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Basic Concepts of IT (Open University Malaysia)

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FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

JANUARY 2018

CBCT2203

BASICS CONCEPTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

MATRICULATION NO. :
IDENTITY CARD NO. :
TELEPHONE NO. : -
E-MAIL : @oum.edu.my
LEARNING CENTRE : SIK

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Contents
1.0 Introduction of cloud storage....................................................................................................3
1.1 Cloud Brief Explanation on cloud storage:...........................................................................3
2.0 Five Important Features To Consider........................................................................................3
2.1 File Versioning......................................................................................................................4
2.2 Automatic Syncing................................................................................................................4
2.3 Top Notch Security...............................................................................................................4
2.4 Flexible Storage Capacity.....................................................................................................5
2.5 Quality Customer Support....................................................................................................5
3.0 Example of Cloud Storage Provider.........................................................................................5
3.1 Public Cloud Storage Privider...............................................................................................5
3.2 Private Cloud Storage Provider.............................................................................................6
3.3 Hybrid Cloud Storage Provider.............................................................................................6
3.4 Services offered by provider.................................................................................................6
4.0 Discussion and comparison on cloud storage type....................................................................7
4.1 Public Cloud storage.............................................................................................................7
4.2Private Cloud Storage............................................................................................................7
4.3 Hybrid cloud storage.............................................................................................................8
4.4 Best type of cloud storage.....................................................................................................8
4.5 Recommended on cloud storage...........................................................................................9
5.0 Benefits gained by using cloud storage.....................................................................................9
5.1 Usability...............................................................................................................................9
5.2 Bandwidth...........................................................................................................................10
5.3 Accessibility........................................................................................................................11
5.4 Disaster recovery and backup.............................................................................................11
6.0 Challenges for Using Cloud Storage.......................................................................................12
6.1 Usability.............................................................................................................................12
6.2 Bandwidth...........................................................................................................................12
6.3 Accessibility........................................................................................................................13
6.4 Data Security......................................................................................................................13
7.0 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................13
8.0 References..............................................................................................................................14

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1.0 Introduction of cloud storage

Today, the management of data plays a significant role in an organisation due to the
unrelenting growth of data which creates major storage issues.

Therefore many organisation and enterprises are concentrating on the latest technology of
cloud storage especially the development of cloud service providers to accommodate the
expansion of their data annually. There are three types of cloud storage which is public
storage, private storage and hybrid storage.
What companies and organisations often look for in a cloud service provider are
reliability, accessibility, cost effective storage options plus maintenance, speed, capacity,
recovery and backup , energy savvy. Mobility and data security to fulfill their needs and
demands of business. Storage technologies gas becomes a necessity for modern day
organisations.

1.1 Cloud Brief Explanation on cloud storage:

Cloud computing can be defined as the set of hardware, networks storage services and
interfaces that have been combined in order to deliver aspects of computing as a service.
Its services include the delivery of software, infrastructure and storage over the internet
either as separate components or a complete platform, based on user demand. Cloud
computing has three kinds of services; Infrastructure as a service, software as a service
and platforms as a service.

Cloud storage falls under “infrastructure as a service;” a typical model of networked

online storage where essentially the data is stored and kept in a virtualized pool of storage
which is usually hosted by third parties infrastructure that allow the businesses to store
and access their data virtually from anywhere in the world. It can be utilized from an off-
premises service or deployed on-premises.

2.0 Five Important Features To Consider

There are a many elements that could be vital depending on the requirements. However,
there are a few must haves that should be at the top of any organisation list of measures.

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Considering them will help the corporation to choose cloud storage option that’s best for
their business, and save them much time and money in the long run. There are five
features to look for when selecting suitable cloud storage solution.

2.1 File Versioning

File versioning is a feature that enables multiple file versions to exist in a system at the
same time. In most of the cases, this occurs when a file has been edited within the system.
It allows the company to return to previous files in case of corruption or deletion. It also
offers an easy way to compare file versions to one another, and if ever a company needs
to retrieve the latest backup file; this feature is certainly useful. Last but not least, the
organisation backup files and save them in a second location.

2.2 Automatic Syncing

Automatic syncing is a feature that automatically loads files into the company online
cloud storage. It’s an obvious feature with a variety of benefits. To begin with, an
organisation can collaborate seamlessly with their team. Most of the storage service offer
desktop applications that let any saved files saved to any other desktop application with
the same account will show up across all of them. It also applies to the backup files that’s
been uploaded, which mean that everyone on the team have instant access to the most up
to date versions of the backup files no matter where they are. The company can make this
feature work to fullest by making a few tweaks offline access as well.

2.3 Top Notch Security

To get a better idea on how secure the storage solution is, organisations need to look
meticulously on the ‘Privacy Policy’, because this is one feature that every business
worries about most. The main concern is the protection of data or files including the
backups from damage, loss or even hacking. Bear in mind that most data thefts occur
internally and thus it is much safer to keep sensitive information off-site, carefully
monitored by the cloud storage host with top-notch security. Each organisation need to
pick the best security solution for their business and must consider these points; that is

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the company should know how the host use their information whether the data are ever at
risk of being shared with outside agencies and to understand the features offered
especially on the protection of the files, file encryption and also file authentication.

2.4 Flexible Storage Capacity

Flexibility is priority when it comes to choosing a storage option. Mostly on an
organisation server, spaces are taken up by the backup files due to the amount of data
they contain. As a result, cloud storage provider are offering flexible storage capacity to
their clients which gives businesses the ability to choose the right storage plan that works
now, with the option to scale in future. For instance, downsizing company or expansion
of their website. Before making a choice, each organisation must know how much space
their backup files currently take up and their future storage needs.

2.5 Quality Customer Support

It’s important to have quality customer support when dealing with something as
important as the storage of your files and its backups. The main perk is the immediacy it
provides. Companies can resolved issues there and then thus prevent the problem from
worsening; obviously with an expert at hand to help. Storage solutions also comes with
various support option, including live chats and online product documentation. So
businesses will not hesitate to make contact if any emergency occur. This can reduce the
relapse of further issues and cut down on time and money.

3.0 Example of Cloud Storage Provider

3.1 Public Cloud Storage Privider

Dropbox is one of the most sought after cloud storage solutions avilable that offers public
cloud storage. Organisations can store, share and sync their data across all devices via the
Dropbox application or Dropbox website. Consumers receive 2GB of free storage, file
sharing and syncing plus security features like mobile pass code, SSL encryption and
two-step authentication. For more storage, it offers paid subscriptions. Dropbox allows
businesses to share their data with employees and associates even if they don’t have a

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Dropbox account. It also gives organisations the capability to share entire folders with
other Dropbox account users which all collaborators can view the updated folder. A
business account with unlimited storage includes team management tools, priority email,
phone support and enhanced security.

3.2 Private Cloud Storage Provider

3.3 Hybrid Cloud Storage Provider

Microsoft Azure offers its hybrid enterprise cloud model with reliable storage, useful
backup and disaster recovery features while a major software application for enterprise
has also just been carried over to its new platform. The services that are utilized from
Microsoft Azure Cloud solution are Star simple which is a delivered set up that uses
Microsoft’s complete hybrid cloud storage solution for enterprises. Azure Star simple also
acts as a place to safely store the organisation’s mission critical application backups for
added resiliency. It’s enterprise content Management ensures that the organisation
employees in multiple locations could work jointly on the platform and Azure site
recovery ensure rapid upload to the cloud thus carry out most of the heavy lifting around
backups.

3.4 Services offered by provider

Cloud storage is one of the best investment an organisation can make, for it they will
never know when they will need to access their files on the go. It is also perfect
especially for documents and multimedia files that are too large to send by email. With its
unlimited servers’ businesses can easily scale the service according to their business
needs. The elasticity of its storage option are great with its instant storage for everyday
needs, cold storage for files that organisation seldom used and local storage on the
organisation sever, network or their external drive. In addition, cloud storage boasts
extensive file sharing and syncing capabilities. As well as strong emphasis on its security

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with double encryption for transferring data. While data centers are monitored 24/7 with
backup power, temperature control, seismic bracing and other safeguards.

4.0 Discussion and comparison on cloud storage type

4.1 Public Cloud storage

In this type of cloud, all cloud services such as application and storage are made available
by the suppliers for the general public or large industry group widely through the internet.
The whole data is located on cloud which is managed and controlled by the provider and
the entire computing infrastructures are located on the premises of the provider that offers
the cloud service. According to Karina Fabin (2017) Public cloud services may be free or
offered on pay-per-usage model, charging according to disk space, bandwidth and special
concerns on its servers, like an apartment complex that rents out its space. It is easy and
inexpensive set up due to the fact that the hardware, application and bandwidth costs are
covered by the provider. So there will be no wasted resources because the company only
pay for what they are using plus this type of cloud has the scalability to meet needs.
However, there are some limitations because it has a limit for configuration and security
making it less ideal for any organisation using sensitive data to comply with the
regulations.

4.2Private Cloud Storage

It is also called internal cloud. For this cloud model, all the platform and applications is
set-up for the exclusive use of only one organisation or business. The infrastructure can
be provisioned inside or outside the owner premises while the operation is done by a
service provider specially to maintain the server that’s dedicated only to the company. It
aids business to maximize the ability to handle all data, security, accessibility and service
quality hence to have more administrative control. Although the initial investment cost is
high, this cloud model allows organisations to patronize and manage its sensitive and
critical data meticulously. There are also some company that needs the sovereignty of a

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private cloud system for privacy or compliance reasons and of course for governments
which need the isolation factor. Overall, scalability, provisioning, automation and
monitoring to accomplish their business demands.

4.3 Hybrid cloud storage

As the name suggest, this model is a composition of both cloud storages which is public
cloud, that’s easy to set up and use, low on cost but not safe in contrast and private cloud,
that’s more secure but difficult to set up and can be costly. Therefore, this collaboration
will take advantage of each type of cloud. An organisation will outsource all business
functions that are insignificant, its data and use public cloud to handle these data. On the
other hand, nosiness will retain control of important information through private cloud
simultaneously. It has scalability, cost effectiveness and data security all in one and is
much safer for data preservation.

4.4 Best type of cloud storage

Business have shrewder and more interesting reasons for liking the cloud today, but
before making any decision on the type of cloud storage they want to deploy,
organisations should have an in depth understanding about the features and functions of
each type and also its strengths and weaknesses in order to apply the best model for their
business needs and demands. Since what organisation wants are scalability, on demand
availability and ease of use without having to sacrifice the predictability and security, the
best approach for them to adopt is the hybrid model. Through this model organisation can
also customize the features and insert certain applications that meet their needs as well as
the resources that works for them. For instance, the need for temporary applications can
be implemented on public cloud because it helps the organization to avoid purchasing
additional equipment for a temporary need, similar to the need of permanent applications
that should be implemented on private cloud. Organization can choose several business
models depending on how they use the data which is to host active data on the private
cloud with backup to the public cloud for host proprietary data on the private server and

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less sensitive data to the cloud or choose the best cloud by department, for example, HR
and e-commerce on public cloud while R&D stays in a private cloud. One remarkable
advantage to the hybrid method is that it gives flexibility to every level of business.

4.5 Recommended on cloud storage

There are obvious cost and practical advantages for adopting hybrid cloud storage, for
example organization need not worry about expensive software licenses or security
updates and their staff can simply and securely share documents across business locations
hence working on them just as easily from home. This model also lets the applications
implemented to be further evolve under its environment. Its flexibility and scalability
helps organization to test a single tier in the public cloud while maintaining key
infrastructure on their private cloud or dedicated infrastructure. In addition, organization
can have their customers’ system to be scale up and down depending on demands. It
gives businesses the benefit of economic efficiency in the long run with costs and time
reduction and presents the organization with the freedom to concentrate on the core
business without having to worry on the control and the management of the system.

5.0 Benefits gained by using cloud storage

The pros of cloud computing are obvious and compelling hence many organizations
believe the benefits to far outweigh the risks. Therefore, once an organization decides to
use a cloud solution for its storage, they will look at the advantages they will gain first
although the numbers of options are overwhelming. The key advantages that
organizations usually look for are:

5.1 Usability
Cloud computing allows businesses to purchase only the services they want and when
they want them, cutting down the upfront capital costs of computers and its peripherals
which allow organizations to avoid their equipment going out of date and other familiar
information technology related problems like ensuring system security and reliability.

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Organizations can also add extra services or take them away at a moment’s notice as their
business accordingly needs change. Through cloud services businesses gain the ability to
communicate and share more efficiently although they are at different geographical
locations, such as project files with contractors or accounting records. Organizations can
easily drag and drop their files between the cloud storage and their local storage. Many
cloud tools enable new levels of sharing and collaboration which transform how an
organization operates. Using the right tools can help organizations break down the
barriers they currently face and be more open, effective and resilient. Automation is
another great benefit for organizations where the traditional hard drive lacks of. This
feature makes the online backup automatically and stores the data safely. Businesses can
easily select their data, what to back up, when to back up and at what time should their
data be back up and the services done the rest. All the backups are kept in a service
location that is physically removed from the originals. With no physical device at
presence and excluding the need to maintain the system of the cloud storage themselves,
leaves the organization free to focus on growing their business further.

5.2 Bandwidth
It is important for organizations to know that there is interconnection between bandwidth
and latency. The function of latency and bandwidth is the connection speed. Latency
can’t be decreased drastically; however, bandwidth can be increased at any time.
Therefore, cloud cervices are ideal for businesses with growing or fluctuating bandwidth
demands. If the business needs increase, it’s easy to scale up their cloud capacity,
drawing on the cloud service’s remote servers. Likewise, if it needs to be scale down
again, the flexibility is planted into the service. This operational agility can over their
competitors and make significant difference to the overall efficiency of their organization.
Thus the ability to quickly meet business demands. Cloud computing makes new classes
of applications possible and delivers services that were not possible before. [For example
corresponding batch processing which allow organizations to benefit from huge amount
of processing power to analyze loads of data for relatively small period of time and
extensions of computer thorough desktop applications that can offload date at the front
end, with the convenience of network bandwidth reducing the potential involved.

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5.3 Accessibility
Cloud solutions provide an almost immediate access to hardware resources with no
upfront capital and bundles of application with minimal initial cost leading to a faster
time to market in many level of business. Furthermore, it allows employees to connect
their virtual office while they are off site without any hassle, whether from home, on
vacation and at work, they can access their data easily. Virtual office that has been set up
through integrating cloud storage for business, from where authorized personnel can store
and share data across a number of web enabled devices such as smartphones and tablets
to instantly keep up to date with clients and coworkers. In addition, cloud tools make it
easier to collaborate with colleagues from outside organization. For example, by creating
a ‘base camp project where everyone can see each other’s work. People working in the
same organizations also can benefit from team collaboration tools like instant messaging,
shared calendars, and video conferencing and file sharing.

5.4 Disaster recovery and backup

It is highly recommended that businesses have a contingency plan for their data ready in
case of any emergency. Cloud is now helping more organizations buck this trend.
Businesses especially the smaller ones can use cloud storage as a backup plan by
providing a second copy of important files that save time, avoid large upfront investment
and roll up third party expertise as well. These backup files are stored at a remote location
on multiple servers and can be accessed and restore within seconds. One of the factors
that contribute to the success of a business is control. Unfortunately, no matter how in
control an organization may be, there will always be things that are completely out of
control and in today’s market; even a small amount of unproductive downtime can have a
resoundingly negative effect. That’s why cloud services provide quick data recovery,
should businesses experience a natural disaster or power failure it will ensure
organizations have backed up and protected data that can be access again quickly
allowing businesses to be conducted as usual while minimizing any downtime or loss.

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6.0 Challenges for Using Cloud Storage

6.1 Usability
Of course cloud computing has its own corresponding disadvantages and concerns. For
instance if an organization starts an application in the public cloud they never know that
other applications are running as well and using the same allocated resources. It is
possible to run in a server where a neighbourhood applications is extremely busy, leaving
little room for their own applications to run and communicate. It is yet to be figured out
wheter possible bugs are in this large system where there have been instances in which
the entire cloud services have crashed and have been unavailable for hours or even days.
Organizations also need to be careful when using drag and drop to move documents into
the cloud storage folder, for that, it will permenently move the documents from its
original folder to the cloud storage location.

6.2 Bandwidth
According to David Shaw (2016), full potential of cloud computing depends on the
availablelity of high speed access to all its in dividual users. So businesses will become
more dependent on a good internet connection if they fully rely on cloud services. As
more and more critical work is done on the internet, organizations will need much more
bandwidth and less failures in internet connectivity. Several cloud storage services have a
specific bandwidth allowance. If an organization surpasses the given allowance, they
could be cahrge significantly. Though security strategy is vital for an organization, it
should not however impact the performance. For example, the user experience should not
be affected by the encryption process when files are being transmitted to the cloud or the
decryption of files are upon retrieval. Bandwidth limitation can be challenging, since the
file access happend over the internet, the speed can be limited when retrieving data from
a public cloud storage.

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6.3 Accessibility
The main issue with accessibility with cloud storage is that if there’s no internet
connection, organizations have no access to their data. One of the best strategies for
controlling access to information or physical space is by having a sigle access point
which is much easier to patronize and secure than hundreds of them. The fact that all the
data are stored in such widely spread places runs against this principle. It is much more
vulnerable because of its size, distribution and broad range of access. In addition,
organizations must know how the data is stored, who has success to it and how that
access is granted.

6.4 Data Security

Due to its distributed nature, the cloud results in weak security systems that are easy to
break into. Wewak password recovery workflows, key loggers and phishing attacks
present bigger security risks. With its multi-tenant environment, where resources are
shared, data leakage to outside party are a main concern too. Without strong encryption
and unique credentials, files can be vulnerable in the cloud, but there are also major risks
during data transmission. Besides that, the biggest problem with cloud storage is that it
puts all of a company’s data and applications remotely in one place. The possibility of
private data mingling with other organisations makes some business uneasy.

7.0 Conclusion
Businesses are driving towards less cost, availability, managed risk, increased agility, all
of which are being accelerated towards the concept of cloud computing. It is where
massively scalable IT related capbilities are provided as a service across the internet to
multiple external clients. There are three types of cloud storage an organisation can
choose from which is public, private or hybrid cloud storage with each havingits strenth
and weaknesses that can be utilized and adopth depending on the organisation needs and
demands. Organisations also need to understand thoroughly about the feature and
function of each service in order to apply the best cloud model that suits their business.

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Eventhough cloud storage can have a number of challenges to as organisation, many

believe that the benefits derived from its outweights the risks and challenges. Besides the
cost of savingsm disaster recovery, accessibility as well as security is only few of the
intriruing benefits to business; cloud storage also aid reduction of IT costs, simplify IT
management, enable employees to work hence collaborate from distant locations and
enhance user experience. As a result cloud computing helps simplify data and
information sharing and easing IT logistics as a whole. Cloud technology will
significantly alter the future of business and working environment. In this age of
disruptive technology with fast and rapid development, businesses and organisations
should be exposed thus migrate to the broader spectrum os information and
communication technology (ICT) as it gives tremendous impact for their business on a
daily basis in many angles. Even small businesses have the competitive edge to run with
the big boy in the market while remaining lean and nimble. Organisations also would find
hidden in the millions of bits of data that surround their customer transactions and
business process; invaluable and actionable information that they can act upon to expand
and acceleratetheir business. While security and privacy remains to be the main obstacle,
many providers are working to increase data protection, privacy and security in tandem
with the development of cloud technology. Finally, because technology is changing
constantly, any organisation that are not ready for the cloud right now many find it as a
very useful solution at a later time.

8.0 References
1. David, S. (2016, August 7). Top Cloud Storage Security Challenges. Retrieved
February 18, 2018, from https://www.nasuni.com/top-5-cloud-storage-security-
challenges/
2. Jungwoo, R. (2016, March 23). Big Data Security Problems Threaten Consumers
Privacy. Retrieved February 6, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/data-security-
problems-threaten-consumers-privacy-54798/
3. Karina, F. (2017, March 9). Public Cloud vs. Private Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud Storage.
Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.tomsitpro.com /articles/best-public-
private-hybrid-cloud-storage,2-1133.html

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4. Scot, M. (2015,

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