Introduction
Using cloud-based services as part of business operations has become commonplace in the last decade. These services provide numerous advantages such as long-term cost reductions, create operational and resource-based efficiencies, while also providing scalable solutions for software, hardware, networking, and infrastructure alike. These services typically fall under one of three types: Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service. Small business must choose more carefully when considering moving parts of their business to the cloud. Beyond researching their own needs and goals to determine if cloud services are a good fit for their business, they must also consider which of the three will work best for them, as well as what type of deployment model to use.
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Cloud Services
Cloud services are generally defined as resources and capabilities of information technology that are offered off-premises by a third party, referred to as a Cloud Service Provider. Present day cloud-based services have expanded and can currently be categorized into one of three main types of services:
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Cloud-hosted software applications, typically subscription based
- Examples: MS Office 365, Slack, DocuSign Google Apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Docs
- Example Service Providers: Google Apps, Dropbox, Big Commerce
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Cloud-based software development tools
- Examples: Windows Azure, Amazon Web Services (Elastic Beanstalk), Google App Engine
- Example Service Providers: Amazon, Microsoft
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- Data centers & storage, servers, networking, virtualization
- Examples: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Cisco Metacloud, Google Compute Engine
- Example Service Providers: Rackspace, Google Compute Engine
The primary draws of using these services are that cloud services can help businesses save money and be more efficient with resources from a time, money, and human capital perspective, improve operational performance, improve security, as well as providing flexible and scalable platforms for business operations by outsourcing fractional or full information technology operations (Wamuyu, 2017).
Conversely, by leaving parts of a business to be cloud based, a business is giving up control since such services would then be with a third party and off-premises. In that same vein, businesses are at the mercy of the service provider to uphold security, privacy, and reliability which ultimately result in service level agreements to impose penalties when service providers fail to do so (Widyastuti & Irwansyah, 2017).
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Implementation
Small businesses make up 99.7% of the employers in the United States and they generate collectively as much data as large enterprises. Cloud service providers create a shared technology which small businesses can use without the large costs and resources involved to implement individually.
To determine if cloud services are a good fit for a small business, a phased approach is used for taking inventory of current practices and processes, current business needs and areas of opportunity, as well as identifying the mapping of applications and workloads (Attaran & Woods, 2018).
The first phase is the discovery phase, the business should learn about the different cloud services available, such as SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, and identify their desired goals for moving to cloud, and everyone from each department is involved in the conversation to cover every possible aspect.
Once the decision to implement cloud technology is made, it is important to document how the current service is used, to highlight and eliminate inefficient processes, and to discuss security practices, so that the transfer can be successful.
Ultimately, the business is ready to map their application and workloads to the cloud service which will meet their desired goals for the identified processes. In this last phase it is crucial to discuss advantages such as enhanced reliability, and greater collaboration, against possible obstacles such as lack of resources, or cost management.
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Deployment Models
At the end of this suggested research for a business to conduct prior to engaging in cloud services is a key implementation item, that of which deployment model to use. The four types of cloud deployment models are:
- Public cloud: With low upfront costs and primary costs apportioned with a pay as you go model, the public cloud option is most common chosen model for deployment and is owned, deployed, monitored, and managed solely by the service provider. Through a process called provisioning, customers can use various cloud services instantly and can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously with their own share of computing resources.
- Private cloud: Unlike the public cloud model, a private deployment model is typically owned, deployed, and managed by the business but still use the service provider’s resources remotely.
- Hybrid cloud: Hybrid cloud deployments, as the name implies, combines aspects from both private and public. These may be used when a business is looking to use the cloud and needs some, but not all, resources and services to be on-premises while others may be service provider hosted.
- Communtity cloud: The fourth type of deployment model is unique in that the focus is less about whether it is public, private, or hybrid and is more about how it is utilized. Community models are intended to be used by multiple groups of users and/or businesses, not just a single entity (Gilani and Salam, 2015).
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Conclusion
Cloud services are expanding every day and are readily available to any small business with a good Internet connection. All stakeholders in the business should be consulted and a plan should be developed accordingly with all pros and cons addressed. The business may need to hire an outside vendor who is more familiar with the process for a successful transition. Once the transition has been made, the business should continually evaluate the success of using the cloud and always strive for improvement.
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References
Attaran, M. (2017). Cloud computing technology: Leveraging the power of the Internet to improve business performance. Journal of International Technology & Information Management, 26(1), 112–137.
Attaran, M., & Woods, J. (2018). Cloud computing technology: A viable option for small and medium-sized businesses. Journal of Strategic Innovation & Sustainability, 13(2), 94–106
Gilani, Z., Salam, A. (IT professional), & Ul Haq, S. (2015). Deploying and managing a cloud infrastructure : real world skills for the CompTIA cloud+ certification and beyond : CV0-001. Sybex, a Wiley Brand, John Wiley & Sons.
Olufemi, A. (2019). Considerations for the adoption of cloud-based big data analytics in small business enterprises. Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 21(2), 63–79.
Scality. (2020, March 12). The history of cloud computing. SOLVED magazine. https://www.scality.com/solved/the-history-of-cloud-computing/.
Tripathi, S. (2018). Moderating effects of age and experience on the factors influencing the actual usage of cloud computing. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 27(2), 121.
Wamuyu, P. K. (2017). Use of cloud computing services in micro and small enterprises: A fit perspective. International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management, 5(2) 59–81. https://doaj.org/article/c3b729e1a1074123bd8c07cc8c935dbe
Widyastuti, D., & Irwansyah, M. (2018, February). Benefits and challenges of cloud computing technology adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Paper presented at the 4th Bandung Creative Movement International Conference on Creative Industries 2017. https://doi.org/10.2991/bcm-17.2018.46
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