Cloud Solutions to Software Development Companies
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This paper discusses ways for software companies to integrate cloud hosting solutions with their organizational infrastructure to derive benefits. Pointers on leveraging cloud computing to ensure robust software development are shared.
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Cloud Solutions to Software Development Companies
- 2. Abstract 3 Whatis“CloudComputing”? 3 TypesofCloud 4 Cloudhostingsolutions 6Cloudhostingsolutions 6 BenefitsofCloudServicesforCompanies 7 BenefitsofCloudServices(PaaSandIaaS)forSoftwareDevelopers 8 IssuesandConcerns 9 Conclusion 10Conclusion 10 Reference 10 AuthorInfo 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------- TableofContents
- 5. ©2013,HCLTechnologies.ReproductionProhibited.ThisdocumentisprotectedunderCopyrightbytheAuthor,allrightsreserved. CloudSolutionstoSoftwareDevelopmentCompanies|5 SoftwareasaService(SaaS):Inthistypeofbusinessmodel,cloudprovidersofferuserstoaccesstheir applicationsrunningonaremotecloudinfrastructure.Suchapplicationshostedonthecloudcanbe accessedfrom differentdevices,suchasawebbrowseroraprogram/applicationinterface.SaaSisalso knownas“on-demand”software;heretheusersimplyaccessesthesoftwareatanypointoftimewithout worryingabouttheelementarycloudinfrastructure(servers,network,storage,operatingsystemsor relevantapplicationcapabilities). Publiccloud:Thistypeofcloudinfrastructurecanbeaccessedandusedbyanyuseratanylocation.It maybeowned,managedandrunbyaprivatebusiness,academicorgovernmentorganizationoramixof oneormoreofthem.Thedownturnisthattheyarethemostsusceptibletovirusattacks,hacksand unauthorizedaccessthusloweringthelevelofdataconfidentialityconsiderably. Privatecloud:Suchcloudinfrastructureisprovisionedforexclusiveusebyasinglecompanyorentity, comprisingofmultipleconsumers(e.g.,departmentsandSBU’s)..Sincetheyareoff-limitstogeneral publicoutsidetheorganization,thesecloudsofferthegreatestlevelofsecurityandcontrol.Theyare however,moreexpensivethanpublicclouds,asthecompanyisstillrequiredtopurchaseandmaintainall thesoftwareandinfrastructureneededforaccuratefunctioningofthecloud. Platform asaService(PaaS):Thismodelallowsconsumerstodevelopanddeployvarioussoftware applicationsonacloudbasedplatform thatsupportsspecificprogramminglanguages,libraries,services andtools.Sincethedemandsofmarketandbusinessarevaried,businessesmighthavetolookinto employingdifferentplatformsasandwhenneeded.Theyneednotincurthecostandcomplexityof buyingandmanagingthehardwareandsoftwarewheneverthedemandcomesup.Again,theactual managementoradministrationofthebasiccloudinfrastructureisnotaccessiblebytheuser,buttheycanmanagementoradministrationofthebasiccloudinfrastructureisnotaccessiblebytheuser,buttheycan accessandexecutedeployedapplicationsandconfigurationsettings(partialaccess)forthe application-hostingenvironment. Thiscapabilityprovidesdifferentresources requiredforprocessing,networks,storageandother fundamentalcomputingactivities.IaaSenablestheconsumer toexecutetherequiredsoftware,applications,andalsoaccess operatingsystems.Theuserdoesnotmanageormonitorthe basiccloudinfrastructure. IaaSisthemostbasicmodelandeachhighermodelabstractsfrom theIaaSisthemostbasicmodelandeachhighermodelabstractsfrom the detailsofthelowermodel.ThecloudpyramidcanberepresentedasshowninFigure1. IaaS-InfrastructureCloudIaaS-InfrastructureCloud SaaS- ApplicationCloud SaaS- ApplicationCloud Machine User Components Services Storage Computer Network PaaS-Platform CloudPaaS-Platform Cloud InfrastructureasaService(IaaS): 2.Location-basedtypesofclouds Basedonacloudlocation(deploymentmodel),wecanclassifyacloudaspublic,private,hybrid,or communitycloud.Clouddeploymentlocationcanbeselectedbasedonthetypeofdata,application anddifferentlevelsofcontrol,securityandextentofapplicationmanagementrequiredforyour cloudservice.
- 6. ©2013,HCLTechnologies.ReproductionProhibited.ThisdocumentisprotectedunderCopyrightbytheAuthor,allrightsreserved. CloudSolutionstoSoftwareDevelopmentCompanies|6 Hybridcloud:Hybridcloudisablendoftwoormoredistinctlocationbasedclouds(private,community orpublic).Companiescanruneachaspectoftheirbusinessmoreefficientlybyspreadingthingsovera hybridcloud..Thekeydownsidehereistheneedtomonitormultiplesecurityplatformsandensure relevantcollaborationbetweendifferententitieswithinthebusiness. Communitycloud:Thistypeofcloudinvolvesclosecollaborationacrossorganizationsorasingle communitythathaveacommoninterest(e.g.ITsecurity,knowledgemanagement,orHR/staffing). Itmaybeowned,managedandoperatedbyoneormorecompaniesthatarepresentwithinthe community(in-house)orcanbeoutsourcedtoathirdparty(off-premises).Thecostsarespreadover fewerusersthanapubliccloudbutmorethanaprivatecloud. PublicCloud PrivateCloud Cloudhostingsolutions Canbeusedbymultipleclients Hostedatprovider’slocation Hostedatprovider’slocationorin-house Sharedinfrastructure Sharedordedicatedinfrastructure AccessoverInternetonly Accessoverintranetoraprivatenetwork Non-guaranteedresources Guaranteedresources Lowcost Costlierthanpubliccloud Securebutvulnerable HighlysecureSecurebutvulnerable Highlysecure No/Limitedoptionforcustomization Customizationpossibleasperorganizational needs Singleclientaccess/use Wenowexaminehowthesoftwaredevelopmentindustrycangainbyusingcloudsolutionsfor theirprojectdevelopment.Cloudcomputingprovidescompleteflexibilitytocompaniestomeetthe dynamicbusinessneedsfordifferentprojects.Thisisachievedatarelativelylowcostcombined withbettermanagement.AbusinessneednotpumpinhighcapitaltoinvestinITassetsorlicensing foreveryproject,thussavingconsiderablyonprojectscosts. Cloudinfrastructureservices(IaaS)deliversITinfrastructuresuchasaplatform virtualization environment,storage,andnetworking.Insteadofpurchasingsoftware,serversornetwork equipment,theprojectcanusevirtualmachinesonthecloudtoexecutetheirapplicationsor programs.Also,developershavethefreedom tousetheinfrastructureavailableremotelytoinstall thenecessaryplatformsontopofit. Ifasoftwaredevelopmentbusinessweretodeterminethebesttypeofcloudmodel,itwillbean IaaS(InfrastructureasaService)andPaaS(PlatformasService)onaPublicorPrivatecloud.
- 7. ©2013,HCLTechnologies.ReproductionProhibited.ThisdocumentisprotectedunderCopyrightbytheAuthor,allrightsreserved. CloudSolutionstoSoftwareDevelopmentCompanies|7 Anywhere,Anytimeaccess–Usingcloudsystems,organizationscanaccesstheirapplicationsordata from anywhere,atanytime,usinganyofthemultiplechannelofaccessavailabletothem –beit smartphones,tablets,laptopsorworkstations. Lowhardwarecost–Oneofthekeybenefitscloudsolutionsofferisthevirtuallynegligiblehardware coststhathelpsbusinessesimprovetheirrevenuesandbringdowncostsassociatedwithpurchasing licensingorupgradingofdifferenthardwarecomponents. Reducedsoftwarecost–Cloudsolutionseliminatestheneedtobuymultiplecopiesofasoftware solution.Asinglecopyisboughtforaremoteserverwhichcanthenbeaccessedbymultiplethinclients withintheorganization.ThisfavorsinternalITbudgetsandmakesthecompanymuchmoreprofitablein thelongrun. Lessmaintenance–CorporationscansavemoneyondedicatedITsupportasthehardwarewillbe hostedonaremotelocationthattheproviderswillberesponsiblefor.Anynewupdatestothesoftware andhardwarecanbeeasilyachievedonthecloudsystems. BenefitsofCloudServicesforCompanies Paas(Platform asservice)providestherequiredcomputinginfrastructure,hardwareandthe platformsthatareinstalledontopofthehardwareonacloudinfrastructure.PaaSallowsyoutoplatformsthatareinstalledontopofthehardwareonacloudinfrastructure.PaaSallowsyouto createsoftwareapplicationsusingsoftwarecomponentsavailableremotelyoncloud.WithPaaS, developerscanavailofaframeworkthattheycanbuildupontodeveloporcustomizeapplications basedonthevariousneedsofaparticularproject.PaaSmakestheapplicationbuilding,debugging, testing,andfinaldeploymentquicker,simplerandmorecost-effective.Italsoeliminatestheneed tobuytheunderlyinglayersofhardwareandsoftware,thusbringingdowntheoverallprojectcosts sizablywithoutcompromisingonthequalityofthefinaldeliverables. Manysmallandmedium sizedbusinessesarewitnessingthehugebenefitsofoptingforcloud services.Itisprovidingthem withamorelevelplayingfieldwiththeirenterpriserivalsandthus conductssustainablebusiness.Withoutcloudservices,itwasalmostunthinkableforsmalland medium sizedbusinessestostaycompetitiveinthemarketwithoutinvestinghugecapitalinsetting upinternalsystemsneededforprojectexecution.Now,eventhebigorganizationsarerealizingthe truepotentialofcloudservicesandaregraduallymovingtowardsembracingthesame. Additionally,withasuitablemiddleware,acloudcomputingsystem canalsobeusedasanormalAdditionally,withasuitablemiddleware,acloudcomputingsystem canalsobeusedasanormal thin-clientworkcomputer. Someoftheadvantagesofferedbycloudcomputinginclude-
- 9. ©2013,HCLTechnologies.ReproductionProhibited.ThisdocumentisprotectedunderCopyrightbytheAuthor,allrightsreserved. CloudSolutionstoSoftwareDevelopmentCompanies|9 IssuesandConcerns PaaSprovidesdeveloperswitheasierwaystocreateanddeploysoftwareontocloudinfrastructure. TheseincludeGUIs,sandboxes,programminglanguages,sharedservices,APIs,andotheronline toolsforsoftwaredevelopers.Developernolongerneedtoworryaboutinfrastructuresetupand caninsteadfocusmainlyonthedevelopmentprocessandtheinnovationtheycanbringaboutthis phaseoftheprojectlifecycle. Ascloudcomputingcontinuestotranscendmoreandmoreorganizations’ITobjectives,themain issueoftenfacedbywould-beadoptersisregardingthesecurityandprivacyofferedbycloudbased solutions.Largecompaniesareconcernedabouthavingtheirimportantdataonpubliccloud. Apartfrom theseissues,theotherconcernsareregulatorycompliance,reliabilityofcontinuous uptime,dataownershipandcredibilityofsuppliers.Inmanycases,theseissuescanbeaddresseduptime,dataownershipandcredibilityofsuppliers.Inmanycases,theseissuescanbeaddressed bycarefulfilteringofthevendorsandfollowingstringentsecurityproceduresandtosomeextent, buyinginsurance.Well-draftedServiceLevelAgreements(SLA)shouldaddresspotentialissues arisingfrom reliabilityandavailablebandwidth. Cloudusersprobablymaynotknowwheretheirdataishosted.Datathatmightbesecureinone countrymaynotbesecureinanother.Thiscanbeanotherproblem thatneedsITmanagers’ consideration.Also,thereareotherissuesthatneedtobeaddressed,like: a)Whoownsthedata, b)Whethercloudcomputingcompaniescanlegallydenyaclientitsdata,and c)Whatifthelocallawsallowit.