Abdul Hamid Merii
B00054104
MIS -201
1. What business benefits do cloud computing services provide? What problems do they solve?
Cloud Computing allows a business to access all of its applications and data through the use of an
internet connection. Some of the benefits include:
Ability to store large amounts of data at a relatively low price
Ability to have a large centralized database
Ability to find information quickly due to the centralization of the data
1. The Amazon Web Services Division allows for the allocation of large amounts of Data through
the use of Cloud Computing. Thus Amazon can increase their profits by decreasing their costs
and by focusing on tasks that are more valuable for the Company.
2. Zynga uses the Amazon Cloud in order to solve storage problems. Using the Amazon Cloud
Zynga can use the recourses it requires when it requires it.
2.What are the disadvantages of cloud computing?
Disadvantages of cloud computing:
Possible downtime without internet connection
Cloud Computing requires an internet connection at all times, and hence data is only accessible with
an internet connection.
Not only does cloud computing require an internet connection, it also requires a fast internet
connection with fast upload and download speeds, in order to have real time access to the required
recourses.
Security in the Cloud
Abdul Hamid Merii
B00054104
MIS -201
Storing information on the cloud can make the data vulnerable to external attacks. The data is stored on
the cloud meaning that any breach in the cloud servers could jeopardize the businesss data due to the
fact that all the data is linked on the servers of the cloud.
Incompatibility
Some Cloud Computing vendors may restrict the user to using a certain application package, and
hence making other applications that the user might use incompatible with the cloud itself.
Technical Issues & Lack of Support
Cloud Technology like any server oriented technology, may be prone to outages, which can bring
business to a halt. Depending on which vendor the company chooses customer care & service may
vary. Sometimes the companies are hard to contact, and may take time to reply and issue a fix to the
problem.
3. How the concepts of capacity planning, scalability, and TCO apply to this case? Apply these concepts
both to Amazon and to subscribers of its services.
Capacity planning is the process of forecasting when computer hardware systems become
saturated in order to ensure that adequate computing resources are available for the firm. Amazon must
plan its future needs to be capable of providing sufficient computing power for both AWS and Amazon
retail services.
Abdul Hamid Merii
B00054104
MIS -201
Scalability is defined as the flexibility of a system to handle expansion in order to account for more
data & recourses or to account for a larger user base. Amazon must provide its customers with a scalable
service in order to account for a shift in demand.
Total Cost Ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate intended to help buyer and owners determine
the direct and indirect cost of a product or system.
4. What kinds of business are most likely to benefit from using cloud computing. Why?
Cloud computing has begun to take off in the business world. Zynga is a good example of a company using
cloud computing to improve its business in a new way.
Higher Cost-Effectiveness
Zynga has the ability of choosing the cloud capacity it needs depending on how popular the game
becomes. It can take advantage of the Scalability of the Amazon cloud to account for its continuously
changing user base.
Prevention of Data Loss
Having a backup of user data on the cloud is becoming more and more popular. This allows the business
to account for loss of data. For example Zynga stores all of its user data in its Zcloud service, this allows
the user to regain access to his/her data incase it got corrupted on the local device.
Transferability of Data
With the Cloud a person is able to access the data from any device that has an internet connection. A
company with different office locations is able to capitalize on this by having a workers profile stored on
its cloud, hence giving the worker the ability to access his files from anywhere.
Abdul Hamid Merii
B00054104
MIS -201
Another Example is when a user of a Zynga game wants to switch devices. The user is able to access his/her
profile from any device thanks to the transferability of data with the cloud.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the key to any successful business. With the cloud users have the ability to collaborate
in real time, without the need of being restricted or being confined to the same space. For Example: a
company with many offices in around the world can benefit from this ability.
