See the attached documents.? – Please cite your work in your responses – Please use APA (7th edition) formatting? – All quest
See the attached documents.
– Please cite your work in your responses
– Please use APA (7th edition) formatting
– All questions and each part of the question should be answered in detail that demonstrates an extension of learning.
– Response to questions must demonstrate understanding and application of concepts covered in class, use in-text citations and scholarly resources to support all answers.
– No grammatical errors; Complete sentences are used. Proper formatting is used. Citations are used according to APA
Lastly, this needs to be 2 pages maximum excluding original questions
STEP 1: Define the IT Business Requirements
Your presentation must address BallotOnline's business requirements and critical IT requirements related to data storage. Make sure you classify the requirements into functional (behavior) and nonfunctional, as per the requirements definition link.
The business requirements should be explicit directives specifying what the solution should deliver for the business, formulated using imperative language (system should, or must, or will do this and that) rather than a general description of cloud solution features.
STEP 2: Prepare a SWOT Analysis
In this step, you will apply the information gathered in the business analysis to assess the benefits and possible drawbacks of adopting cloud infrastructure for BallotOnline.
Your supervisor, Sophia, recommends that you include a SWOT analysis in your presentation, since the BallotOnline company executives will want you to go over both the advantages and disadvantages of cloud adoption and any important internal and external factors that may influence the success of the project.
Take Action
Demonstrate your critical-thinking abilities by identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of adopting cloud computing.
First, articulate each of these areas for the SWOT analysis:
1. Identify the key strengths (advantages) of adopting cloud computing.
2. Identify the major weaknesses (disadvantages) of adopting cloud computing.
3. Are there any opportunities that cloud computing enables the organization to take advantage of?
4. What are the threats that an organization considering adopting cloud computing needs to consider?
Next, evaluate how to achieve the following outcomes to add to the SWOT analysis:
1. How can you use strengths to take advantage of opportunities?
2. How can you overcome weaknesses to take advantage of opportunities?
3. How can you use strengths to avoid threats?
4. How can you minimize weaknesses and avoid threats?
Use the SWOT analysis template to organize your ideas.
,
Cloud Computing: BallotOnline
CCA 610: Cloud Services and Technologies
The delivery of various services via the internet is referred to as cloud computing. The resources usually used in cloud computing involve the storage capabilities, databases, software, the network, servers, among others, which are essential tools to enable cloud computing to take place effectively and efficiently (Ahmed, 2016). Cloud computing calls for electronic devices to access the internet, the data server, and the existing software programs to allow the operations. Some popular cloud service providers include Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS. The essential basic capabilities of the cloud include on-demand access. Others include the internet, which links (Ahmed, 2016). The computing resources must also be available, which is normally an application. In addition, there must be a virtual and a physical server available that acts as servers. The essentiality of the servers and part of the basic capabilities should not be ignored. The data need to be stored, hence making the storage capacity available. Others include networking tools and development tools (Ahmed, 2016). It is via cloud computing that the future of the ballot online remains bright since it is known to advocate for the growth and not the expansion of the current infrastructure. It is normally hosted in or at a remote data center whose management is from the cloud service providers. Via cloud computing and cloud storage, transactions can be done at a lower cost and a great speed, preserving the cloud resources.
Some of the advantages associated with cloud computing include excellent accessibility. There has been quick and easy access to the stored information from everywhere cloud computing. In addition, there is an aspect of the low cost of maintenance. Via cloud computing, the companies are likely to enjoy a reduction in hardware and software maintenance (Sether, 2016). The other advantage is mobility, where the mobile as a tool can access data in all the clouds and easy accessibility. Via cloud computing, another advantage is the unlimited storage facility and capability where a large or voluminous amount of data can be stored, which may be essential. Some stored data in clouds include the audios, images, and documents.
There is an element or an aspect that touches on the security of data (Sether, 2016). Cloud computing is secured against possible threats and risks to the data. Despite cloud computing being associated with many advantages, there are disadvantages, including some. The internet connectivity, at times there could be internet failures and network, and inconsistent network coverage hence may render the services unavailable most of the services in the cloud computing are accessed via the internets (“Figure 6.4 reasons businesses do not use cloud computing, 2014, 2019”). Another disadvantage is the vendor lock-in .at times. It is challenging to transfer data and services from vendor to vendor since they use different platforms, hence the biggest challenges. The other disadvantage is the limited control. Cloud computing as infrastructure is fully owned and managed by the service providers. The users of the services have limited access and control. In cloud computing, security is an essential component and a requirement in information. The information can be hacked and be compromised ("Figure 6.4 reasons businesses do not use cloud computing, 2014," 2019). Despite upgraded security platforms in the security, there have been incidences that data have been hacked and compromised. The budget set aside by the company and the possible benefits makes it important to adapt to cloud computing to reap the benefits. The weakness is few and cannot outdo the advantages.
The economic impact analysis refers to the methodology for evaluating the impacts from the projects, the policy on the economy of a specific region, and programs. For example, cloud computing is known to impact the economy positively and negatively by allowing easy access, securing information and data, creating employments, and improving the infrastructure (Alimonti, 2021). It is economically sound over time since the revenue projection of the ballot online keeps on increasing, the IT budget is an insignificant percentage. The revenue of $100.8 million has an IT budget of 10 percent equaling ($10.8 million). Since the percentage required keeps on decreasing as the year goes, the revenue collected keeps increasing and hence can be well served by the impact analysis. The economic impact analysis projects that there is a tendency that the ballot online is going to enjoy more from the fact of adopting to the cloud computing, especially on storage and other software. The negatives include the distortion of information or data and hacking. The analysis is important as it shows the impact on the cost of operation, income, jobs, and competitive productivity.
Table 1: BallotOnline budget for the next 5 years
Table 1 is showing the IT budget for the next 5 years. The organization’s executive leadership has declared that the IT budget will be cut by 5% over the next five years. This translates to a 1% reduction in the IT budget every year for the next five years. IT management has been tasked with determining the best recommendation and most cost-effective method for ensuring that the current IT infrastructure meets business objectives while also reducing the IT budget to 5% of annual revenue projections over the next five years.
Table 2: Total on-premises cost breakdown vs Total Azure cost breakdown
This table illustrates the breakdown comparison between the on-premises and Azure cost. Several cost categories from the on-premises environment are consolidated in Azure and reduced as a result of the cloud's efficiency.
So, after doing the calculation, the estimated cost of running IT infrastructure on BallotOnline's premises for the next five years, according to the Microsoft Azure TCO calculator, is $46,213,390. BallotOnline will spend $16,135,160 over the next five years on Azure cloud-based services. This means that if BallotOnline uses the Azure cloud-based service instead of an on-premises solution, they will save about $30,078,230. For BallotOnline, a cloud-based IT solution is a viable option.
References
Ahmed, R. (2016). Introduction to cloud computing and the application project. Cloud Computing Using Oracle Application Express, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2502-8_1
Alimonti, R. (2021). Digital markets and implications for competition policy: Evidence from recent economic analysis. Economic Analysis in EU Competition Policy, 112-145. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800370197.00014
Figure 6.4 reasons businesses do not use cloud computing, 2014. (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.1787/888933586388
Sether, A. (2016). Cloud computing benefits. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2781593
,
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Critical IT Requirements Related to Data Storage
Learning Topic
Critical IT Requirements Related to Data Storage
Security rules and procedures protect information and systems from unauthorized access,
use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. Examples of IT requirements that
support secure data storage include the following (Niels, Dempsey, and Pillitteri, 2017):
Data Protection
Encryption of data (at rest and in transit)
Encryption transforms intelligible data, called plaintext, into an unintelligible form,
called ciphertext. This is reversed through the process of decryption.
Appropriate security technologies
e.g., intrusion detection and protection systems, firewalls, configuration settings
Audit Trails
Records of system activity, including information on system processes, application
processes, and all user activities, should be maintained. These records could be used to
find security violations, application flaws, and/or understand performance problems
within the system.
Separation of Data
Separation of data in this context means that individual clients may require that their data
be stored in an environment that is either logically separated using software or physically
separated using hardware isolation.
Separation of Duties
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Critical IT Requirements Related to Data Storage
Separation of duties is the process by which roles specific to handling sensitive systems
and data are segmented so that no single individual has total control of—or access to—a
system. Separation of duties can reduce insider threats by limiting the access any one
individual has to a system. Such separation can also serve as a checks and balances
system for security. This differentiates the individuals who design or test a system from
those who conduct security testing or monitoring.
References
Niels, M., Dempsey, K., & Pillitteri, V. Y. (2017). NIST special publication 800-12 Rev. 1: An
introduction to computer security: The NIST handbook. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-12r1. In the public domain.
© 2022 University of Maryland Global Campus
All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity
of information located at external sites.
,
|
Chapter 3 Section 14: SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats by Val Renault from Community Tool Box is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States license. © 2016 Community Tool Box. UMGC has modified this work and it is available under the original license. |
|
STRENGTHS 1. 2. 3. 4. |
WEAKNESSES 1. 2. 3. 4. |
|
|
OPPORTUNITIES 1. 2. 3. 4. |
Opportunity-Strength (OS) Strategies Use the strengths to take advantage of opportunities 1. 2. |
Opportunity-Weakness (OW) Strategies Overcome weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities 1. 2. |
|
THREATS 1. 2. 3. 4. |
Threat-Strength (TS) Strategies Use strengths to avoid threats 1. 2. |
Threat-Weakness (TW) Strategies Minimize weaknesses and avoid threats 1. 2. |
Chapter 3 S
ection 14: SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
by
Val Renaul
t
from
Community Tool Box
is
available under a
Creative Commons Attribution
–
NonCommercial
–
ShareAlike 3.0 United States
license. © 2016 Community Tool Box.
UMGC
has modified this work and it is available under the original license.
SWOT Analysis Template
STRENGTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
WEAKNESSES
1.
2.
3.
4.
OPPORTUNITIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Opportunity
–
Strength (OS)
Strategies
Use the strengths to take advantage
of opportunities
1.
2.
Opportunity
–
Weakness (OW)
Strategies
Overcome weaknesses by
taking advantage of
opportunities
1.
2.
THREATS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Threat
–
Strength (TS) Strategies
Use strengths to avoid threats
1.
2.
Threat
–
Weakness (TW)
Strategies
Minimize weaknesses and
avoid threats
1.
2.
Chapter 3 Section 14: SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats by
Val Renault from Community Tool Box is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States license. © 2016 Community Tool Box. UMGC
has modified this work and it is available under the original license.
SWOT Analysis Template
STRENGTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
WEAKNESSES
1.
2.
3.
4.
OPPORTUNITIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Opportunity-Strength (OS)
Strategies
Use the strengths to take advantage
of opportunities
1.
2.
Opportunity-Weakness (OW)
Strategies
Overcome weaknesses by
taking advantage of
opportunities
1.
2.
THREATS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Threat-Strength (TS) Strategies
Use strengths to avoid threats
1.
2.
Threat-Weakness (TW)
Strategies
Minimize weaknesses and
avoid threats
1.
2.
,
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Business Requirements
1/4
Learning Topic
Business Requirements A requirements analysis involves a systematic evaluation of needs derived from a
company's business goals and strategy. One approach to determining requirements
involves the classification of functional and nonfunctional system requirements.
Functional Requirements
Functional requirements are at the heart of systems or technology development.
Functional requirements specify the behavior of a system and determine what the system
should do. These requirements are developed well before the acquisition or development
of systems. The activity can be performed during the system design and can be
application- or architecture-driven. For example, a functional requirement for a calculator
would be "must be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers."
Typical functional requirements are (Eriksson, 2012):
business rules
transaction corrections, adjustments, and cancellations
administrative functions
authentication
authorization levels
audit tracking
external interfaces
certification requirements
reporting requirements
historical data
legal or regulatory requirements
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Business Requirements
2/4
These rules determine things such as operations, systems reports, and workflow. These
requirements are also the determining factor when evaluating system compliance.
Typically, the flow of functional requirements incorporates such things as user request,
feature, use case, and business rule.
Examples of Functional Requirements
User request: I need to send secure messages in the new application.
Feature: End-to-end encryption when sending messages.
Use case: This feature will be enabled when the application sends communications
to the database.
Business rule: All encryption must be FIPS 140-2 compliant.
Nonfunctional Requirements
Nonfunctional requirements specify how the system will support the functional
requirements. They may include ways of verification of functional requirements
fulfillment, as well as any remaining requirements that are not covered by the functional
requirements.
While functional requirements are necessary to make the system or component work
nonfunctional requirements can determine how well the system or component works
because they describe the "quality characteristics" or "quality attributes" of the functional
requirements (Eriksson, 2012).
Typical nonfunctional requirements include (Eriksson, 2012):
performance (e.g., response time, throughput, utilization, static, volumetric)
scalability
capacity
availability
reliability
recoverability
maintainability
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Business Requirements
3/4
serviceability
security
regulatory
manageability
environmental
data integrity
usability
interoperability
Examples of Nonfunctional Requirements
Availability: The Online Payment System will be available for users between the
hours of 5:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. EST.
Capacity: Up to 1,000 total users can use the system.
Maintainability: Changes required by law will applied at least 3 months before the
law becomes enforceable.
Reliability: Will be available to users 98 percent of normal working hours.
Security: Only users with the role "Administrator" or "Supervisor" can make changes
to the system.
References
Eriksson, U. (2012, April 5). Functional vs. non functional requirements [Blog post].
Retrieved from http://reqtest.com/requirements-blog/functional-vs-non-
functional-requirements/
Requirements. (n.d.). Non functional requirements. Retrieved from
http://www.requirements.com/glossary/nonfunctionalrequirements/tabid/91/def
ault.aspx
1/18/22, 11:58 PM Business Requirements
4/4
Cloud Computing and Information Technology Strategy
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-
cca610/learning-resource-list/cloud-computing-and-information-
technology-strategy0.html?ou=622270)
© 2022 University of Maryland Global Campus
All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity
of information located at external sites.
Resources
,
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
Learning Topic
Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
Your business case needs to be brief and communicate the basics of cloud computing in a
manner that is easy for a layperson to understand. Analogies are a good way to convey
this information to nontechnical audiences, such as your executive leadership team.
Example:
Complex Concept Analogy
Cloud computing is billed based on actual usage on a
recurring basis, and does not
require an upfront investment
in computer hardware,
networks, staff, or facilities.
Cloud computing is similar to purchasing electricity from the utility company. When you
use electricity, you get a bill from the utility. The
utility customer doesn't have to invest in
purchasing or maintaining power generation
equipment, staff, or facilities.
Economies of Scale
One of the benefits of cloud computing is the ability to take advantage of economies of
scale. Cloud service providers provide a large-scale platform to a number of different
clients, which reduces the unit cost that each client pays.
In a traditional on-premise IT model, each organization has to invest in data center
facilities, telecommunications links, network infrastructure, servers, storage, staffing,
applications, and databases. Under a cloud computing model, an organization can simply
rent these items from an organization that invests in these items on a much larger scale.
Return on Investment (ROI)
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
Calculating the return on investment (ROI) (the amount of return on an investment
relative to its cost) is critical for an organization's decision-making process. Organizations
are more likely to invest in an initiative if you can provide management with evidence that
the investment will pay off financially. For example, if you find that moving the
organization's infrastructure to the cloud will result in a 431 percent annual cost savings,
then you should highlight this savings in your presentation.
UMGC graphic
In this case, ROI would be calculated with:
gain from investment (GFI) = $10,073 – $1,596
cost of investment (COI) = $1,596
ROI = (gain from investment – cost of investment) / cost of investment
h6
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
($8,477 – $1,596) / ($1,596) = 431%
ROI = 431%
On-Premise Model vs. Cloud Model for Data Storage
On-Premise Model Cloud Computing
Hardware/software hosted
on-premise by the
organization
Hardware/software is hosted off-premise by an
external organization (public cloud model).
Provisioning is based on
estimated peak demand,
which can lead to
insufficient resources during peak periods and a surplus
of resources during normal
periods
Provisioning is dynamic based on actual demand.
Internal IT staff support the
entire technology stack —
data centers, networks,
compute, storage, applications, and databases
Staffing requirements can vary, depending on the
type of cloud services acquired. If all infrastructure
needs are provided by the cloud provider, then an
organization could eliminate many IT positions such as network administrators, systems administrators,
and data center staff.
Capital expense budgets are
required, and it can take a
long time to add capacity or
refresh systems
Capital expense budgets are no longer required, and
additional capacity can be added quickly.
Departments may or may
not have financial
chargebacks for IT services
Billing is automated, and reports can be provided for
finance to charge individual departments.
Source: The Open Group. (n.d.). Building return on investment from cloud computing. Retrieved from http://www.opengroup.org/cloud/wp_cloud_roi/p2.htm
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
IT Business Needs
You will need to assess the IT needs or requirements of the business to determine
whether cloud computing is a feasible option for the organization. To evaluate what the IT
business requirements are, you should look at the company's historical IT needs (current
IT infrastructure), future growth areas of the business (new business and expected growth
projections), and evaluating financial factors (ROI, TCO, IT budgets, service costs).
Cloud Reference Model
A cloud reference model or architecture helps you to better understand the different
parties that perform transactions, processes, or tasks in a cloud computing model, as well
as the interactions between these parties.
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2011). NIST cloud computing reference architecture. In the
public domain.
Cloud Architecture
Cloud architecture is a term referring to the various components required under a cloud
computing model. For example, in an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) delivery model,
these components might include compute and storage nodes and network connectivity,
and it is up to the cloud architect to determine how these components should interact
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
with one another. In a software as a service (SaaS) delivery model, these components
might include front-end interfaces (web, mobile), middleware (business-specific
applications, application servers), back-end (databases), load balancing, and caching
services (Akamai, memcached, Amazon ElastiCache).
Cloud Migration Methods
Organizations moving to cloud computing models need to evaluate how to migrate their
existing IT workloads and data. Each organization has to evaluate whether it wishes to
hire a third party to help facilitate the migration, or perform the migration using its own IT
staff. Different migration methods may be used depending on whether it is an application,
database, or infrastructure services.
Current Trends in Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is fast-paced and rapidly evolving, so the current trends today will be
different than the trends tomorrow (Boulton, 2016).
Some organizations may shift away from private clouds, in favor of less expensive
public cloud implementations.
Cloud cost containment is very important, and new cost management tools are being
developed to aid in this.
Applications are being rewritten as native cloud applications.
Enterprise applications are moving to the public cloud.
References
Boulton, C. (2016, November 2). 6 trends that will shape cloud computing in 2017.
Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/3137946/cloud-computing/6-trends-
that-will-shape-cloud-computing-in-2017.html
Khasnabish, B. (2010). Cloud reference framework. Retrieved from
https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-khasnabish-cloud-reference-framework-
00#page-6
Liu, F., Tong, J., Mao, J., Bohn, R., Messina, J., Badger, L., & Leaf, D. (2011). Special
publication 500-292: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cloud
computing reference architecture. Retrieved from
https://bigdatawg.nist.gov/_uploadfiles/M0008_v1_7256814129.pdf
1/18/22, 11:57 PM Building a Business Case for Cloud Computing
https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-cca610/learning-topic-list/building-a-business-case-for-cloud-computing.html?ou=622270 6/6
A Service Brokering and Recommendation Mechanism for Better
Selecting Cloud Services
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-
cca610/learning-resource-list/a-service-brokering-and-
recommendation-mechanism-for-better-sele.html?ou=622270)
Cloud vs. On-Premise Network
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-
cca610/learning-resource-list/cloud-vs–on-premise-network.html?
ou=622270)
Definition of ROI – Return on Investment
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-
cca610/learning-resource-list/definition-of-roi—return-on-
investment.html?ou=622270)
Economics of the Cloud: Employment Effects in Two Exemplary
Sectors in the USA, the UK, Germany and Italy
(https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated/cca/2218-
cca610/learning-resource-list/economics-of-the-cloud–
employment-effects-in-two-exemplary-sect.html?ou=622270)
© 2022 University of Maryland Global Campus
All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the valid
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