Cloud Computing Consists Of Storage Accessâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Explain on Cloud Computing Consists Of Storage Access? Answer: Introduction Cloud computing consists of storage and access of data and applications over the Internet instead of directly accessing them from the computer disks or hard drives. Storage and access of data can happen either on premise, on the cloud or a combination of both referred to a hybrid cloud. Hybrid cloud computing is usually the most popular cloud computing methodology due to the degree of control it offers to an organization. This reports outlines the contents of a Business Continuity Plan as a result of adopting hybrid cloud computing, security steps and controls to be adopted in a hybrid cloud environment as well as steps and issues to be considered when migrating to the cloud. BCP for SoftArc on adopting hybrid cloud The following are the considerations pertaining to business continuity plan that SoftArc ought to make. On-premise application resilience, backup and disaster recovery majority of cloud solutions are able to protect against and deal with a potential disaster. This is called resilience and most organizations achieve this by having a mix of both physical or on-premise and cloud applications. With respect to the BCP, SoftArc will have to choose what will suit best especially where business-critical operations are involved. Therefore, the goal of resiliency is to ensure that the operations and services provided provided in the cloud are in full functioning state after a failure (Wasson et al, 2017). For resilience to be successful, SoftArc will have to invest in various softwares used for backup of digital materials such as emails, office documents such as Word and Spreadsheet including investing in cloud based backup solutions such as online Drive storages. For successful resilience and disaster recovery while on-premise, SoftArc will have to run on secure systems such as Red Hat Linux t hat use virtualization technology to easily create copies of backups for safety and instant use in the event of a disaster. Cloud application resilience, backup and disaster recovery - This can be done by having both physical as well as virtual infrastructure which will enable the firm to replicate business-critical operations and hence ensure that operations are not affected. Resilience testing should be conducted in order to ensure that both versions of infrastructure will be reliable when a disaster occurs in order to minimize downtime. Backup solutions are usually vendor specific and they include Backblaze, Crashplan, Carbonite etc. Since the digital materials that SoftArc use such as emails, office documents such as word and spreadsheets arent handled by a single backup instance, disaster recovery and resilience is always guaranteed (Fisher, 2017). Information security steps and controls for Hybrid cloud Security awareness this includes access control as well as data protection. Since SoftArc will operate in a hybrid environment, controlling access to the applications that are based in the cloud will be more problematic compared to the on-premise access control. The firm should review the cloud service provider basic access protocols in place and then it can implement more controls if need be. Also on data protection, the firm shouldnt entirely rely on the cloud service provider protection for data. Instead, it should add its own which include encryption and separation of data as well as networks (Reichenberg, 2015). Development and maintenance of a risk management program this is important especially where various resources are to be utilized for security purposes. A risk management plan will reduce the overall security risk that may occur since it can be easily detected. The security steps ought to be aligned to the firms business goals in order to ensure consistency in growth and stability of the firm. Ensuring existence of and compliance to cloud security policies to protect the IT space and the assets in it, compliance policies pertaining to the hybrid cloud need to be established. Their establishment is guided by analyzing the consequences of having the hybrid cloud compromised. Auditing the cloud service providers business and operational processes this will ensure that the firm does not expose its data in the cloud in the event that it selected the wrong service provider (Zeile, n.d.). Reasons A good security awareness ensures safety of the firms IT and cloud assets. This ensures that unseen security disasters such as cyber attacks do not happen or can be thwarted through early detection. A risk management program ensures that right actions are taken by the right individuals in disaster recovery. In the event of disaster, communication is easy because everyone is usually committed to resolve the disaster. Hence recovery and stability achievement is fastened. Security compliance and auditing protects the firm from disasters caused by human errors. When individuals are forced to follow and comply to a certain security procedure, it is difficult to leak classified information or expose business critical operations to potential cyber criminals. Migrating to the cloud steps - Sharepoint Signup for an Amazon Web Services account. This is usually free Start the network and Active Directory stack (Network/AD stack). This network stack creates the required network configurations and Active Directory infrastructure as foundation. Launching of the DB (Database) Stack which is used to provision the database tier. Starting of the application server stack. This installs and enterprise cloud computing instance which installs the sharepoint server. A license key is needed. Launching the web stack. This installs the load balancers which balances traffic between the application and the server. Configure the sharepoint on AWS in order to meet the needs of the firm (Barr, 2012). Steps SQL Server 2012 Signup for an Amazon Web Services account and choose region and then instances in the navigation pane and then select Launch DB Instance. This is usually free on the page that appears, select the SQL server icon and then select the SQL Server Express edition then provide the DB details chose next to continue in order for configure advanced settings page to appear and then provide information on the DB instance. Select launch DB instance (Amazon, n.d.). Issues For successful migration to the AWS, high level of expertise is needed which SoftArc may not have. Mental paradigm shift among employees due to the misunderstanding among employees concerning the difference between the local deployment and cloud deployment, it is hard for them to adapt to the cloud. However, this can be solved by training as well as allowing for a transition period where employees are learning how to use the cloud. Provisioning of Internet to be able to use applications in the AWS would require SoftArc to be connected to the Internet throughout. Business operations may be affected if there is low bandwidth or long periods of downtime. Security issues safety data and documents is not always guaranteed. SoftArc will have to invest in securing their data such as end-to-end encryption upon migration to AWS. Conclusion Considering that SoftArc is a civil engineering firm, hybrid cloud would be a great option for it. Such firms sometimes experience short term spikes in demand for services and therefore a hybrid and public cloud offers the flexibility and scalability they might need to urgently meet demand. References Barr, J. (2012). Deploy a SharePoint 2010 Server Farm on AWS Cloud in 6 Simple Steps (All Scripts and Templates Included) | AWS Blog. Aws.amazon.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/deploy-a-sharepoint-2010-server-farm-on-aws-cloud-in-6-simple-steps-all-scripts-and-templates-includ/ Bhalerao, P.10 Azure Migration challenges how to overcome them.Saviantconsulting.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017, from https://www.saviantconsulting.com/blog/overcoming-10-azure-migration-challenges.aspx Bohn, K. (2016).It takes just 5 steps to move to the Cloud.Ecsnamagazine.arrow.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017, from https://ecsnamagazine.arrow.com/5-steps-to-move-your-customers-enterprise-apps-to-the-cloud/ Creating a Microsoft SQL Server DB Instance and Connecting to a DB Instance - Amazon Relational Database Service. Docs.aws.amazon.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_GettingStarted.CreatingConnecting.SQLServer.html Fisher, T. (2017). 22 Online Backup Services: Ranked Reviewed. Lifewire. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from https://www.lifewire.com/online-backup-services-reviewed-2624712 Glick, A., Bennage, C. (2016).Disaster Recovery and High Availability for Azure Applications.Docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/resiliency/disaster-recovery-high-availability-azure-applications GRIFFITH, E. (2016).What Is Cloud Computing?.PCMAG. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp How can the cloud provide resilience?. (2013).Blog.pulsant.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://blog.pulsant.com/how-can-the-cloud-provide-resilience Rayback, M. (2016).Defining backup, disaster recovery and business continuity.StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://www.storagecraft.com/blog/defining-backup-disaster-recovery-and-business-continuity/ Reichenberg, N. (2015).6 Steps To A Secure Hybrid IaaS Environment.Cloudstrategymag.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://www.cloudstrategymag.com/articles/85752-steps-to-a-secure-hybrid-iaas-environment Wasson, M., Buck, A., Bennage, C. (2017).Designing resilient applications for Azure.Docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017, from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/resiliency/ Zeile, A.5 Steps for Cloud Security - HOSTING.HOSTING. Retrieved 13 May 2017, from https://www.hosting.com/5-steps-for-cloud-security/