This week, for the 1%, I want you to read the blog post entitled `Ultra Lean Government – Open source best practices and the Cloud` found at this source.
http://www.sys-con.com/node/1608498
LINK
The Cloud represents a major change in how we interact with software such as ArcGIS or MapInfo. After reading this article please give your thoughts on the benefits and challenges represented by a mass-migration to cloud computing. The campus students have some experience with the cloud so any insights learned would be helpful.
Please make sure you post your comments by Sunday this week (29th) - posts after Sunday will not receive the 1% mark.
Paul
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ReplyDeleteCloud computing has both positives and negatives. I personally think the cloud is a great way to store data. Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive etc are so convenient for switching between devices without having to use a USB drive, and is a great backup for data. This is also a benefit for businesses or governments, where the users are not limited to accessing data in one place. The economic savings is obviously a positive one and for some companies it can save a lot of time and energy in acquiring and managing the servers involved in on-site storage.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of open-source software, cloud computing is also probably the most cost efficient method to use, maintain and upgrade. Software costs companies a lot, along with licensing fees for multiple users can prove to be very expensive for the company concerned. In the cloud, software integration is usually something that occurs automatically, saving time and effort to customize and integrate your applications for your particular preferences.
A limitation to the cloud is the security factor. Using a third party to store your data requires a level of trust which many businesses may not be required to give. There is a strong obligation on government bodies to store their data securely because much of it is very sensitive, relating to the employment, health, or social welfare of the people. Even if the cloud was proven to be secure, there would still be reservations about entrusting the storage of this data to a third party.
Also as Niamh has mentioned, the fact that the cloud is dependent on the Internet is an important factor to consider. Cloud computing will only work with the Internet and large datasets would require a high speed connection which isn’t yet viable everywhere.
As the article mentions cloud computing is a cost and time efficient method that can potentially enhance businesses and our daily use of computers. Cloud computing allow I.T. professionals focus their time on developing new applications rather than maintaining out-dated systems. In addition, with the improvement of data interoperation through open standards lay citizens and organisations can access and share information easily and work/research more effectively and quicker. The low cost of renting space on a cloud rather than quickly filling a server would also be a great advantage to businesses and government organisations.
ReplyDeleteWith the cloud, data can be accessed anywhere in the world on any computer with an internet connection. As Niamh and Vanessa have pointed out, internet connections can be problematic especially if you consider that a large portion of Irish residents and companies do not have access to high speed fiber broadband. The safety of the data uploaded to a cloud can also be an issue, you just have to look at the scandal last year where celebrity photos stored on the iCloud were leaked all over the internet.
As Niamh, Vanessa and Carol pointed out, cloud computing is a cost effective and flexible delivery platform for providing consumer or business IT services. Its resources can be deployed fast, are scalable, etc. But security (again as Niamh and Vanessa mention), is a challenge. It is difficult to physically locate where data is stored in the cloud, and traditional security processes are now hidden. Particularly, regarding data protection, as of 2014, only 1% of cloud providers met proposed EU Data Protection Requirements (http://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-blog/only-1-in-100-cloud-providers-meet-proposed-eu-data-protection-requirements/).
ReplyDeleteAs exposed above, the main limitations and risks of cloud computing are the need of high speed internet connexion and that the security of the data and the privacy of the users are more vulnerable compared with the traditional computing. These limitations and risks can only be minimized by investing as many resources as the challenge requires. The volume of such investment decreases as the technology spreads. The future of cloud computing will lie on the balance between the benefits that it can offer and the limitations subject to the nature of this technology. Among the benefits that cloud computing offers, one of these advantages is its capability to minimize the direct costs by reducing and centralizing the infrastructures. Furthermore, cloud computing offers flexibility and organisational agility that will dynamic the computational operations globally, generating new business models and new services for the end users. The combination of Geo-information technologies with cloud computing technologies have also great potential for providing on request meaningful spatial data to users and stakeholders who do not have the required skills and logistics to generate such data.
ReplyDeleteCloud computing will offer services with potential benefits to users, mainly users from highly developed areas; nevertheless the efforts invested in privacy, security and will of spreading technology should be as great as the efforts invested in developing that technology.
Hi Paul and all,
ReplyDeleteI don't want to repeat what others have said so will just make a few observations.
Cloud computing is a vast area and I suspect that the term will die a natural death as it becomes more and more ubiquitous in the same way that we don't talk about "colour" television anymore. Even "smart" phones are so common now that we'll soon drop the adjective.
The benefits of services like Facebook and DropBox are so great that we tend to ignore the security risks. Also, security has many dimensions. Storing documents locally carries the risk that you'll lose them if you have a fire in your house. Storing them on the cloud and there is less risk that they disappear, but more risk they'll be read by the NSA ;-)
Software as a Service (SaaS) which the author discusses for SAP, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and Siebel, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, is definitely growing.
However this is very dependent on the type of system. CRM is pretty standard from one company to another. Given a common set of business requirements, they can be offered as SaaS.ERP is quite different in that different companies and organisations will have very different requirements for their financial, human resource and supply chain management. Big companies are unlikely to move quickly to SaaS as it would be too expensive to adapt their business processes. Also, it would be difficult and expensive for a SaaS provider to offer a service that meets everyone's requirements.
Server hosting is also part of "cloud computing". Running a large system on servers that are provided for you is one thing, and having the software provided as a service is quite another beast.
Paul ... can you comment on "BlackBoard"? I've heard that it's used by a few universities so could be SaaS. It's a classic case of something that could be SaaS as many universities will have similar requirements. That is, present lectures and reading materials, have discussions and tutorials, get students to submit assignments, etc.
Best regards, Justin
Hi Justin,
DeleteThere is I think a limited, fairly new, cloud offering of Blackboard, but only for North America HE and schools:
http://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_2014_04/Administrator/005_Learn_Saas_Deployment_Option
Marcus
Thanks Marcus. The link you gave has a nice summary of the benefits. One can easily imagine a CIO being seduced.
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ReplyDeleteThe opinion as presented by the author of the reviewed article is that the ‘ideal role of Cloud technologies is that of enabler of ‘Open sourcing best practices’’. This in principle, like all ‘open’ architecture is very noble, though arguably somewhat unrealistic in real terms. However, if in fact what the article is attempting to say, is that the cloud makes an ideal platform for the global resourcing of ‘open’ technologies that allows for associated best practice, then this is maybe a more attainable conception since hosted infrastructure is obviously globally available, so, why not use it as such!
ReplyDeleteThe golden goose of cloud-based resourcing is of course ‘the improved ability to define and control VfM – Value for Money’. However, this needs to be coupled with effective ‘scaling of resources’ in effect virtualisation of infrastructure so that a commerce website can be allocated more compute resource in terms of increased demand at peak times of commercial activity. Scalable resourcing means a client can control costs more effectively as they only need to buy what they need when they need it. So with cloud and virtual, the vender can simply buy more resource as required, and because of the increasingly common rental/leasing model for cloud solutions, there is no big up-front cost. Therefore, as mentioned in the article ‘the full magic of this technology will be realised through its ability to unblock the ‘Innovation Gridlock’’.
In relation to Government agencies, the perceived benefits of Cloud-based resourcing is that it ‘enables agencies to adopt new ways of working, quicker and for less cost, thus improving service’. However, fewer agencies are supported in the adoption of new technology than the American government would like. The Cloud paradigm has been slow to be innovated by large cooperations and in effect, fewer agencies are improving how efficiently they operate their processes. The problem here is that this not only slows down agency efficiency but also progress on the whole.The vision of Information technology moving into a leadership role that drives strategic organisational change is a progressive one, and it may take some time before the ‘agency accountant’ who it always in control in any business, allows the company’s technology and/or information officers to finally get a recognised role of authority in company board meetings!
The value of cloud It systems and global sharing of best practices is a good aspiration and if it does not come to fruition on a large scale it most certainly will be achieved on a small and local scale.
In my post I will mainly focus on the advantages and new possibilities offered by cloud computing, particularly on the GIS domain. Reducing hardware limitations and be able to scale your resources up and down according to the demand, leads to a whole new way of data processing and new developments on the processing of spatial data.
ReplyDeleteProbably the most noteworthy and promising GIS SaaS is Google’s Earth Engine (https://earthengine.google.org/#intro). Still in demo mode, it does not only provide computer space and power but also gives access to a huge collection of geographic data, including 40 years of Landsat imagery! Additional data include MODIS mosaics, free global environmental variables as well as already processed products, like the global deforestation. In addition, the user has access to a variety of image processing algorithms, in order to apply operations at will and public the results on the cloud.
Earth Engine applies the concepts of scalable and elastic computation, offering impressive computing power to the users. A characteristic example of its capabilities it is the processing of more than 20 terapixels of Landsat data, using more than 10,000 computers at the same time (http://googleresearch.blogspot.nl/2013/11/the-first-detailed-maps-of-global.html).
As per the article and the above comments, there are many advantages to cloud computing in terms of accessibility and storage. Also disadvantages in terms of security and privacy, not to mention complexity.
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on the case of Geoplace which is a limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey which manages the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and the National Street Gazetteer (NSG). It has been Geoplace's (and its predecessor Intelligent Addressing) ambition for several years hold the NLPG and NSG in the cloud. The plan is to have the local authorities, who supply the information for the NLPG and the NSG, create, amend and delete data directly to the cloud rather than using existing proprietary software. The local authorities use a wide range of different software to update these gazetteers and these are linked internally to other functions such as planning and CRMs.
It is, by Geoplace's own account, an extremely complex task, and one that has been going on for at least 10 years. We are told it may become a reality next year. Maybe.
If used correctly and to the extent that is about necessary then working with data in the cloud can bring numerous benefits for organisations. Computing in the cloud is probably about the most cost efficient manner of sharing and collaboratively working with data. Desktop software costs alot in terms of finance, licencing etc and cloud is available at much discounted rates and can significantly lower IT costs. Other scaled payment options are often encountered giving flexibility in cloud usage and costs. Further obvious benefit is the available storage of data. There is little requirement to consider upgrading data storage capability internally. Although there are some concerns about security of cloud storage as has been in the 'celebrity' sphere and elsewhere, it is usually the case that cloud providers are capable at retrieving data and updating security processes. Additionally software integration is something that occurs automatically and allows great customisation.
ReplyDeleteOf course the ease of access to information and quick deployment of cloud services are further benefits in today's competitive business environment.
The downside to cloud computing boils down to the fact you are handing over responsibility for your data security and often integrity to someone else. This increases the risk from such aspects as 'insider' attacks. Further anytime you store data on the internet it is vulnerable to some degree to cyber attack in many forms,no matter how small the risk or impressive the security.
In the final analysis it comes down to the long standing issue of finding a balance between ease of access of information and providing this securely.
Many benefits and pitfalls of a mass migration to the cloud have been highlighted by previous bloggers. My feelings are mixed. New applications can be produced quickly and made easily available. Innovative applications could be produced quickly by developers which would be ideal in crises.
ReplyDeleteHowever, who is policing these applications? Applications built in-house can be maintained by in-house programmers and have service agreements. It seems to me easier to keep track of these applications than ones spread over the cloud.
Will these applications be maintained? Will business practices keep changing with the advent of new cloud applications? Does it matter?
Cloud computing is good as it has everything in one place that can be accessed from anywhere (in the world). I think moving all of your information online, their still must be a maximum storage amount? Has it just not been reached yet? Do you pay more for putting more files online? While putting all this information online is good does it not also leave these company files more open to hacking.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love the way that the world is advancing I just don't feel that all companies are moving at the same speed. Yes these courses may help it there are still to many companies which have people at the top making decisions that aren't willing to move with the flow, this is the biggest challenge.