Cloud Computing & Emerging Technologies

Introduction

Internationally, advancement of Information Technology (IT) has brought many changes in all spheres. IT has revolutionized the world by making it a global village. IT has made it possible to gather data at one place & its storage in electronic format. This helps in efficient utilization of data would lead to effective growth. Emerging

technologies like Cloud Computing, Mobile Computing, Social Media and Web 2.0, Green IT, etc. have created many opportunities for professionals.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a way of delivering IT enabled capabilities to users in the form of ‘Utility Service’, where users can make use of resources, platform, or software without having to possess and manage the underlying complexity of the technology. Cloud computing simply means the use of computing resources as a service through networks, typically the Internet. The Internet is commonly visualized as clouds; hence the term “cloud computing” for computation done through the Internet. With Cloud Computing, users can access database resources via the Internet from anywhere, for as long as they need, without worrying about any maintenance or management of actual resources. Besides these, databases in cloud may be highly dynamic and scalable. Cloud computing is both, a combination of software and hardware based computing resources delivered as a networked service. This model of IT enabled services enables anytime access to a shared pool of applications and resources.

Characteristics of Cloud Computing:-

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On-demand self-service: with the inherent ability to automatically provision computing capabilities, such as server and network storage, as needed without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider;

Broad Network Access: Standard network/Internet access mechanisms promote location-independent use by diverse platforms such as smartphones;

Resource Pooling: The service provider hosts compute, network, and storage resources in a model that supports multi-tenancy, with dynamic assignment and reassignment of resources according to demand;

Rapid Elasticity: Rapid scale out and scale back of resources; from the user's point of view, there are unlimited resources that are paid for based on the quantities actually consumed;

Measured Service: Resources are optimized and controlled with a metering capability, with transparent reports on consumption shared with the user;

Agility: The cloud works in the ‘distributed mode ‘environment. It shares resources among users and tasks, while improving efficiency and agility (responsiveness).

Cloud Computing Service Models

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• Software as a Service (Saas)

i. Access the cloud provider’s applications, which are running on a cloud infrastructure.

ii. Applications are accessible from client devices through a thin client interface (e.g. web browser).

iii. Need not manage or control the data center, network, servers, operating system, middleware, DBMS, or even individual application capabilities (with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings).

iv. No control over your data.

• Platform as a Service (PaaS)

i. Deploy applications you created or acquired onto the provider’s cloud infrastructure, using programming languages and tools supported by the cloud provider.

ii. Need not manage or control the data center, network, servers, OS’s, middleware, or DBMS.

iii. No need to have control over your data and the deployed applications, and possibly application hosting environment configuration.

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

i. Processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources are rented from the cloud provider.

ii. You don’t manage or control the data center or network.

iii. You do have control over your data, OS’s, middleware, DBMS, and deployed applications.

Deployment Models of Cloud Computing

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Benefits of Cloud Computing

Mobile Computing

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It refers to the technology that allows transmission of data via a computer without having to be connected to a fixed physical link. Mobile voice communication is widely established throughout the world and has had a very rapid increase in the number of subscribers to the various cellular networks over the last few years. An extension of this technology is the ability to send and receive data across these cellular networks. This is the fundamental principle of mobile computing. Mobile data communication has become a very important and rapidly evolving technology as it allows users to transmit data from remote locations to other remote or fixed locations. This proves to be the solution of the biggest problem of business people on the move i.e. mobility.

The ability to share information across a wireless platform is becoming more vital to the today’s business communication needs. Various companies design and develop several wireless applications and solutions for Blackberry, iPhone, Google Android G1, iPad, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Brew devices, PDA, Palm & Pocket PC. Mobile Computing Services allow mobile workforces to access a full range of corporate services and information from anywhere, at any time and it improves the productivity of a mobile workforce by connecting them to corporate information systems and by automating paper-based processes.

Benefits of Mobile Computing:

Major tangible benefits of mobile computing are given as follows:

• It provides mobile workforce with remote access to work order details, such as work order location, contact information, required completion date, asset history relevant warranties/ service contracts;

• It enables mobile sales personnel to update work order status in real-time, facilitating excellent communication;

• It facilitates access to corporate services and information at any time, from anywhere;

• It provides remote access to the corporate Knowledgebase at the job location;

• It enables us to improve management effectiveness by enhancing information quality, information flow, and ability to control a mobile workforce.

Mobile Computing and BYOD

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Mobile computing, including BYOD is the single most radical shift in business since the PC revolution of the 1980s. Over the next decade, it will have a huge impact on how people work and live, how companies operate, and on the IT infrastructure. These services will focus on the issues and opportunities surrounding the new way to communicate and consume computing services. Mobile computing is not just PCs on the move. Mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets, and the iPod Touch, the last PDA standing are a radically different kind of devices, designed from the ground up as end points of data networks both internal corporate networks and the Internet rather than primarily as stand-alone devices. They are optimized for mobility, which means that they have to be light, easy to handle, and maximize battery life. Where laptops has a three hour battery life, the tablet and smartphone regularly run 12 hours or more between charging and serve as windows into the Cloud.

Social Media and Web 2.0

A social network is usually created by a group of individuals, who have a set of common interests and objectives. There are usually a set of network formulators followed by a broadcast to achieve the network membership. This happens both in public and private groups depending upon the confidentiality of the network. After the minimum numbers are met, the network starts its basic operations and goes out to achieve its goal. Success of a social network mainly depends on contribution, interest and motivation of its members along with technology backbone or platform support that makes the life easier to communicate and exchange information to fulfill a particular communication need. Implementing social networks and sustaining them is one of the biggest challenges and people have formulated many mechanisms in the past to keep alive such networks. This has been largely supported by the advancements in the field of IT. The large scale computerizations and the powerful advent of E-Commerce have aided this also, but overall, the need for a structured support was and is still there. Web 2.0 has been one of the greatest contributors in this area and it has been a great contributor in the era called ‘technology diminishing the humane distance’.

Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over the time, Web 2.0 has been used more as a marketing term than a Computer Science based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all seen as components of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 tries to tap the power of humans connected electronically through its new ways at looking at social collaboration. This is one of the commonalities between social networks and Web 2.0 - both have people as their

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fulcrum. The main agenda of Web 2.0 is to connect people in numerous new ways and utilize their collective strengths, in a collaborative manner. In this regard, many new concepts have been created such as Blogging, Social Networking, Communities, Mashups, and Tagging. The power of Web 2.0 is the creation of new relationships between collaborators and information. The components of Web 2.0 help to create and sustain social. Blogging is the art of social conversation and have replaced personal home pages and this helps for a more consolidated flow of thoughts and ideas. Wikis have enabled collaborative contribution and authoring among distributed teams. Tagging or folksonomy is a collaborative means of identifying information widgets to increase the power of any web site and searching required information in a faster way. Combined with other such concepts, Web 2.0 provides an ideal platform for implementing and helping Social Networks to grow.

Green IT

Green IT refers to the study and practice of establishing / using computers and IT resources in a more efficient and environmentally friendly and responsible way. Computers consume a lot of natural resources, from the raw materials needed to manufacture them, the power used to run them, and the problems of disposing them at the end of their life cycle. Green computing is the environmentally responsible use of computers and related resources. Such practices include the implementation of energy-efficient Central Processing Units (CPUs), servers and peripherals as well as reduced resource consumption and proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).

IT solutions providers are offering green security services in many ways. What to look in green security products, the challenges in the security services market and how security services fare in a recession. If administered properly with other green computing technologies, green security can be a cost-efficient and lucrative green IT service for solution providers. The basic aim is to increase the customer's energy savings through green security services and assess that ‘how sustainable computing technology can immediately help the environment’. Green IT services present many benefits for clients as well as providers, but knowing ‘how to evaluate a client's infrastructure to accommodate green technology is really a vital issue’.

Conclusion

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For commerce, which takes place in a physical world, CAs have played an important role, as they are involved in all aspects of commerce such as accounting, auditing, compliance, consulting, etc. As commerce, which earlier based on the brick and mortar model is moving from the physical market place into digital virtual space, the need for services in the traditional areas of accounting, auditing, compliance and consulting will increase on account of the increasing risk and potential. Chartered Accountants will be increasingly required to audit or consult on IT problems for clients. The cloud computing architecture will continue to evolve to permit additional layers of services to be offered. Cloud service offerings will no doubt grow not just in number but also in variety. Chartered Accountants with good understanding of cloud computing can play a more proactive role for their clients in riding the cloud wave and also enhance the quality of their service offerings using the cloud computing model.

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