Examples for Cloud Deployment Models in a Business Environment
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therefore easier for companies to implement cloud services into business
processes. Frequently mentioned advantages are also costs. A company does not
need to make high investments into hardware and software infrastructure, because
the computing power lies in the cloud and is provisioned to the consumer. Thus
investment costs are substituted by recurring, monthly expenses for a service
(
Vogel, Kocoglu, & Berger, 2010, p. 127) & (Laszewski & Prakash, 2011, pp. 7-8).
However a basic IT infrastructure is still required to access these on-demand
services. Cloud services imply a shift of responsibilities. Previously it was a
company’s IT department’s task to maintain the infrastructure, perform software
updates and patches, as well as to upgrade hardware and to backup files. In most
cases the cloud service provider assumes the responsibility for these tasks. In
combination with Big Data, cloud services open new opportunities to access
business relevant data from a big pool of information. Data mining technologies and
algorithms like Apache Hadoop and Google’s MapReduce can help companies
receiving valuable strategic inputs for their purposes (Steinberg, 2012) & (Dumbill,
2012).
Cloud-driven companies can also profit from newly available resources
gained from within the company. Due to the shift from a technologically-oriented IT
department into a service-oriented one, a company is able to focus on strategic
goals instead of maintaining its IT infrastructure. Hence cloud services can have a
positive impact on the strategic alignment of a company by giving the IT department
new responsibilities, tasks and priorities (Faltus, 2013) & (Vormwald, 2013). In this
context the creation of new jobs is also directly derived from “Big Data” and cloud
services, like the “Data Scientist” (Lilien, Rangaswamy, & De Bruyn, 2007, pp. 4-6).
Another aspect that makes cloud services equally attractive to consumers and
businesses is its device independence and the centralized storage of data. A user
can access cloud services regardless from location or device (e.g. PC, laptop,
smartphone or tablet pc), the only requirement is an Internet connection. This
degree of independence can be advantageous not only on-premise, but also off-
premise during business trips for example. A user has always access to the system
(
Faltus, 2013) & (Vogel, Kocoglu, & Berger, 2010, p. 128).
