Cost is generally one of the primary reasons for moving a business application or data center to the cloud. While there may be a low cost associated with developing and deploying an e-commerce application, the parallel need for hardware and bandwidth may turn out to be expensive.
Generally, a cloud-based initiative on a virtualized server may save a company 80% of the costs normally associated with a traditional e-commerce roll out. 6
Speed
:A company may be able to roll out an e-commerce application five times faster than before and begin selling immediately on the remote platform.
Scalability:
Often referred to as ―elastic‖, these cloud services allow a business to scale quickly and support seasonal spikes in demand or those triggered by special promotions.8
Security
:Securing applications, physical facilities and networks is a critical consideration. Many cloud vendors complete third-party certification, including ISO 27001 and SysTrust audits. VI has been audited in for ISO 9001 and ISO 27001. Further security measures are implemented at the application, facility and network levels including data encryption, biometric screening of personnel and certification through third-party vulnerability assessment programs.7
Interoperability
:The explosive growth in cloud ecommerce offerings in the next few years will also see an increase in the ability to share information between clouds and communities of clouds. Leading-edge cloud vendors will offer a standards-based framework, which allows programmatic access for users, partners and others who want to leverage additional functionality from within the cloud.
Cloud computing involves the provision of computer, component, or a network of virtual resources online. In essence, it is Internet‐based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided online to computers and other devices on‐demand, like a public utility over the Internet.1 It is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet and describes a new concept for IT services. A paradigm from
and consequence of the ease‐of‐access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet.2
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the earlier models used to depict the telephone network, and its relationship with the Internet in computer network diagrams.3 Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers' computing needs and generally have five essential characteristics: on‐demand self‐service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.4 Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.
Experientially, the concept and definition of cloud computing and its infrastructure currently consists of reliable services delivered through data centers that are built on computer and storage virtualization technologies. These services are accessible anywhere in the world, with ―the cloud‖ appearing as a single point of access for all the computing needs of consumers. Since clouds cross many countries borders, it may soon become the ultimate form of globalisation.5 As such it is the subject of complex geopolitical issues, whereby
providers must satisfy many legal restrictions in order to deliver service to a global market. Cloud computing is being driven by providers such as Google, Amazon and Yahoo as well as traditional vendors including IBM, Intel, Microsoft and SAP.
Commercial offerings need to meet the quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer service level agreements when necessary with open standards source software being critical to the growth of cloud computing.
As customers generally do not own the infrastructure or know all details about cloud computing, they most often consume the resources as a service. Many cloud computing providers have adopted the utility computing model which is analogous to how traditional public utilities like electricity are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis. By sharing consumable and
"intangible" computing power between multiple tenants, utilization rates can be improved (as servers are not left idle). This reduces costs significantly while increasing the speed of application development.
Today, cloud computing is enabling IT professionals to rethink the entire packaging, delivery, and operation of e‐ business. The concept of e‐business is a simple one. Electronic business, commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or
"e‐business", is the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Electronic commerce therefore focuses on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the business with individuals, groups and other businesses.8
Cloud computing is helping businesses advance their e‐business models. This changing relationship between cloud computing and e‐business will result in a
capacity or add capabilities without increasing cost, that is, investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Since cloud computing deals with sharing resources online, it becomes easier to market, and share resources within the changing global market. This saves a lot of commuting costs, collateral material costs (letter headed, papers and envelopes) and presents the added opportunity of online web hosting and e‐meetings.
Cloud Computing however is not without its issues. It poses the problem of securing sensitive and personal data ―in the wild‖ on the internet. As physical data will be stored off premises, companies will need to take steps to ensure data security by inquiring about some of the security policies employed by the Cloud provider. Regulatory compliance, user access control policies and procedures, business continuity/disaster recovery and change management are all important factors a client should consider when migrating to the services offered by a Cloud provider.
As it is with electronic advancement such as cloud computing and e‐business, there are additional security concerns. Although controllable, certain pertinent issues such as identity theft, online fraud, credit card cloning and other online scams have led to a need for greater security. Consequently, IT security, through cloud computing is needed to enhance the e‐business requirement for safe working operations. As such, security compliance becomes indispensable.
Proactive strategies need to be put in place to prevent information from being hijacked from within the Cloud, and measures also need to be taken by the providers of Cloud Computing to ensure that any changes and modifications they make to the software does not compromise the security of their clients.
This information security approach therefore becomes a watch dog for the cloud computing and e‐business process and makes sure all necessary security protocols are met and upheld. Since Information security helps bridge the gap between both processes, it inadvertently checkmates the negative implications of using cloud computing to enhance the e‐business process.
The future seems promising for the Cloud Computing platform. WCS has the experience and capacity to effectively manage and implement cloud computing processes and has done so in the past. WCS aims to be the final definitive solution for businesses which rely on and require a more secure cloud as a means to effectively and efficiently conduct e‐business. A safer cloud means safer e‐business practices and WCS is a resource to achieve this goal.
Summary
:For IT departments in larger enterprises, developing a private cloud often makes the most financial and business sense. When developing the architectural vision, an enterprise architect should bear in mind the characteristics of cloud computing as well as consider some of the organizational and cultural issues that might become obstacles to the adoption of the future state architecture.
When moving ahead, decisions must be made on whether the future-state technical architecture should emphasize compatibility with the current standard or start from scratch to minimize cost. Future state systems architecture designs involve trade-offs between lower cost/operational efficiency and greater flexibility. Using an Enterprise Architecture framework can help enterprise architects navigate the trade-offs and design a system that accomplishes the business goal.