Consultants’ Corner A Bi-Monthly e-Journal from

Issue 86 | Pages 1– 13 February-March 2014

A sneak peek into

the world of Cloud

Computing

3 Cloud Computing - Decoded!

An introduction to the world of Cloud Computing

6 Key terms associated with Cloud

Computing

Brief explanation to some of the important terms used in the area of Cloud Computing

8 Cloud Computing Threats and

Assurances

An insight into the risks and risk mitigation techniques practiced in the Cloud Computing environment

10 Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC)

Use of Cloud services in smartphones and mobile software applications

11

Opinion Poll result

Results of the poll for judging the best article in

the Dec 13-Jan 14 issue of Consultants’ Corner

12 Quiz Corner

12 What’s up at MaGC?

All events during December and January at MaGC and upcoming birthdays of MaGCites

In this Issue

Readers’ Corner

If you have any comment/suggestion for the editors, please

write to us at cc@magc.in. Your views and comments on

articles featured here are also welcome!

Sometimes when things change, they change

dramatically. This is exactly what happened with

information technology and the internet. The pace

at which it grew and stormed the human race is

nothing less than dramatic. One such storm that is

currently sweeping us is Cloud Computing. Cloud

computing has changed the way people use

software and store information. Innovations in

technology, high internet speeds and falling costs

of storage has facilitated the growth of cloud

computing in a big way.

Cloud computing as a concept is being used since

1950s and it began to spread its wings during the

telecommunication boom of the 1990s when the

telecom companies started offering Virtual Private

Network (VPN) services at lower costs. But the

breakthrough in cloud computing was made by

Amazon when they launched their cloud services

called Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the year

2006. The rest, as they say, is history. Cloud

computing has helped businesses reduce their IT

expenditure. On the other hand, it has helped

Governments offer G2C services in a cost effective

and seamless manner. And the best part about it

is we still don’t know what more is there in store

for us. In this backdrop, Cloud Computing has

been chosen as the theme for this issue. We hope

you find the articles informative and enriching.

The level of readership and coverage that

Consultants’ Corner is garnering never ceases to

amaze us. The sole reason for this growth is our

authors. The quality of the articles being published

is improving over time. We fervently thank our

authors for their zeal and commitment. But the

journey has just begun. We seek all your support

in this great and exciting journey ahead.

From the Editors

Consultants’ Corner 2

Why is it popular?

The primary reasons for the popularity of Cloud

computing are as follows:

Reduced cost: Cloud computing can reduce both

capital expense (CapEx) and operating expense

(OpEx) costs because resources are only

acquired when needed and are only paid for when

used.

Refined usage of personnel: Using cloud

computing frees valuable personnel allowing them

to focus on delivering value rather than

maintaining hardware and software.

Robust scalability: Cloud computing allows for

immediate scaling, either up or down, at any time

without long-term commitment.

Categories of Cloud computing

Cloud computing frameworks are implemented in

many flavors to suit user needs. They are primarily

categorised into three buckets as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS) - These

applications are designed for end-users, delivered

over the web. This is an end-to-end solution

including all facets of applications, software &

hardware.

A revolution is defined as a change in the way

people think and behave that is both dramatic

in nature and broad in scope. By that

definition, cloud computing is indeed a revolution.

Cloud computing is creating a fundamental change in

computer architecture, software and tools

development, and of course, in the way we store,

distribute and consume information.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a comprehensive solution that

delivers IT as a service. It is an Internet-based

computing solution where shared resources are

provided like electricity distributed on the electrical

grid. Computers in the cloud are configured to work

together and the various applications use the

collective computing power as if they are running on a

single system.

The key flexibility of cloud computing is allocation of

resources on demand. This facilitates the use of the

system's cumulative resources, negating the need to

assign specific hardware to a task. Before cloud com-

puting, websites and server-based applications were

executed on a specific system. With the advent of

cloud computing, resources are used as an

aggregated virtual computer. This multifaceted

configuration provides an environment where

applications execute independently without regard for

any particular configuration.

The easiest way to think about cloud computing is as

doing business on the Web, therefore eliminating the

need for in-house technology infrastructure, such as

the need to purchase, run and maintain servers and

software. Unlike traditional software, which is

distributed and deployed on-premise, cloud

applications are designed for Web deployment. They

are multitenant and users share processing power

and space that is managed by the vendor.

contd on next page..

Transformation literally means going beyond

your form.

- Wayne Dyer

3 Consultants’ Corner

Cloud Computing

- Decoded!

To Cloud or not to Cloud!

Cloud Computing adoption requires cost/benefit/risk

analysis to answer questions such as

What resources should an organization move to

the cloud, if any?

What situations warrant use of cloud resources,

even for one-time situations?

Which model of access works better for the

organization—private or public?

What risks are associated with using resources on

the cloud?

Which drivers are most important to the

organization? For example is concern over the

security of data more important compared to data

accessibility from multiple locations?

Platform as a Service

(PaaS) - This is the set of

tools and services designed

to make coding and

deploying those applications

quick and efficient. The

primary target users are

Application Developers.

Infrastructure as a Service

(IaaS) - Here the hardware

and software that powers it

all (Such as servers,

storage, networks, operating

systems, etc.) alone are

provided and maintained by

Vendor. The users of this

form of service are mostly

Network Architects.

An expert is a person who has few new ideas; a

beginner is a person with many.

- Albert Einstein

Consultants’ Corner 4

IaaS examples

Rackspace Cloud: provides users with access to

dynamically scalable computing and storage

resources, as well as third-party cloud applications

and tools

Well known Cloud service providers

SaaS examples

Google Apps: provides web-based office tools

such as e-mail, calendar, and document manage-

ment

Salesforce.com: provides a full customer

relationship management (CRM)6 application

Zoho.com: provides a large suite of web-based

applications, mostly for enterprise use

PaaS examples

Force.com: from salesforce.com (an SaaS

provider), provides users with a platform to build

and run applications and components bought from

AppExchange6 or custom applications

Google App Engine: provides users with a

complete development stack and allows them to

run their applications on Google‘s infrastructure

IaaS examples

Amazon Simple Storage Solution (S3): provides

users with access to dynamically scalable storage

resources

IBM Computing on Demand (CoD): provides

users with access to highly configurable servers

plus value-added services such as data storage

Microsoft Live Mesh: provides users with access

to a distributed file system; targeted at individual

use

contd on next page..

5 Consultants’ Corner

Key Drivers

A common set of key factors that drive organisations in deciding to Cloud or NOT Cloud... are given in table below:

(Source: Basics about Cloud Computing by Grace Lewis - Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University)

Risks involved

Key challenges and risks in migrating to a cloud computing environment have been tabulated below:

(Source: Basics about Cloud Computing by Grace Lewis - Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University )

Good to read!

1. Cloud Security and Privacy: An Enterprise Perspective on

Risks and Compliance - by Tim Mather

2. Cloud Computing Explained: Implementation Handbook for

Enterprises - by John Rhoton

Attribute Why it can draw an organization toward cloud computing

Availability Users have the ability to access their resources at any time through a standard internet

connection.

Collaboration Users begin to see the cloud as a way to work simultaneously on common data and

information.

Elasticity The provider transparently manages a user‘s resource utilization based on dynamically

changing needs.

Infrastructure Costs The pay-per-usage model allows an organization to only pay for the resources they need

with basically no investment in the physical resources available in the cloud. There are no

infrastructure maintenance or upgrade costs.

Mobility Users have the ability to access data and applications from around the globe.

Risk reduction Organizations can use the cloud to test ideas and concepts before making major

investments in technology.

Scalability Users have access to a large amount of resources that scale based on their demand.

Virtualisation Each user has a single view of the available resources, independently of how they are

arranged in terms of physical devices. Therefore, there is potential from a provider

perspective to serve a greater number of users with fewer physical resources.

Concern/Risk Why it can act as a barrier to cloud computing adoption

Interoperability A universal set of standards and/or interfaces have not yet been defined, resulting in a

significant risk of vendor lock-in.

Latency All access to the cloud is done via the internet, introducing latency into every communica-

tion between the user and the provider.

Platform/Language

constraints

Some cloud providers support specific platforms and languages only.

Regulations There are concerns in the cloud computing community over jurisdiction, data protection,

fair information practices, and international data transfer—mainly for organizations that

manage sensitive data.

Reliability Many existing cloud infrastructures leverage commodity hardware that is known to fail

unexpectedly.

Resource Control The amount of control that the user has over the cloud provider and its resources varies

greatly between providers.

Security The main concern is data privacy: users do not have control or knowledge of where their

data is being stored.

Praveena K R

can be reached at praveena@magc.in

Cloudstorming

Connecting multiple cloud computing environments.

Cloudware

Software that enables creating, deploying, running, or

managing applications in the cloud. Simply put –

software on the cloud.

Consumption-based pricing model

A pricing model whereby the service provider charges

its customers based on the amount of the service the

customer consumes, rather than a time-based fee.

For example, a cloud storage provider might charge

per gigabyte of information stored. This is what makes

the cloud so popular.

External cloud

Public or private cloud services that are provided by a

third party outside the organization.

C loud comput-

ing though an

easy concept

to follow comes with its

own set of jargons. It

will be useful for you as

a consultant to know

some of the key terms

used in connection with

c l oud c om put i ng.

Whether to impress

your clients at meetings

or to flaunt your

knowledge to your

colleagues, knowledge

of these terms can

come in handy. Here is

a compilation of certain

important terms that

you get to hear and

their meanings.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A system consisting of multiple computers that

contain copies of data, which are located in different

places on the network so clients can access the copy

closest to them.

Cloud Broker

An entity that creates and maintains relationships with

multiple cloud service providers. It acts as a liaison

between cloud services customers and cloud service

providers, selecting the best provider for each

customer and monitoring the services.

Cloud Portability

The ability to move applications and data from one

cloud provider to another. Cloud portability is one of

the key considerations while selecting a service

provider. If the cloud portability is not good, be

prepared to be stuck with the service provider for a

long time.

Cloud Storage

The type and size of storage space available on the

cloud. Many cloud service providers provide options

to increase the cloud storage incrementally as your

business grows thus optimizing costs.

If you want the truth, I'll tell you the truth:

Listen to the secret sound, the real sound,

which is inside you.

- Kabir

Key terms associated with

Cloud Computing

Consultants’ Corner 6

-contd on next page..

IaaS, PaaS and SaaS have totally revolutionized the

way businesses look at IT investments by converting

more and more of the Capital Expenditure to

Operating Expenditure utilizing the power of the

Cloud.

Subscription-based pricing model

A pricing model that lets

customers pay a fee to use the

service for a particular

time period, often used for

SaaS services.

Vendor lock-in

Dependency on the

particular cloud vendor

and difficulty moving

from one cloud vendor

to another due to lack

o f s t a n d a r d i z e d

protocols, APIs, data

structures (schema), and

service models. See Cloud

Portability above.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

A private cloud that exists within a shared or

public cloud (Example: Documan at MaGC which

is hosted on the Amazon public cloud).

As you can now see Cloud Terminology need not be

that cloudy after all!! You can find more terms

associated with cloud computing on the internet. So,

go and find that Silver Lining in the Cloud.

References:

www.techrepublic.com

http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/ h t t p : / / w w w . w e b o p e d i a . c o m / q u i c k _ r e f /

cloud_computing_terms.asp

http://whatiscloud.com/

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Cloud infrastructure services, whereby a virtualized

environment is delivered as a service over the Internet

by the provider. The infrastructure can include

servers, network equipment, and software.

Internal cloud

A type of private cloud whose services are

provided by an IT department to those in its

own organization.

On-demand service

A model by which a

customer can purchase

cloud serv ices as

needed; for instance, if

customers need to

utilize additional

serv ers for the

duration of a project,

they can do so and then

drop back to the

previous level after the

project is completed.

This is another

highlight which makes cloud

services popular.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Cloud platform services, whereby the computing

platform (operating system and associated services)

is delivered as a service over the Internet by the

provider.

Pay as you go

A pricing model for cloud services that encompasses

both subscription-based and consumption-based

models, in contrast to traditional IT cost model that

requires up-front capital expenditures for hardware

and software.

Private cloud

Services offered over the Internet or over a private

internal network to only select users, not available to

the general public.

Public cloud

Services offered over the public Internet and available

to anyone who wants to purchase the service

(Example: Gmail, Amazon Web Services).

Software as a service (SaaS)

Cloud application services, whereby applications are

delivered over the Internet by the provider, so that the

applications don't have to be purchased, installed, and

run on the customer's computers.

There is no greater joy nor greater reward

than to make a fundamental difference in

someone's life.

- Sr. Mary Rose McGeady

Ashok Rao

can be reached at ashok@magc.in

7 Consultants’ Corner

Platform-as-a-Service: Provides an application

development sandbox and also allows hosting of

applications for access to end-users. It can be used

by enterprises wishing to develop a new application

and also allows them to host their application in the

cloud. It usually includes an operating system,

programming language execution environment.

PaaS is similar to renting out a hotel room. The

enterprise rents a deluxe suite that allows them to

develop a software.

Service-as-a-Service: Provides a business

application used by many individuals or enterprises

concurrently. Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365 are

some of the popular consumer-directed SaaS

applications. One doesn‘t have to worry about

installing the software or setting it up. One can directly

run the application.

SaaS is similar to going to a hotel only for using the

restaurant. You need not rent a room to use the

services provided by the hotel.

A s enterprises look to numer-

ous ways to reduce cost and

increase the value and trust of

their information systems, cloud com-

puting has emerged as an important

platform by offering these enterprises a

potentially less expensive model to

handle their computing needs. Some of

the benefits offered by cloud comput-

ing are optimization of server utilisa-

tion, reduction in CAPEX and short-

ened life cycle development of new

applications.

What is cloud computing?

NIST (US National Institute of Stan-

dards and Technology) defines cloud

computing as a ―model for enabling

convenient, on-demand network ac-

cess to a shared pool of configurable

computing resources that can be rap-

idly provisioned and released with minimal manage-

ment effort or service provider interaction.‖

To put the above definition in a simplified manner, we

can relate cloud computing to a utility service that can

be used on a need basis. Think of renting a room in a

hotel as and when needed based on our requirement.

The hotel owner is the ‗Cloud Service Provider‘ (CSP)

and the enterprise is its client. By using this utility

service, the enterprise needs to pay only for the

service availed by them. This leads to savings in cost

of power, underutilized equipment, maintenance etc.

Cloud computing offers virtual processing power in a

variety of combinations through service delivery

models and deployment models.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service: Provides online

processing or data storage capacity. This is ideal for

enterprises considering a very large one-time

processing project or infrequent large data storage

needs. If the enterprise wants to perform data testing,

it might need a lot of processing power coupled with

very high data storage. For a one-time project as

such, investing in infrastructure might not be a viable

option.

Taking the hotel example, IaaS can be related to the

enterprise renting out the party hall for a one-time

event. The enterprise saves cost by only paying rent

and electricity for the space for the small time period.

Cloud Computing Threats and Assurances

He who learns teaches, he who teaches learns.

- African proverb

contd on next page..

Consultants’ Corner 8

Threat Description Affected service model

IaaS PaaS SaaS

Data breaches In a hybrid cloud deployment, if a cloud service database is not

properly designed, a flaw in one client‘s application could allow

an attacker access to not only that client‘s data but every other

client‘s data.

Data loss Any accidental deletion by the cloud service provider or a physi-

cal catastrophe could lead to permanent loss of enterprise data

unless adequate measures are taken for backup

Account hijacking If an attacker gains access to the enterprise credentials, he can

eavesdrop on its activities and transactions, manipulate data,

redirect users to illegitimate sites. Confidentiality, integrity and

availability of services are compromised.

Insecure interfaces Interface is the main link for interacting with the cloud interface.

From authentication and access control, interface must be

properly secured. These interfaces are key to provide value

added services to the customer.

Denial of Service DOS attacks are meant to prevent users of cloud service from

being able to access their data or applications. Service outages

are critical since, customers are billed based on the space used.

DOS attacks misuse finite resources such as memory, power,

disk space and network bandwidth.

Insufficient due

diligence

Enterprises often jump the cloud computing bandwagon without

proper understanding of the risks involved. Operational

responsibilities are moved to the cloud and they are exposed to

unknown levels of risk. Unless the enterprise has adequate

resources and understands its responsibilities and that of the

cloud service provider, they should reconsider moving to the

cloud.

High Moderate Low

Vinod M

can be reached at vinod.m@magc.in

Cloud Computing Threats

Cloud computing provides amazing benefits to an

enterprise, however, as with any activity risk element

is inherent in cloud computing.

It presents the same issues as generally found in a

traditional IT world, but it also introduces new threats

and vulnerabilities that may be due to lack of physical

visibility and perceived loss of control over assets and

information.

Assurance in Cloud Computing

Having discussed the threats faced by the enterprises

using cloud computing, the onus is on the cloud

service providers to provide assurance to its

customers regarding the services offered by them.

With shared resourcing, multi tenancy and

geolocation, cloud computing requires an entirely new

approach to providing approach. CSPs need to be

more transparent with their clients regarding the

movement of their data. Assurance needs to be

provided on a real time basis rather than the

traditional methods. The level and type of assurance

must be driven by the type of cloud service offered

and cloud deployment methods followed. CSPs need

a strong risk management approach and they must

balance it with strong performance to meet the user‘s

needs.

Assurance can be provided at various levels by CSPs.

They can adopt international standards such as

COSO, COBIT and ISO. They can also provide

assurances based on specific criteria such as

reliability, effectiveness, efficiency, availability and

confidentiality. The greater the assurance, the more

confidence a client will have on CSP, which results in

increased adoption and deployment of cloud

computing in the industry.

9 Consultants’ Corner

Cloud computing providers are benefitted since

their customer base will increase and the

application developers will move to a cloud based

infrastructure to develop these applications and

provide seamless integration.

Mobile Application Development

The issues with regard to mobile application

development are to build mobile applications that are

applicable to all types of devices. Each and every

device is distinct in terms of the Operating System or

any other unique features. The developers will have to

come up with new mobile applications as and when

the vendors introduce new devices in the market.

The only possibility of solving the above issue is to

move the apps to the servers running in the cloud, in

order to make the same available for the other users.

The users can access the apps and the data available

in the cloud using their browser. Hence one should

understand that the data processing and storage

takes place outside the mobile device and the result

of the processing appears on the screen or from the

speaker of the mobile device. This will be a major

advantage for the mobile app developers as they

need not create individual apps for individual devices.

Few tools that make this work are:

A lot of consumers are switching to smart-

phones as their computing requirement on

the go has increased. Smartphones are now

capable to support a wide variety of applications;

however due to limited power, memory, storage etc.

they are unable to fulfill their potential.

Cloud computing is a facility available that allows us

to process our data outside the realms of the physical

hardware that we possess. Computing takes place in

a virtual environment leading to savings in capital and

operational expenditure. These are two significant

trends in the current period. Imagine if the power

these two combine?

Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) brings together cloud

computing and mobile networks. In MCC the

processing and storage happens outside the mobile

device but the end product is delivered to the mobile

device.

The parties who benefit out of MCC are given in the

figure below:

Mobile users are benefitted since the cloud

performs the computing-intensive tasks and storing

massive amounts of data. They can continue to

perform these tasks with hand held devices and on

the go.

Network operators are benefitted since mobile

users will move to data intensive packages leading

to greater demand and higher profits.

A different language is a different vision of

life.

- Federico Fellini

Mobile Cloud Computing

(MCC)

Beneficiaries

Mobile users Network op-erators

Cloud comput-ing providers

Consultants’ Corner 10

-contd on next page..

Mobile Cloud Computing – Challenges in

the enterprise

Considering the rapid growth in the industry of

mobile devices, the MCC is projected as an

opportunity to any enterprise. However the

enterprise will have to face the following

challenges:

Security – Every enterprise deals with

sensitive data. Hence when a mobile is stolen

or lost or misplaced, crucial data may be

compromised.

Interoperability – Most of the enterprises

follow the Build Your Own Device (BYOD)

policy. Hence the major challenge is in sharing

and receiving the data across various mobile

devices.

Integrity – If the user pulls any document from the

cloud, updates it and forgets to sync it back to the

cloud, another user who retrieves the document

can view only the older version and not the

updated version causing a data integrity risk for the

enterprise as a whole.

Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms (MEAP) –

The MEAP ensures that data sent to the mobile

devices from the cloud fits into the receiver‘s

mobile screen. It has a very authenticated mecha-

nism where the data reaches the device and if the

device is stolen or lost, it can be wiped.

HTML5 – It assesses the characteristics of the

device to provide data and automatically gets

adjusted to the size, resolution and other unique

features of the device

TS Eliot

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

Sandya Manohar

can be reached at sandya.m@magc.in

Opinion Poll Result

Best article in the Dec 13-Jan 14 issue of Consultants’ Corner

The Editorial Team thanks its readers for taking part in this poll.

We request our readers to actively participate in this Opinion

Poll since the annual best article for CC would be selected based

on your votes. Total no. of

votes polled: 14

11 Consultants’ Corner

Process Documentation

5WH approach to Business Process Reengineering

Business Process Mapping

Essentials of a good Business Process Document

What’s up at MaGC?

Birthday wishes

Happy Married Life!!!

Karthik M V of MaGC Bengaluru

office exchanged marital vows with

Nitya Nair on 8th January 2014

Team MaGC wishes the couple a

blissful married life forever.

Mahesh - 3rd Feb Gopal Agarwal - 17th Feb

Karthik M V - 6th March Vinod Murali - 17th Feb

Study Circle Presentation at MaGC

1. Karthik M V conducted a session on ―One person Company‖ on 16th December 2014.

2. Praveena K R conducted a session on ―Agile Methodology - an overview‖ on 20th Dec 2014.

3. Padmaja J conducted a session on ―Nine Money Personalities‖ on 20th January 2014.

1. Coffee houses are places where people hangout. How has a coffee house in Moscow decided to charge its customers? It is becoming a trend now.

2. In marketing, what is Osborne effect ? What is the origin of this term ?

3. Identify the brand with the tagline ―Handcrafted in Chennai‖.

4. Vape is a term increasingly being used and a term in fashion in 2013. What is ‗vape‖ ?

5. What is the newly imposed tax in Italy commonly called ―Google Tax‖?

Send in your answers to the editor at cc@magc.in

Participants with the correct entry will be awarded with a Recognition Certificate by MaGC.

Last issue answers. 1. Mobile science laboratory which will be taken from school to school in motor cycles to show science experiments; 2. Black Dog; 3. wholly owned subsidiary; 4. A free Laddoo; 5. Zips.

Right answers for the previous

issue quiz was given by

Bhavana R

!!! Congratulations !!!

Chess Tournament

The first ever MaGC Chess Tournament got underway on 04th January 2014 with 24 participants from the

Bangalore office competing for the championship.

We wish all the participants all the very best!!

May the best player win!!

For more details about the fixtures click here and for pictures of the matches click here

Consultants’ Corner 12

Editorial Board

C S Suresh, Executive Director

Ashok Rao, Executive Director

Editors

Sandya M, Consultant

Karthik M V, Consultant

Published by

MaGC Private Limited, Chennai & Bangalore

Email to cc@magc.in

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