MIS Tech Guide (Topic 6)

On-Premise Computing

A model of IT management in which companies own their IT infrastructure (their software, hardware, networks, and data management) and maintain it in their data centres.

Cloud Computing

A technology in which tasks are performed by computers that are physically removed from the user and accessed over a network, in particular the internet.

On-Premise Computing

A model of IT management in which companies own their IT infrastructure (their software, hardware, networks, and data management) and maintain it in their data centres.

Cloud Computing

A technology in which tasks are performed by computers that are physically removed from the user and accessed over a network, in particular the internet.

Cloud Native

The name of an approach to building applications and services specifically for a cloud computing environment

Grid Computing

A technology that applies the unused processing resources of many geographically dispersed computers in a network to form a virtual supercomputer.

Utility Computing

A service provider makes computing resources and infrastructure management available to a customer as needed

Server Farm

Massive data centres, which may contain hundreds of thousands of networked computer servers

Server Virtualization

A technology that uses software-based partitions to create multiple virtual servers (called virtual machines) on a single physical server.

3 Types of Cloud Computing:

1. Public

2. Private

3. Hybrid

Public Cloud

Shared, easily accessible, multicustomer IT infrastructures that are available non-exclusively to any entity in the general public (individuals, groups, and organizations)

Private Cloud

Aka internal or corporate cloud

IT infrastructures that can be accessed only by a single entity or by an exclusive group of related entities that share the same purpose and requirements, such as all of the business units within a single organization.

Hybrid Cloud

Composed of public and private clouds that remain unique entities but are nevertheless tightly integrated.

Multiple Clouds (Multiclouds)

Organizations use multiple cloud providers to meet different technical or business requirements.

Vertical Clouds

A set of cloud computing services optimized for use in a particular industry.

Infrastructure-as-as-service (IaaS)

A model with which cloud computing providers offer remotely accessible servers, networks, and storage capacity.

• Infrastructure to run software and store data

• Ex. Amazon, IBM

Cloud Data Management

The practice of storing a company’s data on an offsite server that is typically owned by a vendor that specializes in cloud data hosting.

• An important application of IaaS

Platform-as-a-service (Paas)

A model in which customers rent servers, operating systems, storage, a database, software development technologies such as Java and .NET, and network capacity over the internet.

• Platforms to develop applications

• Ex. Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine

Software-as-a-service

Delivery model where cloud computing vendors provide software that is specific to their customers’ requirements

• Software applications to process their data

• Ex. Apple iCloud

Desktop-as-a-service (Daas)

Aka Cloud desktop or desktop in the cloud. Subset of Saas.

In this model, a SaaS provider hosts a software environment for a desktop personal computer, including productivity and collaboration software—spreadsheets, word-processing programs, and so on—such as Google Apps, Microsoft 365, and other products.

Functions-as-a-service (XaaS/ Faas)

A category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications’ functions without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and deploying an app.

• Aka Everything as a Service

Serverless Computing

A cloud computing execution model in which the cloud vendor runs the server and dynamically manages the allocation of machine resources.

Security-as-a-service (SECaas)

A category of cloud services where an external provider handles and manages cybersecurity for an organization including services like data loss prevention, antivirus management, and intrusion detection among others.

Low-code and no-code tools

Allow anybody, regardless of their programming knowledge, to create applications and use data to solve problems

Benefits of Cloud Computing

• Cloud Computing Has a Positive Impact on Employees

• Cloud Computing Can Save Money

• Cloud Computing Can Improve Organizational Flexibility and Competitiveness

Concerns and Risks of Cloud Computing

• Legacy IT Systems

  • Historically, organizational IT systems have accumulated a diversity of hardware, operating systems, and applications called “legacy spaghetti.” They cannot easily be transferred to the cloud because they must first be untangled and simplified.

• Reliability

• Privacy

• Security

• The Regulatory and Legal Environment

• Criminal Use of Cloud Computing

The "Big Three" Cloud Computing Vendors

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Microsoft Azure

• Google Cloud Platform

Web Services

Applications delivered over the internet (the cloud) that IT developers can select and combine through almost any device, from personal computers to mobile phones.

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)

An IT architecture that makes it possible to construct business applications using Web services.

4 key protocols of web services:

• Extensive Markup Language (XML):

• Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP):

• Web Services Description Language (WSDL):

• Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI):

Extensive Markup Language (XML)

A computer language that makes it easier to exchange data among a variety of applications and to validate and interpret these data.

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)

A set of rules that define how messages can be exchanged among different network systems and applications through the use of XML

Web Services Description Language (WSDL)

Used to create the XML document that describes the tasks performed by the various Web services.

Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)

Allows MIS professionals to search for Web services they need by creating public or private searchable directories of these services.