Cloud Computing Merits and Demerits
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the use of computing resources that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the internet). End users access cloud-based applications through a desktop or web browser or mobile app while the business software and user’s data are stored on servers at a remote location. It allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with less maintenance and improved manageability and enables it to rapidly adjust resources to meet uncertain business demand.
Buying computers for everyone in an organization can be costly in terms of both the hardware and software but cloud computing provides an impressive alternative. Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, one just needs to load one application which would allow workers to log into a web-based service hosting all the programs.
If you have had an e-mail account with a service like Hotmail or Gmail, then you’ve already had an experience with cloud computing. Thus, in place of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log into a web e-mail account remotely — the software and storage for your account exist on the service’s computer cloud.
A cloud computing system consists of two sections: the front end and the back end, which connect to each other through a network, mostly the internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. The back end is the “cloud” section consisting of various computers, servers, and data systems that create the “cloud” of computing services.
Problems in Cloud Computing?
Although cloud computing appears to be the next best use of the internet to cut costs and provide IT services, it does suffer from Some problems like For example, the cloud model has been criticized by privacy advocates for the greater ease in which the firms hosting the cloud services control the communication and data stored between the user and the host firm.
According to Cloud Computer Security Techniques and Tactics, believes that using a cloud service provider (CSP) can complicate privacy of data. That is because of the extent to which virtual machines and cloud storage are used to implement cloud service. The main point is that CSP operations and customer data may not remain on the same system, or in the same data centre, leading to legal concerns over jurisdiction. Also, these CSPs could accidentally or deliberately delete data.
Finally if a cloud computing firm has a lot of clients, there’s likely to be high demand for a lot of storage space. Thus, some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. As a norm, cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it requires to keep all its clients’ information stored: More storage helps to maintain client’s information and enable the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data otherwise unreachable.
Although cloud computing is becoming popular, there are several unanswered questions. Does the user or company subscribing to the cloud service own the data? Is it possible for a cloud computing firm to deny a client access to that client’s data? Several firms, law firms, and universities are debating these questions about the future of cloud computing.