VbKeys

What Is Remote Computer Repair?

If you watch TV or listen to the radio, you probably heard of a popular remote access program called GoToMyPC that allows you to remotely access and control your PC from anywhere in the world over the internet, just as if you were still sitting in front of your PC at your home or office. Of course there are many different brands of remote access software out there, but I needed you to understand the concept of remote access so you can see the power behind the business of remote computer repair.

Whatever a technician can do with control of your mouse and keyboard sitting in front of your computer, can also be done remotely over the internet. This includes downloading and installing any programs necessary to repair your Windows installation, such as for virus and spyware removal. Even so, most computer users in general have never considered “remote” computer services for their computer repair and maintenance needs. They are just accustomed to whipping out the Yellow Pages to find a local technician who can do house calls, or to carry it in to a local computer repair shop. While you might be internet savvy and use Google to find a few phone numbers to call around for the best deal, the same concept still applies – my place or yours.

As long as you still have internet access, remote computer repair is the most convenient way for you to get PC help when you need it the most. Remote computer repair also saves on gas and time so it is also the “greenest” option available for your computer repair needs.

Initiating Remote Repair

There are quite a few U.S. based, remote computer repair companies with English speaking, certified technician’s to choose from. Once you have made your choice, you usually initiate the remote computer repair service from their website by downloading and installing their remote access software. You will then need to make a quick online purchase for the service you are requesting, such as for a one-time repair or a recurring monthly payment for an unlimited amount of repairs, usually for a minimum 1 year contract. The prices vary from company to company, but it is quite affordable and probably much less than your pay for your cell phone.

Then you schedule the repair, usually right away, and grant the company temporary access to your computer using the software they had you install. It is quite secure, and once the work is complete, they cannot access your computer until you grant them access again.

Benefits

• About 98% of problems can be repaired remotely.
• You don’t have to disconnect your computer to take it to a shop.
• You can observe the repair and watch everything that is going on.
• Unlike having a problem or question about your computer after bringing it home from a shop, and now you are on your own, with remote computer repair, the technician is right there with you, on your screen as it were to guide you.
• Some customers do not feel comfortable with a stranger in their house, or do not want to leave their computer at a shop. With remote repair, the technicians do not have to make a service call to your home or office because they can do most everything online!
• No need to schedule any service calls or wait for a technician to show up late.
• Most remote computer repair services are avail 24/7/365.
• If you subscribe to an unlimited repair package, you will probably use the service at the first hint of trouble rather than putting it off until the problem gets worse, averting costly repairs and downtime. variable

Limitations

• Your computer has to be able to access the internet.
• Not all computer problems can be repaired remotely, particularly hardware problems, which obviously requires a “live” technician onsite.
• Usually requires payment online via credit card.

Making Sense of Remote Computer Repair

Like microwaves, computers are a common household item now. We just use them as a tool to store and manage the cloud of data we have created for ourselves for our picture albums, music library, videos and documents. The problem is that they break, and usually because of lack of maintenance, or from viruses and spyware. Some people end up spending as much to repair their computer after 1 – 2 years than they originally paid for it.

Instead of winging it to pay unexpected computer repair bills every time your computer breaks, it makes sense to look into a subscription based remote repair service where they usually charge you a small fixed fee every month for an unlimited amount of repairs. With computers being such a big part of our lives, you have to factor in the cost of repairs into the overall cost of your computer. You can expect to pay a fixed rate somewhere between $200 – $300 per year for an unlimited repair package, depending on the company you choose as well as any support add-ons you want.

Hardly anybody figures the cost of computer repairs into their budget, which is always why they end up paying more, because money always seems to be tight when your computer breaks, especially in this economy. This causes people to put off their repairs, which usually results in the customer running their computer into the ground which in turn ends up costing them more to fix it in the long run. Now imagine if they were already paying a small fixed price every month for an unlimited amount of remote repairs, don’t you think you would take advantage of that and take care of it right away? Of course you would, it makes perfect sense. I like to think of it as an insurance policy with no deductible, with rates that don’t go up when you make a claim, and you will make claims!

Get pro-actively involved in your online internet security and computer health. And when you need computer help, stay in your chair and learn about a more efficient way to get fast, quality service by visiting: http://spywarepreventionguy.com/remote-computer-repair-service

Dale Powell
aka the “SpywarePreventionGuy”
http://spywarepreventionguy.com

Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Stop procrastinating! You probably have thought about ways to enhance your computer Internet security, but for one reason or another have kept putting it off. Time to get serious and take some affirmative action. These 6 steps are just what you need to get started.

Step 1: Identify Potential Threats

In order to create an effective plan of action, it is essential the you identify potential threats. This includes not only ways that your confidential information on your computer could be accessed illegally without your knowledge, but also where the threats may come from. Generally we think of the nameless hackers lurking in cyberspace just waiting for the opportunity to invade our computer and create havoc. While this may be the most common danger, there are also more intimate people around you such as casual friends, business associates, friends of friends, or even associates of family members, who if given the chance could gain access to your computer and obtain some confidential information such as bank account numbers, credit card information, and other private data. The point here is that you should take steps to ensure computer security from potential threats both within your sphere of influence as well as beyond.

Step 2: Computer Lock Down

One of the easiest steps, and the most overlooked by most users, is to simply lock the computer when not in use. Whether using your computer at home or even your business computer at work, you should never leave your computer running unattended for any length of time without having some sort of locking system in place. Most computer operating systems such as Windows do have this feature enabled for when you first start up your computer, however often users leave their computer running unattended which means anyone can sit down and have access to it. Therefore it is important to have another layer of security to protect your confidential files when your computer system is actually running. This means having both a good password to lock you computer from unauthorized access, along with different passwords to protect files you want to keep private. Use a combination of letters and numbers, both upper and lower case letters for the best protection. Never use common every day items like birthdays, kids or pet names, telephone numbers etc., as these are just too risky if the computer hacker knows you personally.

Step 3: Disconnect

No computer Internet security software or firewall system can be considered 100% safe under all circumstances, day after day. With new forms of malware such as viruses being invented each and every day, there is always a chance, perhaps very slim, that your current computer security could be breached. There is a 100% solution to online threats that is rarely considered by most computer users which is actually free and very easy to do. Simply disconnect your Internet connect from your modem when not using your computer. This physical break in the path from the Internet into your computer will solve any type of online threat that currently exists.

Step 4: Onboard Security

It is amazing how many computer users today still ignore the need for good quality computer protection in the form of well respected computer Internet security software. Either they are totally naive and believe the myth “it will never happen to me” or they run on the cheap, and figure that the basic malware and spyware protection and the firewall provided with their operating system is good enough. Others will take things one step further and download some free PC internet security software thinking that this is as good as the paid version. Hello? There is a reason why it is free! You generally get what you pay, or do not pay for, in terms of computer Internet security. This is not to say that the basic security settings of your operating system and some e-mail programs, web browsers, and applications should be ignored! These should be activated to add yet another level of protection for your computer against outside threats.

Step 5: Prepare for the Unexpected

With all the concern about hackers breaking into your computer, physically or online, people often overlook the less sensational dangers to their computer system such as power surges or spikes and hardware malfunction. Any of these can destroy or corrupt important files and even make your onboard security useless. Therefore it is wise to use a good quality power surge protector that will guard against unexpected spikes in electricity which could fry your computer components and damage your hard drive containing your data files. If you are really concerned about these kinds of dangers there are battery system backups that you can use that will automatically protect against power surges as well as power outages and allow you to save data and shutdown your computer normally to avoid corrupting any files.

Step 6: Backup Important Data

Anyone familiar with computers generally knows or has heard at least one story of someone who lost everything in an instant when their computer’s hard drive suddenly and without warning… CRASHED! If you do not regularly backup important data files containing confidential personal information or even information that has a sentimental value to you and your family, then it is like playing a game of “Russian Roulette”. It is only a matter of time until this happens as computer hard drives are not built to last forever. Sometimes a good computer techie can still access a failed hard drive and save the contents to a different hard drive, and sometimes not. Can you afford to take this chance? External hard drives or “zip drives” are very affordable these days and can hold huge amounts of information, in most cases the entire contents of your hard drive, and offer an easy solution as well as “piece of mind” knowing that you have your important data saved in another place should your hard drive fail. Just remember to backup on a regular basis! Depending upon the value of our data and how often changes are made to it, you may need to backup monthly, weekly or even daily.

There is no time like the present to start taking the necessary steps to create a plan of action to help improve your computer Internet security. Tomorrow may be too late!

Time is running out for you! It is not a question of IF, but WHEN will your computer security be at risk. Take action now to discover your best computer internet security [http://www.computerinternetsecurityinfo.com/] and to learn more about the best computer security software. Let us help you as we have already helped hundreds of others online find the best home computer internet security software currently available today.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

Prior to Buying

Every tool is designed for a specific function. Hammers were made to drive nails and shovels were made to dig holes. Computers are tools designed to transmit or store information and then do something with that information. The something is what needs to be considered when purchasing or designing a new home computer. When buying a new computer the intended use should be determined well before visiting a store or browsing an online merchant. The single most important question to consider when buying a computer is not how much you have to spend, or who manufactures it, but what you intend to do with it. Once this question is answered you can then determine what hardware and software will be necessary to accomplish your goals.

Some people struggle when trying to answer this question. To help determine the primary intended purpose ask yourself what you spend the most time doing while on the computer and what you would like to do but cannot because of your current limitations. If 90% of your time is spent reading emails, using social network sites, or browsing online merchants and 10% is spent watching movies then you will want to invest in a particular category of computer (probably a laptop, netbook, or tablet). If you would like to replace your media center (TV, DVD, etc) and use your computer to watch movies or TV then a different system will need to be purchased.

Individual hardware Components

Buying a new computer can be a daunting task especially if you are unfamiliar with the individual components which comprise a computer. The following is a list of common components and their function within the computer. These hardware components also influence the price of the computers hardware more than any other components in a pre-built system.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Purpose:

Processes instructions from software and does something based upon those instructions. The faster the CPU the more instructions can be processed during a fixed time period. CPU quantity is measured by the number of CPUs available (both physical chips and “cores”). The speed a CPU can process instructions is measured in Gigahertz (GHz)

Example of a common specification:

Intel 3.2GHz dual Core CPU

Translates in to:

Processor made by Intel, which has two “cores” which run at 3.2GHz each. Effectively giving you two 3.2GHz processors.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Used to store instructions used by the CPU. RAM is the area which the CPU can store instructions and perform calculations. Think of a black board which can be used to perform math problems. The more area for the CPU to do calculations the faster a computer can perform. This is what people refer to when they mention “computer memory”. RAM quantity is specified in Gigabytes, the speed in which information can move in and out of RAM is measured in Megahertz.

Example of a common specification:

CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Translates in to:

Two 4 Gigabyte RAM components made by Corsair which uses the DDR3 chipset and form running at 1600MHz.

Hard Disk

The hard disk is the component which actually stores all of your data. Photos, emails, documents and music are examples of files which might be on your hard drive. The hard drive is also where your operating system resides. Hard drive capacity is measured in Gigabytes and the speed of the drive is measured in RPM (Rotations per minute)

Example of a common specification:

WD Caviar Blue 1 TB 7200 SATA

Translates in to:

Drive made by Western Digital which has 1 Terabyte capacity, runs at 7200 RPMs and uses SATA as the interface.

Many people are confused as to exactly how much “stuff” a hard drive can hold. As an example, a 1TB drive can store approx. 200,000 photos or 76 hours of video or 250,000 songs. Hard drives are routinely oversold by computer manufactures for this very reason. Many people end up using less than half of the storage space on a drive. It is one area that can be bought small and increased relatively cheaply later on.

There are many other components which together make up a computer, however, the CPU, RAM and hard disks will determine the cost of your computer’s hardware more than any other single item.

Types of Software

A computer is only a useful tool if we can do something useful with it. Software is created to allow us to do something with the hardware. The something is why people use and buy computers at all. Hardware as interesting as it might look is not useful to us if it cannot run the software we need. Software can be grouped into two broad categories, Operating systems and Applications.

Operating Systems

Operating systems manage and control the computers resources and make them available to applications. Every computer has an operating system. The most common operating system on home computers is a version of Windows by Microsoft. Microsoft’s current version is Windows 7, previous versions which are still in use include Windows Vista and WindowsXP. Other operating system include Apple’s OS X and Linux.

Applications

Applications are the programs which we use to make the computer do something. All applications have “minimum system requirements” these requirements are the bare essentials which the computer must possess in order to simply run the software. Running software at the minimum requirement will generally cause frustration with the application and the computer as a whole. Minimum system requirements can include hardware and software qualifications such as hard disk space, CPU speed, RAM quantity and operating system type. Always, always, always, check minimum system requirements prior to purchasing software as most retailers will not accept opened software for return (unless there is some type of physical defect with the software)

Common types of applications include

Office Suites

Microsoft Office

OpenOffice

iWork

Home Finance

Quicken

iCash

MS Money (legacy)

Home Media

iTunes

Roxio

Small Business Management

Quickbooks

Computer Security

McAfee

Symantec

ESET

Communication Tools

Skype

iChat

There is an application for almost every conceivable use of a computer, chances are if you are looking for an application to solve a type of problem someone has created it.

Putting it all together

Now that you have an understanding of the components which make up a computer you can match those to your primary use of the computer. Choose the applications you wish to use, determine the system requirements for those applications and purchase a system which meets at least the minimum requirements.

The cost of a home computer will be determined by the software which comes with it and hardware which is used to support the software. In budget systems retailers will usually supply the operating system, a basic office suite and basic security software. The hardware will be either older technology (6 to 12 months old) or newer technology manufactured by an “off brand” manufacture and offer a low amount of upgradeability. These systems are usually chosen by people who are looking for primary uses such as email, online shopping and simple home finance. People with primary uses such as home business management, online communications (Skype, iChat) and some form of media usage (listening to music, watching movies, etc)will choose systems with a faster CPU, more RAM, greater hard disk space and more upgradeability than what budget systems provide. Home computers which are built for intensive gaming, heavy media usage, in depth small business management or an eye towards the greatest return on investment will use the newest and fastest hardware thereby increasing their cost.

A final point to consider when purchasing a new home computer is that of durability. Most hardware warranties are for a single year yet many people use a home computer between 3 and 5 years before purchasing a new system. Extended warranties can sometimes be a good investment depending upon what the warranty covers, the cost of the warranty, the availability of quality computer support in your area and your budget.

Whether we are a computer lover or a computer hater, one thing is for sure. When we are using a computer, we want it to work and work well. How frustrating it is when we are working on the computer and all of a sudden it slows down to a crawl, or it becomes unstable to the point where we have to reboot the system, possibly losing any unsaved work. Experiences like these cause the birth of many computer haters. So how can we use our computers to in a way that will help minimize these unwanted situations? What actions can we take to help our computer age gracefully? Good computer maintenance is absolutely necessary if our computer is to be useful for its whole life. What are some ways to keep our computer up and running fast?

One way, and probably the most important, is to install proper anti-malware software on your system. It should be a program that can not only search for and delete malware on your computer but also protect you in realtime from being infected by it in the first place. So make sure that you get software that has both of these features, as some today do not. Malware can affect your computer in multiple ways. Many times it will cause it to run slower since it is using your computer’s memory resources. Viruses are known for deleting data that your computer needs to run efficiently. Once it is deleted, your computer may start to crawl or become totally unusable. Other types of malware, such as spyware, run in the background attempting to collect your personal data. Obviously, this will take a toll on your computer’s performance. Worms are often used to slow networks down by clogging up the data being transferred on over the network. So for these reasons, you do not want malware on your system at all.

So now we know the evils of malware. What about all of the other data on your computer? Over the course of a computer’s life, programs are installed, photographs and videos are transferred to its hard drive, office documents are written, pictures are drawn. What happens to all of those files? Well, they can start to cause your computer’s performance to noticeably drop. Why is that? When files are accessed on a computer, your computer may take the file and change its location on the memory when the file is being run. This allows your file to run faster at the time that it is being used. However, over time, a computer may take different files from one program and spread them all around your computer’s hard drive. This actually causes your computer to access these programs slower since it has to look at different areas of memory for all the files needed to run the program. To help with this computer problem, a program was created to put these files back into adjacent positions in the memory so that when the computer is accessing the hard drive to find these files, they are all in one spot. Thus, the computer does not have to look all over, cutting down on the time it takes to start a program. This program is called Disk Defragmenter.

Another way to keep your computer running correctly is to use other utilities that are built to Windows. These programs have changed names as new Windows versions have come out. Some of these tools are ScanDisk and CheckDisk. They are used to check for any disk errors on the hard drive that can ultimately kill it. If they find these errors, they will attempt to fix them. It would be a good habit to run these programs frequently, especially on older hard drives. If they detect many errors, then your hard drive may be close to failing.

As we can see, computer maintenance is essential for the long and healthy life of a computer. By using the information discussed here, our computer should be able to last years and stay quick as well and maybe take some of the frustration out of owning one.

If you would like to learn more about good computer maintenance, please visit Best Computer Maintenance. Also, for information about Windows virus protection and malware protection in general, please visit Windows Virus Protection.net [http://windowsvirusprotection.net]. There you will find tips for keeping your system secure as well as other useful information pertaining to the fight against malware.

In the world of information technology, it seems that every few years a new concept comes along that emerges as being the next great leap in technology. One of the current concepts that fits that description in the IT world is called cloud computing. However, before a company decides that it will embrace cloud computing, it needs to make sure that it understands all the implications of this new offering. As with most technologies, there are many benefits that can be gained, but along with understanding the benefits, the business risks must also be evaluated. When making this evaluation, it is important to keep in mind not only the short term needs, but the long term objectives and goals of the organization. In recent years, the Obama administration has pushed for all federal agencies to investigate cloud computing to see if it will benefit each agency. “The Federal CIO Council under the guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO), Vivek Kundra, established the Cloud Computing Initiative to fulfill the President’s objectives for cloud computing.”5 With the recent push from the current administration, cloud computing is expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years. In some studies, there are predictions that “cloud services will reach $44.2 billion in 2013, up from $17.4 billion of today, according to research firm IDC.”4 This paper will lay out the considerations that an organization should consider at before making a decision to use or dismiss cloud computing at the present time.

Overview of Cloud Computing:
“Cloud Computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network-based access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interactions.”2 This definition is one of many that have been introduced within the IT industry, but what does this actually mean? The concept of a cloud can be looked at as a “leasing-versus-owning concept – an operational expense versus a capital one.”4

To understand the cloud computing concept more clearly, let us compare it to a more common concept: paying for electric utility. Each month, a household or business utilizes a certain amount of electricity which is monitored by a company and the consumer is billed based on their usage. If each household had their own power source, that would be congruent with non-cloud computing; there is no central power source that households take advantage of. If, as is the standard case, households buy their power from a consolidated power source (e.g. a power plant), that would be like taking advantage of a cloud; many users sharing a resource to fulfill their independent needs. Using this simple example, the cloud would be similar to the power plant, providing either infrastructure or software to customers on pay-per-use basis.

Some experts may disagree, but in many regards, cloud computing is similar to the way that computers were used when they first entered the market. At the advent of computers, computers (and associated facilities) were extraordinarily expensive and only owned by a few select organizations such as universities or the government. Few had the expertise to support a separate computing facility in house. Therefore, companies would lease time on computing resources provided by a small number of providers, only purchasing what they needed for what they were working on. In a similar model, cloud computing introduces the concept of buying resources as needed, and similar to the past, the resources can be accessed from a remote location. Key differences include quality of service, and variety of services offered by cloud computing vendors.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) serves as a guide towards helping government agencies achieve cloud. NIST’s cloud model “promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”2 As this paper continues, each of these components will be addressed.

Development Models:
Prior to being able to evaluate if cloud computing is a good fit for a given organization, the general concepts of cloud computing must be understood. There are a number of different deployment models as well as applications of clouds that make up a cloud environment. The cloud deployment models include: public cloud, community cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. There are strengths and weaknesses to each deployment model as it relates to the specific case that a cloud is being considered for use with. The following provides a summary understanding of each deployment model so that one can be chosen to move forward with consideration of cloud implementation.

Public Cloud
“Made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services”2

A public cloud is owned by a third party vendor that sells, or offers free of service, a cloud that can be used by the general public. A public cloud is the quickest to setup within an organization, but it also has a limited amount of transparency and limits the amount of customization.

Community Cloud
“Shared by several organization and supports specific community that has shared concerns” 2

A community cloud is an architecture that is established when a group of organizations come together to share resources. A community cloud is a mini public cloud, but only a select group of organizations will be authorized to use the cloud. In contrast to the public cloud, it will generally be more expensive since it will only be used within a smaller group of organizations and all of the infrastructure must be established. A community cloud is a great choice for a group of organizations, such as a group of federal agencies that desire to share resources but want to have more control over security and insight into the cloud itself.

Private Cloud
“Operated solely for an organization” 2

A private cloud is one that is established to support a small singular organization. There is much debate if a private cloud should be considered a cloud at all, as the infrastructure and management of the cloud remains within the organization.

Hybrid Cloud
“Composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enable technology that enables data and application portability.”2

A hybrid cloud allows for some of the resources to be managed by a public cloud environment, while others are managed internally by a private cloud. This will normally be used by an organization that wants to allow itself to have the scalability features that a public cloud offers, but will want to keep mission critical or private data internal to the organization.

Service Models:
In addition to the platform on which a cloud will be deployed, there are a variety of different applications of cloud. There are three major types of cloud services, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Described below are the concepts between the varying types of cloud models.

Software as a Service (SaaS):
“Delivers software over internet without need to install and run applications on the customers own computers” 2

SaaS allows applications to be used by customers over the internet to complete business processes. SaaS is not a new concept; for example, “Salesforce.com has been providing on-demand software for customers since 1999.”6 The advantage of SaaS is the software is run from one centralized location, which means that that the software can be accessed from any location over the internet. The other benefit of having the software managed in one location is that the patches and updates only need to be done once, eliminating the time consuming need to conduct software updates on every machine. Lastly, SaaS is generally “on-demand” which means that an organization does not have to commit to enterprise licenses.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):
“Delivers a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications” 2

The PaaS is a platform that helps to deliver an environment where a user can use the clouds to develop new applications without the need to have the software or infrastructure purchased in-house. The consumer will have control of the applications that are running on the cloud, but will not have control of the infrastructure that it is running on. In essence, PaaS provides “anything needed to support how a company builds and delivers Web applications and services in the cloud.”3

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
“Delivers computer infrastructure, typically platform virtualization environment as a service. It’s an evolution of virtual private server offerings.” 2

IaaS is using the cloud to supply the infrastructure that would normally have to be procured by a singular organization to run an organizations IT infrastructure. Included in the infrastructure are such things as servers, memory and storage that allow a customer to scale up or down as necessary. The infrastructure can than be used by customers to run their own software with only the amount of resources that are needed at a given moment in time. In the past, companies would often have to purchase a huge infrastructure to support a periodic spike in the need for resources, leaving the servers and networks idle for much of the remaining time. With IaaS, resources will not be wasted, because only what is needed at a given moment is utilized. The customers to the cloud service have control over the operating systems and applications, but don’t manage the cloud infrastructure.

Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing:
Now that the basic concepts of cloud computing are understood, an organization needs to consider all of the impacts that cloud will influence. As one might expect, there are a number of considerations that need to be weighed to decide if an implementation of cloud computing is the best approach for a given organization.

Advantages:
There are many advantages that can be gained from the use of cloud computing. Cloud computing is built upon the idea of economies of scale. The great thing about the concept of cloud is the potential cost-savings benefits that can be gained for a small startup, large company, or even an entire federal agency.

Cloud computing eliminates the usual high up-front cost that companies often cannot afford, allows for “infinite” resources on-demand, and provides the ability to pay for resources as they are needed. It also removes the need for special facilities and highly trained personnel dedicated to IT and the need to continually upgrade hardware and software as technology moves on and company requirements change.

In general, the use of cloud computing should reduce costs by companies paying for only the resources that are needed. Many companies do not know what the demand will be for their IT infrastructure, which previously meant that companies either over-bought servers or were overwhelmed by demand that could not be handled; leading to a loss of customers or degradation of service to their customers. In either scenario, there is a detrimental impact because money was inefficiently expensed on unnecessary hardware and/or potential sales were lost.

Maintenance of software can be just as big an expense for organizations as the initial purchase. With the use of cloud computing, software updates and backups are made without the organization having to spend time and money on these activities. This helps to alleviate many of the technical burdens that are often put on companies and allows them to concentrate on their core competencies while still gaining the advantage of having the most up-to-date version software.

Cloud computing allows a company to operate in an elastic fashion. Resources can be scaled up or down as needed by a project, consumer demand or operating need. The elasticity that is gained by cloud computing allows projects to proceed in a manner that is appropriate, without the time consuming and costly delays that the purchase of hardware and software has through the procurement process. Resources can be quickly provisioned/de-provisioned, which should result in a lower investment cost.

The use of cloud is looked at as an environmentally friendly approach. Currently, there are a huge number of server farms that operate to serve individual organizational needs. With cloud computing, a single server farm can support a large number of different entities, potentially reducing power requirements, emissions, and disposal of old electronics.

Disadvantages:
A company may think that cloud computing is unquestionably the way to go, but there are a number of concerns that need to be taken into consideration before a company elects to implement cloud computing. The main concerns inherent in cloud computing include security, privacy, reliability and cost.

Security is by far the most common reason that an organization states for not moving forward with cloud. Many organizations ask: “who would trust their essential data out there somewhere?” The amount of security control that an organization will have depends on the type of cloud structure that is adopted; private, public or community. The amount of security control is highest in a private cloud and lowest in a public one. While a cloud environment might be just as secure as a non-cloud, there is limited transparency into the cloud which escalates the worry of security. Along the same lines, there is also a concern by many organizations about the amount of privacy that a cloud environment could potentially lack. The third party vendor that is supplying the cloud could potentially access a company’s sensitive information, which increases the risk of a privacy breach.

Reliability is a huge concern for many organizations; having a service down for even a few minutes a year could be very costly or even cause a safety concern. Cloud takes the control of reliability out of the hands of the organization and puts it into the hands of the cloud vendor. It is important that service level agreements are established with the cloud vendor to make sure the reliability requirements are agreed upon by both parties upfront.

In some organizations, especially within the government, there are reporting laws that make it so a cloud option might “not be an acceptable solution due to government regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Health and Human Services Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)”.1 In addition, there are many regulations that prevent sensitive data from being transmitted beyond the borders of a nation. Cloud computing farms are general built in locations that offer the lowest possible cost, many times outside the borders of the customer’s nation. Currently, clouds are being established that alleviate this concern, but as a result, the cost of using the cloud vendor increases.

While the “advantage” section mentioned how cloud computing was a way to lower costs, this is not always the case. The initial cost of utilizing a cloud will be lower, but the lifetime costs could be much higher due to the continual expense of paying for service. Lastly, there is always the concern the business that is selling the cloud services goes out of business. Cloud applications from one provider will generally not be compatible with other providers’ clouds; thus limiting an organization’s options if they needed to change providers for some reason.

Cloud Implementation:
The first step that needs to be taken before deciding to implement a cloud within an organization is deciding if cloud is the right fit. The proper analysis needs to be conducted to include: cost, time, risk, benefits and interoperability. The cloud environment could be a great revolution for a given organization, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. If flexibility and scalability are an organization’s paramount needs, cloud is likely an optimal solution. In organizations that have high concerns for security and privacy, cloud might be a viable IT solution, but an in-depth analysis of the tradeoffs needs to be conducted. The length of time that an application or infrastructure will be commissioned should be a factor in deciding if cloud is an appropriate model. For a short duration project, cloud is likely an excellent candidate due to the fact that the infrastructure does not need to be procured. In the case of a long term implementation, cloud might still be a very viable option due to the fact that demand often fluctuates. This being the case, if demand is steady, a procurement of the hardware might a better option, considering cloud normally has a higher cost per transaction.

After it has been decided that a cloud environment is the correct fit, the layer of cloud that will be implemented needs to be selected: SaaS, PaaS or IaaS. Each of the differing layers brings with it entirely different questions. Following the selection of the layer, the type of platform that the cloud will be deployed on needs to be chosen: public, community, private or hybrid.

It is important to take into consideration the entire life cycle cost of implementing cloud. Without much question, the initial cost of implementing a cloud will be lower, but since costs are paid for on a per-use basis, the cost over the entire lifetime of could potentially be higher with cloud. When developing the cost estimate to establish an IT infrastructure without cloud, it is essential that cost beyond the initial purchase of the hardware and software are taken into account. With cloud, especially in the public cloud, there is a large reduction in the costs for updates/patches, maintenance and reductions in staff, all factors that need to be taken into consideration when doing a fair comparison. Simply put, opportunity cost must be determined for moving to a cloud and a decision should be made based on the needs of the organization.

Summary:
In summary, cloud computing has the potential to change the way organizations view and deal with IT needs. As the private and government sectors continually look for ways to reduce costs, cloud is an approach that needs to be evaluated. In general, the cost of this type of infrastructure will be lower, but to some degree at the expense of customization and control over security in the organization’s IT structure. By fully investigating all of the considerations and options presented in this paper, an organization will be well positioned to make a smart decision on cloud computing for their current and future needs.

Article Source: http://www.cloudcomputingroundtable.com

Works Cited:
[1]Armbrust, Michael, et al. “A View of Cloud Computing.” Communications of the ACM 53.4 (2010): 50-58. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

[2]Grance, Mell, and Peter Mell. “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing Version 15.” 7 Oct. 2009.

[3]Lahey, David, and Taylor MacDonald. “Three flavors of cloud.” Accounting Today 24.10 (2010): 22. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

[4]McCafferty, Dennis. “Cloudy Skies: Public Versus Private Option Still Up in the.” Baseline 103 (2010): 28-33. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

[5]US General Services Administration. “Cloud FAQs.” Apps.gov. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

[6]Yan, Han. “On the Clouds: A New Way of Computing.” Information Technology & Libraries 29.2 (2010): 87-92. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

-Eric Carlson

[http://www.cloudcomputingroundtable.com]