Cloud computing as a tool for improving business competitiveness

Wišniewski, Michał A icle Cloud compu ing as a ool o imp o ing business compe i i eness Founda ions o Managemen P o ided in Coope a ion wi h: Facul y o Managemen , Wa saw Uni e si y o Technology Sugges ed Ci a ion: Wišniewski, Michał (2013) : Cloud compu ing as a ool o imp o ing business compe i i eness, Founda ions o Managemen , ISSN 2300-5661, De G uy e , Wa saw, Vol. 5, Iss. 3, pp. 75-88, h ps://doi.o g/10.2478/ man-2014-0021 This Ve sion is a ailable a : h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/184563 S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen: Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den. Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen. 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I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence. h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 Founda ions o Managemen , Vol. 5, No. 3 (2013), ISSN 2080-7279 DOI: 10.2478/ man-2014-0021 75 CLOUD COMPUTING AS A TOOL FOR IMPROVING BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS Michał WIŚNIEWSKI Facul y o Managemen , Wa saw Uni e si y o Technology, Wa saw, Poland e-mail: m[email p o ec ed].edu.pl Abs ac : This a icle o ganizes knowledge on cloud compu ing p esen ing he classi ica ion o deploymen models, cha ac e is ics and se ice models. The au ho , looking a he p oblem om he en ep eneu ’s pe - spec i e, d aws a en ion o he di e ences in he bene i s depending on he cloud compu ing deploymen models and conside s an e ec i e way o selec ion o cloud compu ing se ices acco ding o he speci ici y o o ganiza ion. Wi hin his wo k, a hesis s a emen was conside ed ha in economic e ms he cloud com- pu ing is no always he bes solu ion o you o ganiza ion. This aises he ques ion, “Wha kind o ools should be used o es ima e he use ulness o he model cloud compu ing se ices in he en e p ise?” Keywo ds: cloud compu ing, da a p ocessing, oppo uni ies, h ea s, se ice models, deploymen models, he cha ac e is ics o cloud compu ing, inno a ion, es ima ing ope a ing cos s. 1 In oduc ion One o he mos impo an esou ces in he mode n economy is in o ma ion. O ganiza ions depend on how as ly he da a a e accessed as he inished p oduc , which is use ul o decision making a all le els o managemen : s a egic, ac ical and ope a ional le el. A he same ime, one o he p oblems o any o ganiza- ion is an excess o da a. To e ec i ely use he da a, hey mus be collec ed, s o ed and p ocessed wi h he suppo o ools such as: da abases, da a wa ehouses and BI sys ems. These ools allow as access o da a and p esen hem in a anspa en manne , which acili- a es he wo k o , among o he s, manage s. Such a me hod o da a p ocessing equi es an app op i- a e in as uc u e. To begin wi h, special ooms de- signed o se e ooms o he se e s, disk a ays, backup copy sys ems, ending wi h he clien s a ions should be main ained. All elemen s o he ne wo k gene a e cos s o he o ganiza ion a he ime o pu - chase, du ing use and a a ime when no longe use ul. So wa e licenses also inc ease cos s associa ed wi h he IT sec o . Some o ganiza ions, especially small, a e no able o mee hese cos s losing he oppo uni y o e ec i e compe i ion in he ma ke place. A emedy o he high cos s o collec ing and p o- cessing da a wi hin he o ganiza ion may be o build i ual se e s in he en i onmen o cloud compu ing. The e a e companies ha o e he oppo uni y o make use o ha dwa e esou ces, ope a ing pla o ms and so wa e as a paid se ice ia he In e ne . The ecipien is obliged o co e only he cos s o pu - chase and main enance o e minal s a ions, he In e - ne , cloud compu ing se ice cos s and main aining a minimum IT le el dependen on he size and needs o he o ganiza ion. Looking a he phenomenon o cloud compu ing om he en ep eneu ’s pe spec i e pu chasing cloud com- pu ing se ice, a ques ion a ises whe he his se ice should eplace he collec ion and p ocessing o da a wi hin he o ganiza ion? Wha a e he oppo uni ies and isks, bene i s and obliga ions coming ou o he change o da a p ocessing? This a icle p esen s he cu en s a e o knowledge on he concep o cloud compu ing and iden i ies ques- ions ha companies need o answe conside ing how o p ocess he da a wi hin i s own s uc u e. Con a y o popula opinion, p esen ed in li e a u e and du ing con e ence speeches, he au ho belie es ha he cu - en le el o de elopmen o he cloud compu ing se - ice canno , in any case, be an al e na i e o he exis ing cen e s in he o ganiza ions. F om he poin o iew o he en ep eneu , he mos impo an indica- o in choosing he me hod o da a p ocessing is he le el o cos s. Poo ly chosen cloud compu ing se - ice may esul in inc eased cos s, which nega i ely a ec he compe i i eness o he company. 2 Cloud Compu ing 2.1 De ini ions Cloud compu ing idea is no new. The concep o cloud compu ing is ha IT esou ces, bo h ha dwa e and so wa e, a e ea ed by he use as ano he medium such as elec ici y, gas o wa e . The ecipien does no physically wonde s whe e elec ici y comes om in his 76 Michał Wiśniewski socke , jus pays o he se ice. Mos o us use cloud compu ing wi hou being awa e o i . A pe ec exam- ple is he cloud compu ing e-mail se ice. The majo i y o use s do no know whe e physically loca ed e-mail messages a e. Using he mailbox is done o e he In e - ne , ega dless o he loca ion o de ice you a e using; you always ha e access o e-mails. The e o e, he mail sys em supplie p o ides o us a se ice. The e y concep o cloud compu ing has been used o he i s ime by Ne Cen icin 1997, so i is ela i ely new and s ill e ol ing, making i di icul o ind one ecog- nized by all de ini ion in he li e a u e. Acco ding o IBM, cloud compu ing is a new model o IT use and p ocessing s yle in which he business p ocesses, applica ions, da a and IT esou ces a e de- li e ed o use s in he o m o se ices [5, p. 145]. An- o he de ini ion comes om he po al Wikipedia: Cloud compu ing is a p ocessing model based on he use o se ices p o ided by ex e nal o ganiza ions. Func ionali y is unde s ood as a se ice (which gi es added alue o he use ) o e ed by he so wa e (and he necessa y in as uc u e) [15]. The accep ed de ini- ion o cloud compu ing in he scien i ic s udies is ha one de eloped by he Na ional Ins i u e o S anda ds and Technology (NIST) in 2011. Acco ding o he NIST, cloud compu ing is a model o enabling ubiqui- ous, con enien , on-demand ne wo k access o a sha ed pool o con igu able compu ing esou ces (e.g. ne wo ks, se e s, s o age, applica ions and se ices) ha can be apidly p o isioned and eleased wi h min- imal managemen e o o se ice p o ide in e ac ion. This cloud model is composed o i e essen ial cha ac- e is ics, h ee se ice models and ou deploymen models [10, p. 3]. All de ini ions consequen ly main ain ha he objec se ices a e b oadly de ined IT esou ces. Howe e , only he NIST de ini ion emphasizes he ac o ha dis inguishes cloud compu ing om o he o ms o ou sou cing. I e e s o he s a emen ha he se ice is a ailable on-demand, wi hou necessa y ea lie o - de s o s a ing ee as i ake place, o example, in he co-loca ion model. Ano he impo an ea u e is he me hod o calcula ing ees. In con as o classic o ms o IT ou sou cing, a cloud compu ing model p o ides a di e en solu ion whe e we pay o he esou ces ac ually used, and no o hei decla ed use. Looking a cloud compu ing om a pu ely echnical poin o iew, his se ice is a blend o he known solu- ions in he p o ision o IT se ices, o example:  U ili y compu ing has usually en isioned some o m o i ualiza ion so ha he amoun o s o age o compu ing powe is a ailable o indi idual busi- ness uni s o p ocedu es. I also allows ho ough se - lemen o he amoun o p ocessed da a [13].  G id compu ing is de ined as a ha dwa e and so - wa e in as uc u e ha p o ides dependable, con- sis en , easily cus omizable and a o dable access o compu ing esou ces [1, pp. 749 – 771]. In con- as o u ili y, compu ing can also use he compu- ing powe o PC.  Ou sou cing is he ans e o ex e nal se ice p o- ide s in acco dance wi h he p o isions in he ag eemen (con ac ) epea ed in e nal asks o an o ganiza ion ela ed o he implemen a ion o s a , equipmen , acili ies, equipmen , echnology and o he esou ces and decision-making powe s e- ga ding hei use [3, p. 3].  Vi ualiza ion is cha ac e ized by abs ac pe cep- ion o ha dwa e esou ces so ha he esou ce can be ac i a ed o ope a e in a ious ways, ega dless o i s physical o m o loca ion [9, p. 856]. This al- lows mo e e icien use o exis ing ha dwa e en i- onmen esou ces by modi ying he cha ac e is ics o any esou ces, adap ing hem o use equi e- men s.  Dis ibu ed compu ing e m conceals he echnique o unning calcula ions, enabling he sha ing o compu ing esou ces such as: p i a e compu e s, se e s, e c., which is usually geog aphically dis- pe sed. In a gene al sense, his echnology means he da a p ocessing ega ded as a public se ice. In o he wo ds, he clien does no ma e whe e he da a a e s o ed o which compu e does he job. The cus ome can o de he in o ma ion o he cal- cula ions and esul s in he scope and ime equi ed [4, p. 37]. The unc ionali y o hese concep s allows o inno a- ion wi hin he model o business managemen . The a ailabili y o IT esou ces on demand and bea ing he cha ges o he ac ually used esou ces allows you o change he cos s uc u e o he o ganiza ion. I leads o he educ ion o he g oup cos classi ied as capi al expendi u es (CAPEX)1 and inc easing o ope a ing  1 CAPEX- expendi u es alloca ed o buy ixed asse s such as equipmen , e.g. IT equipmen . Cloud Compu ing as a Tool o Imp o ing Business Compe i i eness 77  Figu e 1. Concep o cloud compu ing se ices (sou ce: own elabo a ion) expendi u es (OPEX).2 This means ha he ba ie ela ed o he pu chase o IT in as uc u e o he neces- sa y high cos s o he en in ad ance ceases o exis . A company using he cloud compu ing model bea s he cha ges on an ongoing basis, as pa o he ope a ing cos s. The basic p emise o he cloud compu ing is he a aila- bili y o se ices deli e ed o e he In e ne o in ane , based on a model composed o i e essen ial cha ac e - is ics, h ee se ice models and ou deploymen mod- els shown in Figu e 1. O ganiza ions aking he decision o use cloud compu- ing se ices do no e lec ha kind o cloud is o le sui able. This leads o ine icien use o IT, and in ex- eme cases, o inc ease in he ope a ing cos s o hose depa men s. To a oid such si ua ions, we mus unde - s and he ad an ages and disad an ages o he di e en ypes o clouds. Fo his pu pose, he elemen s shown in Figu e 1 will be discussed in mo e de ail. 2.2 Essen ial Cha ac e is ics  On-demand sel -se ice - a consume can unila e al- ly con igu e p o ision compu ing capabili ies, such as se e ime and ne wo k s o age, as needed au-  2 OPEX – is he sum o a business's ope a ing expenses o a pe iod o ime. oma ically wi hou equi ing human in e ac ion wi h each se ice p o ide .  B oad ne wo k access - capabili ies a e a ailable o e he ne wo k and accessed h ough s anda d mechanisms ha p omo e use by he e ogeneous hin3 o hick clien 4 pla o ms (e.g. mobile phones, able s, lap ops and wo ks a ions).  Resou ce pooling - he p o ide ’s compu ing e- sou ces a e pooled o se e mul iple consume s us- ing a mul i- enan model, wi h di e en physical and i ual esou ces dynamically assigned and e- assigned acco ding o consume demand.  Rapid elas ici y - capabili ies can be elas ically p o- isioned and eleased, in some cases au oma ically, o scale apidly ou wa d and inwa d commensu a e wi h demand.  3 Thin clien is a compu e o specialized de ice (compu e e minal) and ela ed so wa e clien , enabling suppo o appli- ca ions c ea ed in he clien –se e a chi ec u e. A hin clien occu s as independen o he suppo ed applica ion se e ( he change does no in ol e ha ing o change clien so wa e). An- o he ad an age is he low demand o p ocessing powe [15]. 4 Thick clien is a compu e in clien –se e a chi ec u e o ne- wo ks. I e e s o he use 's wo ks a ion, which is equipped wi h a se o pe iphe als, ope a ing sys em ins alled and se o applica- ions. P og ams a e execu ed di ec ly and au onomously a he s a ion does da a p ocessing and da a exchange wi h he use and o he compu e s on he ne wo k. Da a a e s o ed on he se e side. [15] 78 Michał Wiśniewski Measu ed se ice - cloud sys ems au oma ically con ol and op imize esou ce use by le e aging a me e ing capabili y a some le el o abs ac ion app op ia e o he ype o se ice (e.g. s o age, p ocessing, band- wid h, compu ing powe , RAM and ac i e use ac- coun s). I p o ides anspa ency o bo h he p o ide and consume because o he pay-pe -use s uc u e. The au ho e e s o he de ini ions o he cha ac e is- ics ecommended by he Na ional Ins i u e o S and- a ds and Technology [9, p. 2]. These cha ac e is ics a e he pilla s o wha is called cloud compu ing. The es- igna ion o one elemen will a ec he whole cloud compu ing model. The i s ou cha ac e is ics a e esponsible o he lexibili y o he solu ion in e ms o he a ailabili y o IT esou ces. Measu ed se ice allows cha ging cus ome s acco ding o usage. 2.3 Se ice Models So wa e as a se ice (SaaS) is de ined as he capabili y p o ided o he consume o use he p o ide ’s applica- ions. Recipien decides which package o p og ams o e ed by he supplie will se e his needs. The SaaS model allows en ep eneu s o pay only o he so wa e ea u es hey ac ually un and cha ge o ac ual ime o use. The so wa e package dedica ed o he indi idu- al cus ome ope a es, main aining an adequa e le el o da a secu i y, in addi ion o o he so wa e packages on a sha ed se e . The clien shall de e mine he num- be o employees who ha e access o he sha ed p o- g ams. The numbe o employees and he ac ual usage a e he basis o calcula ing he subsc ip ion ee. So - wa e as a Se ice emo es he need o handle he ins al- la ion, se -up and o en daily up keep; educes cos o implemen a ion o new so wa e; gi es an ad an age o speed implemen a ion and access o he la es so - wa e. Because he so wa e is hos ed emo ely, use s do no need o in es in addi ional ha dwa e and pu chas- ing so wa e licenses. Pla o m as a se ice (PaaS) is de ined as a compu ing pla o m being deli e ed as a se ice o he cus ome deli e ing ia he i ual wo k en i onmen , among o he s, ope a ing sys ems such as Windows Azu e c e- a ed by Mic oso o Google's Ch ome OS. Cus ome s can use he in as uc u e and de elopmen ools hos ed by a se ice p o ide o build hei own applica ions and wo king en i onmen . This model deploys on o he cloud in as uc u e consume -c ea ed o acqui ed ap- plica ions wi hou he need o pu chase ha dwa e o so wa e ins alla ion. PaaS se ice is a ailable o any use ega dless o he used end s a ion. In addi ion, he clien is no in ol ed in he main enance o he ope a ing sys em i sel , upda ing, backup, e c. The cus ome is o only main ain and ake ca e o sel - c ea ed o ins alled applica ions. The ad an ages o using PaaS se ices include: no need o pu chase a comme cial license o ope a ing sys ems, no need o upda e ope a ing en i onmen s by he se ice p o- ide , access o he la es e sions o ope a ing sys ems a no addi ional cha ge and he possibili y o using he wo k en i onmen on di e en compu e s. In as uc u e as a se ice (IaaS) is o p o ide he ha dwa e unde s ood as RAM, disk space, compu - e pe o mance, e c. o e he In e ne in he o m o i ual esou ces scaled acco ding o he needs o he ecipien . Resou ces ha a e he supplie p ope y will be i ually sepa a ed wi hin he physical de ices unde his con ol. The owne o he ope a ing en i onmen , ins alled p og ams and p ocessed da a in his se ice model, is he ecipien . This implies a need o main e- nance and upda ing o so wa e. The ad an ages o using IaaS se ices emo es he ha dwa e pu chase cos s and main enance cos s o ne wo k de ices, p o- ides he abili y o quickly expand i ual ha dwa e esou ces (i necessa y) and he abili y o educe i ual ha dwa e esou ces, and he sa ing o o ice space de e mined by he lack o need o a complex se e . Table 1 p esen s a summa y o he desc ibed cloud compu ing se ices and o ganizes issues o owne ship and esponsibili y o he indi idual elemen s as he subjec s o se ices. Sign (-) indica es ha he con ol o he esou ce has he cus ome , sign (+) indica es ha he esou ce is unde p o ide con ol, while he sign (+/-) indica es ha he esou ce is unde common con- ol o bo h en i ies. Table 1 p esen s he dis ibu ion o esponsibili y o IT in as uc u e be ween he p o ide and he ecipien . In each o he lis ed cases, he company as a cus ome bea s he esponsibili y o he da a. Responsibili y o in as uc u e di e s, depending on he a ian . Cus- ome mus eckon wi h he ac ha he g ea e he esponsibili y is shi ed o he p o ide , he g ea e will be he cos o he se ice. Cloud Compu ing as a Tool o Imp o ing Business Compe i i eness 79  2.4 Deploymen Models Public Cloud is he mos popula and leas engaging cus ome ypes o cloud compu ing. The cloud in a- s uc u e is p o isioned o open use by he gene al public. The public use s may pay ixed mon hly ees o se ices hey u ilize. Examples o companies o e - ing his ype o se ice include Google, Mic oso , Amazon and leading Polish g oups: One .pl G oup and ATM SIS.A. The e a e also ee e sions o public clouds such as al eady men ioned mailboxes. Google has gone one-s ep u he and made use s o Gmail mailboxes ools o c ea e a ne wo k o o ice docu- men s, Web pages and i ual disks. Ano he ea u e o he public cloud, whose p esence should be awa e o , is he ac ha se ices can be p o ided by mo e han one en i y, e.g. one company p o ides i ual ha dwa e, ano he ope a ing pla o m, and e en o he applica ions used by he cus ome . Taking e e y hing in o accoun , Public Cloud is a o m o cloud compu ing, which is he mos con enien o he cus ome . Recipien p ocu es ce ain se ices, pays a ee and h ough In e ne connec ion which is equi ed in his case, s a s using he se ice. Public Cloud combined wi h IaaS, PaaS and SaaS package se ices is mos bene icial o he company. Using his combina ion ees he business om ha ing o pu - chase, se ice and main ain ha dwa e and o pay o so wa e licenses. I sa es o ice space, elec ici y and akes ad an age o many o he bene i s ha will be p esen ed la e in he a icle. Why do no all bene i om his kind o echnology? The e a e many exis ing easons in he li e a u e bu om he business poin o iew he mos impo an seems o be a conce n o sa e y da a p ocessing, espe- cially classi ied in o ma ion. The e o e, secu i y con- side a ion may be subs an ially esponsible o he concep o p i a e, common and hyb id clouds. P i a e cloud is a solu ion o he p oblems o da a secu- i y in cases whe e he company does no wan o can- no p ocess hem ou side ully con olled by hem da a cen e s. Mo e speci ically, P i a e Cloud sol es legal issues. Physical secu i y o da a and p o ec ion agains hacke a acks a e a sepa a e issue. P i a e cloud in as uc u e is ope a ed solely o a single o ganiza ion whe he managed in e nally o by a hi d-pa y and hos ed in e nally o ex e nally. F om a echnical poin o iew, he pu chase and cons uc ion o ha dwa e in as uc u e p i a e cloud is no much di e en om he classic se e . The di e ence lies in he laye o so wa e ha uns on he a ailable ha d- wa e. I is easy o no ice ha his ype o solu ion is no a ail- able o any o ganiza ion. Unde aking a p i a e cloud p ojec equi es a signi ican le el and deg ee o en- gagemen and equi es he o ganiza ion o ha e su i- cien unds and skilled employees, which is una ailable o many companies, such as in he SME. The e o e, hese solu ions a e ypically used by la ge companies whe e he scale o p ojec s linked o he legal p o ec- ion o da a p ocessed is economically jus i ied. Howe e , he ques ion is i his ype o p i a e en e - p ise has a chance o ac ually p o ide a highe le el o secu i y agains hacke s o na u al disas e s ha can lead o i e e sible da a loss. Fo la ge o ganiza ions, such as mul ina ional co po a ions, whe e he e a e adequa e inancial esou ces, pe haps i does. In o he cases, companies a e no able o p o ide be e secu i y han ex e nal supplie s. Cloud compu ing p o ide s in es in a gian cloud da a cen e s, o en cos ing $ 500 million o mo e. In 2008, Google spen on he cons uc ion o da a cen e s o $ 2.3 billion. Economies o scale a e he key ac o applied by cloud p o ide s. Huge o de s o equipmen , ene gy, as well as s a egic loca ion o da a cen e s Table 1. Dis ibu ion o con ol in models o cloud compu ing se ices (sou ce: [6, p. 6]) Speci ica ion Classic model IaaS PaaS SaaS Da a – - - - Applica ions - - - + Ope a ing en i onmen - - + + Vi ual machine - +/- + + Se e s - + + + Da a wa ehouses - + + + Ne wo k +/- + + + 80 Michał Wiśniewski a ound he powe plan , da a cen e ope a o s can coun on big discoun s o 60% and mo e. An example is Am- azon, which in 2008 paid abou 90 million dolla s o 50 housand SGIRackable se e s. In no mal ad- ing, hey cos 215 million dolla s. [12] We can likely ind ou ha a single o ganiza ion is no able o gua an ee a highe le el o secu i y o hei da a due o he unds in es ed by cloud se ice p o id- e s, economies o scale de e mined by he amoun o cus ome s and duplica ion o da a cen e s in di e en pa s o he coun y o he wo ld. In addi ion, he e a e issues ela ed o he expe ience o employees in sa e y and inno a ion and mode ni y solu ions. In conclusion, p i a e cloud is echnically and cos ly neighbo ing he classical da a p ocessing. The whole p ocess and he esponsibili ies and cos s emain a he clien side. Howe e , p i a e cloud gains mo e e icien use o ne wo k esou ces (se e s, disk a ays, e c.), and e ains con ol o classi ied da a wha is impo an o he cu en legisla ion easons. Communi y cloud is de ined by NIST as in as uc u e p o isioned o exclusi e use by a speci ic communi y o consume s om o ganiza ions ha ha e sha ed con- ce ns (e.g. mission, secu i y equi emen s, policy and compliance conside a ions). I may be owned, managed and ope a ed by one o mo e o he o ganiza- ions in he communi y, a hi d pa y, o some combina- ion o hem, and i may exis on o o p emises [10, p. 3]. Thus, communi y cloud is in a sense a kind o p i a e cloud connec ing en i ies wi h a simila p o- ile ha ag ee o sha e echnical esou ces and, in some cases, he da a. O ganiza ions ha canno a o d o build a p i a e cloud a e in es ing in communi y cloud, and because he law does no allow o he p o- cessing o da a cen e s ha a e no unde con ol o he company. As he numbe o pa icipan s in such a p o- jec is much smalle han in he case o public cloud, pa o he economic bene i s esul ing om economies o scale is no possible o achie e. Howe e , compa ed wi h he p i a e cloud cons uc ion and main enance he cos s a e much lowe . Hyb id cloud is a composi ion o wo o mo e dis inc cloud in as uc u es (p i a e o public) whe e some o he da a a e p ocessed in he public cloud and he classi ied da a in he p i a e cloud. Hyb id cloud seeks o deli e he ad an ages o limi ing he capaci y o p i a e clouds, which allows ope a ing in acco dance wi h he law and po en ial cos sa ing which is smalle han he cos s o managemen da a o public clouds. Despi e he deployed a ian o cloud compu ing se - ices, he main p oblem a ises om he need o ech- nological s anda ds. This leads o a si ua ion whe e he clien has limi ed abili y o change se ice p o ide . This ca ies a isk o dependence on single supplie companies, who may impose in la ed p ice o he se - ice. 2.5 Selec ion o cloud compu ing se ices The main mo i e in a o o he deploymen o cloud compu ing solu ions in o ganiza ions bo h p i a e and public is economic conside a ions. En e p ises p ocessing he da a in a classical way mus hemsel es ake ca e o all he ela ed aspec s o he p ocess such as: secu i y, mode niza ion o IT in as uc u e, and so wa e licenses. Cloud compu ing p o ides many oppo uni ies o cos sa ings o companies and indi- idual use s. I should be no ed, howe e , ha in i s cu en o m, he cloud compu ing is no a pe ec solu- ion, and as each new solu ion has i s d awbacks, i elimina es pa o he known isks, bu also c ea es new ones. The au ho s o he a ious s udies ag ee ha he main ad an ages o cloud compu ing include sa ing, pe o - mance, scalabili y, a ailabili y, eliabili y, ime o im- plemen a ion o new unc ionali y. Launching new Google Apps se ices a he Uni e si y o Wa saw is an example o a much as e launch o IT se ices. Wi hin h ee mon hs o he se ice unning he UW s uden s we e p o ided wi h he access o email, s o - age o documen s on he web, c ea ion web pages, blogs and he use o o ice so wa e package oge he wi h he ans e o exis ing s uden mailboxes om he uni e si y se e [14]. The launch o a new mul i- media se ice newspape Rzeczpospoli a may se e as a second example. The si e was buil en i ely in he cloud wi hin h ee weeks. Fo compa ison, he con- s uc ion ime o he same se ice in he ba o m would ake om 6 weeks o 4 mon hs [6, pp. 20–22]. Cloud compu ing secu i y was no lis ed delibe a ely among he ad an ages because he opinions di e on his ma e . Some au ho s conside cloud solu ions a sa e han adi ional p o ec ion mechanisms wha in iew o applied ele an p ocedu es and echnical solu ions should be conside ed as mo e e ec i e. On he o he hand, he p i acy and legisla ion canno be unde es ima ed. Cloud Compu ing as a Tool o Imp o ing Business Compe i i eness 81  Figu e 2. Elemen s o he IT in as uc u e o he analyzed online s o e (sou ce: own elabo a ion) Use s s o ing and p ocessing da a in he cloud do no always know whe e hei da a a e physically loca ed and who and on wha basis has access o hem. Da a b each is a big conce n in cloud compu ing. Cus ome s wo y i p o ide cloud compu ing se ices in o ms hem abou any b each o secu i y in hei da a cen e s. In addi ion, some companies o e ing cloud compu ing se ices has egis e ed hei o ices ou side he Eu ope- an Union and a e no subjec ed o EU law, which may lead o lowe s anda ds o da a secu i y. Disad an ages associa ed wi h unce ain ies abou he sa e y o he cloud compu ing se ices a e mul iplied, bu limi a ions as dependence on so wa e p o ide s, he lack o eadiness o employees o use he cloud, IT specialis s’ eluc ance o po en ially dange ous changes o hei employmen , in e ne links wi h insu icien bandwid h. Conside ing he ad an ages and disad an ages, oppo - uni ies and h ea s ela ed o he p ocessing o da a in he cloud should compu e he ype o cloud (public, p i a e, sha ed, hyb id) and he ange o se ices o - e ed should be aken in o accoun . Mos o hese bene- i s a e a ailable i he company chooses IaaS, PaaS, SaaS models. The adop ion o hese models is mos p o i able o he company p o iding mo e lexibili y, lowe cos s and ease o use. In con as , i is no so e iden in he case o p i a e cloud. In his case, he solu ion, in e ms o cos s and esponsibili ies, di - e s sligh ly om he classical da a p ocessing solu- ions. Because he da a cen e is unde he con ol o he company i dissol es he p oblem associa ed wi h legal p o isions. How o de e mine whe he ansi ion om he classical model o cloud compu ing model is cos -e ec i e and which se o cloud se ices, de e mined by a com- bina ion o a ailable se ice models, deploymen mod- els and ypes o clouds, is he bes o he o ganiza ion? I seems ha in o de o answe his ques ion, i is nec- essa y o de elop a me hod o balancing he cos s and expec ed bene i s o bo h classical and cloud com- pu ing solu ions. Such a me hod should ake in o ac- coun no only he cos o cons uc ion and equipmen o he se e bu also he speed o deploymen o new unc ionali ies, which ha e been shown on he example o a Rzeczpospoli a newspape mul imedia se ice, he cos o quali ied s a employing, ope a ing cos s and he cos s o disposing o was e o unnecessa y IT equipmen . 3 Case S udy This case s udy demons a es how company is planning wi hin exis ing ope a ions he c ea ion o an online s o e selling spo ing goods. The online s o e ac i i ies we e o be main ained o h ee consecu i e yea s. A - e his ime, he decision o con inue o discon inue ope a ions migh be made. The company has al eady c ea ed he necessa y IT in as uc u e including i s own da a cen e and quali ied s a . To s a a new p o- jec , a company mus pu chase addi ional ha dwa e. All new ha dwa e componen s a e shown in Figu e 2. To ensu e con inui y o se ice a ailabili y and o educe ou age du a ion each o he elemen s will be duplica ed as p esen ed in Figu e 2. P ojec managemen assumes a s able IT in as uc u e load wi hou load su ges. 82 Michał Wiśniewski Table 2. Cos o pu chasing new IT in as uc u e elemen s needed o launching an online s o e (sou ce: own elabo a ion) Speci ica ion Uni p ice Numbe o i ems In e nal solu ion Fi ewall 4000 2 8,000 Equi alen load 14000 2 28,000 Ne wo k se e 8500 2 17,000 Applica ion se e 8500 2 17,000 Da a se e 8500 2 17,000 To al - - 87,000 F ee so wa e will be used o minimize he building cos s o an online s o e. Necessi y o pu chase a new ha dwa e and he unce ain y whe he he shop will con inue o exis a e he assumed ime begs he ques- ion. The ques ion may ye be aised in ano he case whe he he cos o new IT equipmen and launching o he p ojec in he company’s da a cen e will be p o - i able. Is he lease o i ual s o es an ad an ageous solu ion in he cloud compu ing o mula? P ojec managemen deciding o launch an online s o e in hei own da a cen e mus bea he cos s p esen ed in Table 2. The cos o pu chasing he necessa y elemen s o he IT in as uc u e o launching an online s o e in hei own da a cen e is a he le el o abou 87,000 PLN. Assum- ing a h ee-yea pe iod o he p ojec , he cos is 2416,67 PLN pe mon h. The o al amoun mus be paid in ad ance. The calcula ion applies only o he pu chase o necessa y new in as uc u e elemen s. Cos s no aken in o accoun include:  powe supply o pu chased equipmen ,  cooling o pu chased equipmen ,  se e ack space,  in e ne connec ion ( o example, an addi ional link 10 Mb–3000PLN pe mon h),  s a emune a ion (adminis a o s and echnicians),  s a aining. These cos ca ego ies a e no included in u he analy- sis because hey a e al eady paid by he company, which main ains i s own da a cen e s. The inc ease in ope a ing cos s due o he pu chase o new IT equipmen makes only small pa o o al cos s and would be conside ed insigni ican . The e o e, we a e no going o analyze hose cos s any mo e. Summing up he cos o launching, an online s o e in he en e p ise da a cen e , he adop ed assump ions ha mon h abou 2,400 PLN a a h ee-yea e m adds up o abou 87,000 PLN. Howe e , he e is a possibili y ha a e his planned pe iod he p ojec will be liqui- da ed as unp o i able. I his happens, he company emains wi h unused ne wo k equipmen ha should be main ained o o bea he cos s o disposal. An al e na i e solu ion o elimina e he p oblem o unnecessa y IT equipmen is o launch an online s o e in he cloud compu ing en i onmen . S a ing a p ojec wi hin cloud compu ing o mula o e s cos sa ings because o “pay-as-you-go” se ices wi h no con ac s, and o en no sign-up ees and jus we pay o wha we use, e.g. RAM, CPU, ha d d i es. A company o un an online s o e in cloud compu ing ins ead o buying physical ha dwa e pu chases i s i - ual coun e pa s. Table 3 p esen s a summa y o i ual ins ances o e ed by Amazon, Mic oso and Polish company. Unlike Amazon and Mic oso , Polish com- pany does no o e p ede ined ins ance bu allows con igu a ion o a i ual se e acco ding o clien ’s needs. In case o Amazon Medium Ins ance, i co e- sponds o he physical se e needed o he planned c ea ion o an online s o e. And Mic oso La ge In- s ance mee s he equi emen s o he p ojec . To ensu e he compa abili y o i ual ins ances o Polish com- pany, iden ical pa ame e s o i ual se e s as o he selec ed ins ance Amazon shall be adop ed. Ins ances eplace i ual IT in as uc u e elemen s such as a ne wo k se e , applica ion se e and da a se e . I is necessa y o ake ou six i ual ins ances o e- place six physical se e s o assumed IT s uc u e. To build a comp ehensi e IT in as uc u e, a se ice mus be pu chased o eplace he i ewall and se e load equi alen . Table 4 gi es he mon hly en al cos o such se ices in compa able companies assuming ha he se ices a e s ill a ailable o all en ed in- s ances.