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Cloud computing essay on the advantages and pitfalls...

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Running head: CLOUD COMPUTING: SECURITY ADVANTAGES AND PITFALLS

Cloud Computing: Security Advantages and Pitfalls Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation

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Cloud Computing: Security Advantages and Pitfalls Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of information technology resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. This implies that instead of owning, buying, and maintaining the physical data servers and centers, the individuals and organizations can access technology services such as databases, storage, and computing power on an as-needed basis from different cloud providers (Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2016). Principally, cloud computing is premised on sharing resources to achieve the economies of scale and coherence, thus enabling organizations to avoid up-front IT infrastructure costs. As such, enterprises can run their applications faster with less maintenance and improved manageability. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that cloud providers usually use the “pay-as-you-go” model to offer the needed cloud computing services. Following the proliferation of technology, it should be noted that cloud computing is used by organizations of every size, type, and industry for email, disaster recovery, data backup, big data analytics, software development, and testing and customer-facing web applications. For instance, whereas financial services companies use cloud computing to power the detection and prevention of fraud in real-time, healthcare companies usually utilize the cloud computing infrastructure to develop personalized treatment options or patients. There are various security advantages and pitfalls attributable to cloud computing. Cloud Computing Cloud computing service providers usually utilize different models. The standard cloud computing models are Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as Service (SaaS). In this case, the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is mostly comprised of the online services providing APIs that can be used for network infrastructure details such as partitioning, location, computing resources, backup, security, and scaling. In most

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cases, PaaS is utilized for the provision of workflows and services targeting developers who mostly rely on shared processes, tools, and APIs for the acceleration of testing, developing, and the deployment of different applications. For the case of enterprises, the deployment of PaaS can help ensure that the required resources are readily accessible to the developers and they can follow the laid down processes when using the specific services. However, the PaaS operators must maintain their underlying infrastructure. On the other hand, FaaS offers serverless computing whereby the developers are insulated against anything below the stack of the written codes. Other than the enterprises futzing with virtual containers, servers, and application runtimes, FaaS enables enterprises to upload functional blocks of codes and triggering them through actions such as the submission of the uploaded files. FaaS is offered by entities such as Google Cloud, Azure Functions, IBM OpenWhisk, and AWS Lambda. The main advantage of FaaS is that they do not consume IaaS resources up to until the event occurs. Therefore, this helps reduce pay-per-use-fees. For the case of Software as Service (SaaS), they can be accessed from different devices by the client through an interface such as a program or a web browser. However, the consumer is incapable of controlling or managing the underlying cloud infrastructure such as the operating system, servers, network, individual application capabilities, and configuration settings (Dillon, Wu & Chang, 2010). Even though users can access databases and application software, it is crucial to note that SaaS cloud providers usually manage platforms and infrastructures running the application. It is for this reason that SaaS is mostly priced based on pay-per-use. For the SaaS model, the cloud computing providers usually operate and install application software in the cloud for the users to access them. Given that the users do not have to manage the platform and the infrastructure running the application, it implies that there is no need to run and install the

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application on the user computer. As a result, this eliminates the need for support and maintenance. The pricing for SaaS is either monthly or yearly. Examples of SaaS applications include Word Online and Google Docs due to the integrated file hosting and cloud storage services. Security Advantages of Cloud-Computing Cost Saving Even though many organizations are usually concerned about the cost of adopting cloud computing, the reality is that its advantages usually outweigh the disadvantages especially concerning the Return on Investment (ROI) by an organization. Once an organization embraces cloud computing, it will be easy for its data to be accessed, thus saving them money and time that could have been spent in project startups (Ramesh, 2019). Furthermore, the pay-as-you-go model implies that the company will only be charged for features it has used. Such a pay-as-yougo system also applies for functionalities such as data storage that an organization may need to properly service clients and stakeholders. Principally, the amalgamation of such aspects has the net impact of lowering the incurred costs and resulting in higher returns. It is for this reason that the Bitglass survey on IT leaders and CIOs in 2019 established that cost savings were the primary reason for them to use cloud-based applications. Security When it comes to embracing cloud-computing infrastructures, organizations may have security concerns. This is attributed to the fact that programs, data, and files are usually not kept on-site, and therefore, an organization will not be sure if they are protected. However, it is imperative to note that cloud computing infrastructure enables an organization to monitor security carefully and efficiently than the conventional in-house system where an enterprise will

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be required to divide efforts among different IT concerns. Whereas many organizations rarely consider the issue of internal data theft, it is imperative to note that high data theft proportions usually occur internally and it is mostly perpetrated by the employees. In such instances, it can be safe if an organization can keep its sensitive files and data offsite in a cloud infrastructure. The survey by RapidScale outlines that 94% of business enterprises recorded an improvement in security upon switching to the cloud infrastructure. Principally, the cloud infrastructure enhances the stored data by encrypting the data being transmitted and stored in databases. Through such encryption protocols, the stored information will be inaccessible to hackers and other ill-motive intruders. Flexibility Organizations usually have a finite focus divided among all its responsibilities. This implies that if the IT solutions deployed by a business enterprise prompts it to commit a significant portion of its time on data-storage and consumer issues, then it implies that such an enterprise will not be able to concentrate on attaining its goals and meeting customer demands. However, by relying on cloud infrastructure to take care of all company’s IT needs, an organization will devote a significant portion of its time to enhance routine business operations. In such s case, it should be noted that the cloud infrastructure usually offers flexibility to businesses as opposed to what could be the case if such businesses were to host their local servers (Jouini & Rabai, 2019). Arguably, if a business enterprise needs an extra bandwidth, cloud-based service will instantly meet such demand, thus saving an organization the hustle of updating its IT infrastructure. Such improved flexibility and freedom contribute to overall organizational efficiency. For instance, the survey by InformationWeek established that “the

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ability to quickly meet business demands” was the primary reason for business enterprises to move to a cloud environment. Mobility It is imperative to note that cloud computing infrastructure can allow access to crucial corporate data using mobile devices and smartphones. Given that there are over 2.6 billion smartphones globally, this is a great way of ensuring the target audience is not left behind. As a result, staff members living further away from company premises or those with busy schedules can use smartphones to be up to date with co-workers and clients. Having a cloud infrastructure in place can enable an organization to offer information that can easily be accessed by freelance employees, sales staff, and other remote employees, thus promoting better work-life balance. This explains why the organization with high employee satisfaction are those that have expanded to cloud storage. Insight The huge volume of data stored on cloud infrastructures can be leveraged by an organization to obtain necessary insights. Such data can be manifested in terms of the millions of business processes and customer transactions whereby the actionable information can be identified and then acted upon. Unless an organization has an appropriate cloud-computing solution, sifting through such voluminous data can be a difficult task (Jouini & Rabai, 2019). This is because a majority of cloud-based storage infrastructures are incorporate with cloud analytics to help generate insights out of the collected data. As such, an organization can easily build customized reports and employ tracking mechanisms. Based on such insights, efficiencies can be built and the action plans built to help meet the adopted organizational goals. Increased Collaboration

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Collaboration should be a top priority in an organization with more than two employees. For its realization in a business enterprise, cloud computing can provide infrastructures to facilitate such collaborations at a business level. This is because team members will easily share and view information securely across an existing cloud platform. Multiple cloud-based services can be tapped to provide collaborative social spaces to connect employees across an entire organization. Quality Control Poor quality and inconsistent reporting are some of the few aspects that can be detrimental to the success of a business enterprise. However, by deploying cloud-based systems, documents will be centrally stored in one place appropriately. Given that different people will be able to access similar information, the consistency of the shared data will be maintained, thus avoiding the possibilities of human error. Disaster Rectory Control is a crucial business function determining success. When it comes to managing own processes, there are instances where an organization may not be able to exert control. For instance, a slight unproductive downtime can negatively affect an organization, especially at the time of disasters (Jouini & Rabai, 2019). However, the disasters that could potentially harm an organization can be handled effectively if cloud-based services are embraced to provide quick data recovery for all emergency scenarios such as power outages. Therefore, with cloud-based services in place, and occurring disaster can easily be recovered for continued business operations.

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Pitfalls of Cloud Computing Loss of Control By embracing cloud computing services, an organization will be entrusting another entity to take charge of its data. The cloud services provider will be entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining their server and data centers similarly that the organization would have done. However, a business enterprise has to trust that data centers of the cloud service provider are secured both online and physically and are also compliant. However, this means that an organization has to lose its in-house control. Security There has been an unprecedented increase in cloud hacking cases in recent times. Therefore, this shows that not all cloud providers are secure from infiltration by malicious individuals. Principally, it is catastrophic for sensitive information about the business entity or its client to fall victim to the unscrupulous hackers. Given such security vulnerabilities, it is difficult for business enterprises to establish providers that can be trusted. Technical Issues Whenever technical issues are encountered, the only choice will be calling the technical support of the cloud service provider. This is because such computing problems cannot be fixed in-house. In some instances, it may be disadvantageous, especially for the case of those providers that do not offer around-the-clock technical support. Dependency on Network Connection For an organization to capitalize on cloud computing, it should have a dependable internet connection. There is no other way to get around this. A business enterprise will need a network to send files and retrieve them from the cloud infrastructure (Arora, Parashar &

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Transforming, 2013). Even if an organization opts to use IaaS, it will need an Internet network to access its virtual machines. This implies that id network connections are lost as a result of outages, downtime may be experienced. Conclusion Cloud computing has revolutionized the delivery of on-demand computing services such as processing power, storage, and applications. This is usually facilitated on a pay-as-you-go basis over the internet. Its major advantage to organizations and businesses is that they will not be required to own their data centers or computing infrastructure. Cloud computing allows such companies to rent access to storage or applications offered by the respective cloud service provider. However, it is not cheap compared to other forms of computing.

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References Arora, R., Parashar, A., & Transforming, C. C. I. (2013). Secure user data in cloud computing using encryption algorithms. International journal of engineering research and applications, 3(4), 1922-1926. Rittinghouse, J. W., & Ransome, J. F. (2016). Cloud computing: implementation, management, and security. CRC press. Jouini, M., & Rabai, L. B. A. (2019). A security framework for secure cloud computing environments. In Cloud security: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 249-263). IGI Global. Ramesh, R. K. (2019). Understanding Cloud Computing and Its Architecture. Journal of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, 10(3), 519-523. Dillon, T., Wu, C., & Chang, E. (2010). Cloud computing: issues and challenges. In 2010 24th IEEE international conference on advanced information networking and applications (pp. 27-33). Ieee....