SoftArc Engineering Ltd is a civil engineering company which works across Australia as well as in Indonesia, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. The company is considering moving some of its computer infrastructure into the Cloud. The SoftArc Engineering Board is contemplating this move as a way to increase the company’s flexibility and responsiveness, as well as to achieve some savings on the cost of maintaining their ICT infrastructure.
SoftArc Engineering has engaged you as a consultant to advise them on the use of Cloud Computing in their daily operations. They have some 200 engineering and support staff that work on different civil engineering projects in different parts of the Australia and neighbouring countries. They have been advised that a move to using a Cloud based infrastructure would be an advantage to them.
1) One of SoftArc Engineering’s first undertakings is to provide all their civil engineering staff with the ability to access office automation, such as email, word processing and spreadsheet capabilities, as well as online storage for their files, whether they are in the office, at home, or deployed on site in the field. The SoftArc Engineering board is very concerned to learn about the critical issues, other than cost, that may affect the supply of Cloud based office automation to their staff. You will need to prepare a report on the best way to provide office automation for SoftArc Engineering. Your report should:
a) Provide SoftArc Engineering with TWO different approaches to providing office automation to their civil engineering staff;
c) Provide a summary of your advice to this company along with your recommendation about which option to choose.
2) SoftArc Engineering has a number of data centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. These data centres are linked by a fibre based WAN and data is replicated between the data centres daily. The 3 data centres each run x86 based servers attached to a HPE 3PAR SAN with 1PB of storage. They also have a series of RHEL 6 servers (Red Hat Enterprise Linux v6.0) that are used to host Web pages and various Web services. These are located only in the Sydney data centre. SoftArc Engineering is considering initially moving its Web infrastructure to an IaaS instance in a public Cloud, but they are unsure of the issues that are involved with this migration. You are to write a report for the SoftArc Engineering board that:
a) Describes the difference between locally hosted infrastructure (ie. in an enterprise data centre) and infrastructure provided using an IaaS provider in a public Cloud.
b) You will need to discuss the critical issues and factors, other than cost, that SoftArc Engineering will have to consider in choosing to migrate their Web infrastructure to an IaaS service provider.
3) SoftArc Engineering is also considering whether to use PaaS or SaaS to provide services to its employees. SoftArc Engineering has deployed Microsoft SharePoint 2013 from its data centre as a collaboration and document management tool for its 250 employees. The SharePoint 2013 instance has been extensively customised to suit SoftArc Engineering’s needs and also runs Project Central, their Project Management tool as a separate application from within SharePoint. All employees have the Microsoft Office 2013 suite of office automation products installed on their respective desktops or laptops. SoftArc Engineering would like to move its SharePoint 2013 instance to the cloud to make it more accessible, particularly to its users in remote or overseas locations. SoftArc Engineering want you to report on:
b) Recommend the model that you consider most appropriate for this service and discuss why c)What are the most likely problems that SoftArc Engineering will encounter with the model that you recommend? How would you advise SoftArc Engineering to deal with these issues?
Answers
1: Office Automation
Cloud computing offers subscription services to subscribers in an efficient and cost-effective way. This outcome has led to its popularity amongst users who now consider it as a foundational technology. Moreover, recent trends have seen its adopted as the number one solution for enterprise and office automation activities an outcome owed to its extended advantages which include mobility, flexibility and even resilience among many other factors (Givehchi, Trsek & Jasperneite, 2013). Today’s business activities call for many diverse technological applications which push companies such as SoftArc to invest in cost friendly solutions that provide resources such as database systems, emails and document processing systems. The cloud solution can offer these services, particularly IaaS and SaaS cloud computing models as shown below.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a service)
IaaS offers storage and other computer resources as a service, therefore it outlines hardware as a virtualised resource that is leased by subscribers. Now, SoftArc could lease these resource to host all its office requirements i.e. emails, datasets and document processing resource. Moreover, this model would offer extended control to the company’s resources since they would be responsible for maintaining their own application requirements. These requirements would necessitate resources such as software applications to host their office automation requirements. Nevertheless, this service model would substantially lower the company’s expenditures as the cost varies with the usage requirements i.e. pay per use basis (Shawish & Salama, 2014).
SaaS (Software as a service)
An alternative service model that SoftArc could use to host their office resource requirements. In this model, all the requirements would be handled by the service provider, from storage to software resources. In essence, the company would lease all office service/solutions from a cloud provider which would lower most of the expenditure costs involved. However, the model has limited control as the subscriber can only access the end results with minimal interaction with the back-end activities, facilities that are left to the service providers (Gamaleldin, 2013). To point a picture of the service provided by SaaS consider the services offered by the likes of Google and Yahoo through their Gmail and Yahoo mail services. Basically, SoftArc would only need the access devices to use their leased resources.
Benefits and issues of IaaS and SaaS
Based on their applications, resource requirements and control these service models offer certain benefits that are related to SoftArc. Moreover, they also do poses some problems that sometimes limit the practicality and application, below are table outlining these factors.
IaaS
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Benefits
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Issues
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Generally, IaaS lowers the setup and maintenance costs of establishing office automation. This outcome outlines it as a cost effective solution.
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Security and privacy issue more so because of its extended control.
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Offers extended mobility, resilience and flexibility.
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When heavy resources are accessed it’s prone to technical problems e.g. downtime.
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Subscriber has extended control thus is able to customise his/her services.
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Vendor lock down more so when a subscriber substantially invest in a given service provider.
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SaaS
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Benefits
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Issues
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Easily adopted in any given environment, because of its minimal resource requirements (only an access device).
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Privacy issue more so due to its secretive nature, subscriber do not know where their data is stored.
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Minimal setup and maintenance costs.
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Security concerns
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Simple and seamless interaction
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Management problems as it’s a developing technology.
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(Brodkin, 2010)
Recommendation
SaaS offers the best solution to SoftArc as its services match the company’s resource requirements. Moreover, the company has minimal development venture which would warrant extended control. Therefore, a simple solution that offers integrated services across all platforms (UNIX and Windows) would suffice, hence, the recommendation of SaaS.
2: On-premise resources vs. IaaS
Locally hosted infrastructure represent in-house facilities that are used to support an organisation data centre requirements. In this model, an organisation will host its data server and other resources within the confines of its network be it a local area network or even a wide area network. Therefore, through this technique all resource related to the I.T. infrastructure are based on the organisation's premises thus the name on-premise equipment (Shawish & Salama, 2014). Consider the facilities owned by SoftArc where different data centres are located within the confines of the organisation across its branches i.e. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This scenario is a good representation of on-premise solutions.
IaaS, on the other hand, offers similar services to on-premise solutions, however, will involve virtualized resources that are leased to users on a per-use basis. Moreover, similar to data centre resources, it will offer storage and other familiar computational resources. However, the software installation and maintenance falls within the jurisdiction of the user which increases his accessibility and control (Huth & Cebula, 2011).
IaaS migration issues
According to Jaiswal &Rohankar (2014), the recent and widespread migration to IaaS solutions is facilitated by the model’s flexibility and extended business capabilities. However, several factors and conditions must be considered before the said migration particularly when dealing with web infrastructure which is mostly hosted in public cloud resources.
Compatibility – Although it’s majorly a hardware solution, IaaS will operate based on the supporting software applications. Therefore, an organisation like SoftArc should compare the proposed cloud solution with its existing web applications to avoid operation failures or delays (Memon, 2015).
Security consideration – IaaS offers extended control more so because the user has the responsibility of installing and maintaining the software resources. Moreover, the resources offered by the service provider are always questioned as the service providers offer resources in an undisclosed location unknown to the user. Therefore, the users must assess the resource offered and implement the appropriate security measures to safeguard their data (Jaiswal. P & Rohankar, 2014).
Paradigm shift – Cloud computing presents a drastic shift in resource provision which can heavily affect the proceeding of any given organisation. SoftArc must sensitise its employees on the new applications to help them adjust and understand the services offered by a third party organisation.
Planning and maintenance considerations – Despite its benefits cloud computing is still a high-risk venture that all organisations should evaluate before implementing. Its preference must be based on practicality and affordability not, its popularity among users.
(Datardina, 2015; Bhalerao, 2017)
3: Cloud computing service models
In previous tasks we have discussed two major service models of cloud computing however, little detail has been given in relation to their differences. Moreover, only IaaS and SaaS have been highlighted which has left PaaS (platform as a service) out of the discussion. Nevertheless, as seen before, IaaS, as seen before, offers infrastructure (hardware) as a virtualized service. In this case, computer resources such as storage, servers and networking requirements are provided virtually by a third party (service provider) to the users (subscribers) (Khurana &Verma, 2013).
On the other hand, SaaS offers software provisions such as emails through web applications. In essence, users can access their resources stored in a service providers servers so long as they have an internet connection. Finally, we have PaaS where development platforms are provided as a service. Therefore, the third party provides the hardware and software requirements while the user stipulates the business implementation of the applications (Khurana &Verma, 2013).
Recommendation
Let’s assess the resource and service requirements of SoftArc in this given scenario, the company needs a hosting service that is able to offer collaborative tools with extended functionalities and deployment capabilities. Furthermore, these tools should be accessible using different platforms that are also highly customizable. By elimination, IaaS stand no chance as it offers computer resources without deployment tools. On the other hand, IaaS may serve the purpose but will offer minimal control that SoftArc requires to enhance its customization requirements. Therefore, PaaS is perfect for the role having the necessary tools (as offered as a platform) and its extended capabilities. Moreover, PaaS will offer supportive applications such as server Softwares and operating systems which will be adequate to host the company’s deployment tools (Colman, 2013). Finally, PaaS does offer collaborative support where decision are guided by reviews of the established service.
Foreseeable problems/issues and their solutions
Service operations and standards – When applied PaaS will use the standards offered by the service provider, this goes for the infrastructure as well as the Software requirements. Moreover, the service will function optimally if the terms and policies of these standards are maintained. However, in an event, they are changed either by customization or by a change in a service provider operational problems may be experienced. Nevertheless, the solution to this problem is to employ open standards in an event customizations are done.
System compatibility – SoftArc will still use its existing data centres to support its operations through the cloud-based solutions. These two resources may have varying standards e.g. languages thus develop issues in the deployment process. As a solution or mitigation procedure, SoftArc should ensure their service provider offers services using standards that are compatible with their existing systems.
Maturity – Cloud computing is a dynamic technology that is still in its early stages of development. PaaS, in particular, is the least mature model offered by cloud computing and thus still requires a lot of maintenance and support. An organisation should, therefore, integrate its functionalities in stages while monitoring the progress as highlighted by its initial objectives
(CIO, 2017)
References
Brodkin. J. (2010). 5 problems with SaaS security. Network world. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.networkworld.com/article/2219462/saas/5-problems-with-saas-security.html
CIO. (2017). PaaS: 3 Critical Issues to Consider. Retrieved 29 March, 2017, from: https://www.cio.com/article/2939697/cloud-computing/paas-3-critical-issues-to-consider.html
Colman. E. (2013). When to use SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Compute next. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.computenext.com/blog/when-to-use-saas-paas-and-iaas/
Datardina. M. (2015). Ten Things to Consider Before Moving to the Cloud. Charted professional accountants Canada. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.cpacanada.ca%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fsite%2Fbusiness-and-accounting-resources%2Fdocs%2Ften-things-to-consider-before-moving-to-the-cloud-february-2015.pdf
Gamaleldin. A. (2013). An Introduction to Cloud Computing Concepts. Software Engineering Competence Center. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.secc.org.eg/recocape/SECC_Tutorials_An%20Introduction%20to%20Cloud%20Computing%20Concepts.pdf
Jaiswal. P & Rohankar. A. (2014). Infrastructure as a Service: Security Issues in Cloud Computing. International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile Computing, 3(3). Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://ijcsmc.com/docs/papers/March2014/V3I3201499a38.pdf
Khurana. S & Verma. A. (2013). Comparison of Cloud Computing Service Models: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS. International journal of electronics and communication technology, 4(3). Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.iject.org/vol4/spl3/c0100.pdf
Memon. F. (2015). 3 Cloud Architectures with NGINX Plus. NGINX. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.nginx.com/blog/cloud-architectures/ Shawish. A & Salama. M. (2014). Cloud Computing: Paradigms and Technologies. Inter- Cooperative Collective Intelligence: Techniques and Applications. Retrieved 25 March, 2017, from: https://www.springer.com%2Fcda%2Fcontent%2Fdocument%2Fcda_downloaddocument%2F9783642350153-c2.pdf%3FSGWID%3D0-0-45-1429336-p175276227&usg=AFQjCNHxH7ZZmllA0My4TYzwtFhkRHpi7A&sig2=IQMAAym6aRfdx_ge3pHXNQ&bvm=bv.150729734,d.ZGg
