud_consumption_aag.pdf
Ciso and Cloud Systems
After a
fellow classmate told our group to check out an article about Cisco entering
the cloud market, we decided to research and write about that this week. For
those of you who don’t know, Cisco is a leading manufacturing company that
produces networking hardware for computers. They also make computer related
“accessories” such as routers. They have been established for 30 years and have
very loyal and dedicated customers. Their business however has been on a
decline since the cloud service has become more and more popular.
As we all
know, Amazon and Google are the largest companies that use cloud services and
do very well with their profits from it. The companies dominating the cloud
market are not Cisco customers, which means their sales are consistently
declining. The reason the companies dominating are profiting so much from the
cloud system is because they are now buying less expensive equipment from other
countries that can cost up to 60% less than Cisco’s prices (Bort). Cisco is
running out of options to keep up with the competition, so they’ve come up with
a huge plan to help them become a leading competitor.
Cisco
recently announced their $1 billion plan to build a new cloud service called
the “inter-cloud”. Companies are now investing in the cloud apposed to
buying new computers and software which is really hurting Cisco. Cisco
didn’t want to enter the cloud game when it was first introduced because many
of their customers are service providers who sell cloud services (Bort).
However with their sales declining they had no other options, than to enter
into the cloud world. They plan on spending the $1 billion to build new data
centers, and help run the new service (Sen). Since companies are no longer
buying Ciscos hardware or machinery they plan on renting computing services to
both new and existing customers. Even though entering into the cloud systems
world was the last thing Cisco wanted to do, it seems they are running out of
options.
Sources:
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