This week, for the 1%, I want you to read the blog post entitled `Ultra Lean Government – Open source best practices and the Cloud` found at this source.
http://www.sys-con.com/node/1608498
LINK
The Cloud represents a major change in how we interact with software such as ArcGIS or MapInfo. After reading this article please give your thoughts on the benefits and challenges represented by a mass-migration to cloud computing. With your work on Amazon AWS you are able to offer first-hand comments on cloud computing!
Please make sure you post your comments by Sunday next week (2nd April) - posts after Sunday will not receive the 1% mark.
Paul
The article offers interesting insight into the growth of cloud computing and its role in governmental systems, and indeed its championing by central government.
ReplyDeleteThe article is very positive about the benefits of cloud computing in enabling open sourced best practices to be developed by the users themselves. How it can generate more receptive and nuanced software which is less ridged and monolithic which in turn reduces costs and supports innovation. Also considered is the role of cloud computing in making such software available globally and free to benefit all. The article is specifically interesting about the role cloud computing can play in reducing innovation gridlock.
As iterated the article is selling cloud computing, but this must be taken in the context of when it was published, 2010.
http://fortune.com/2016/09/02/us-government-embraces-cloud/
A quick follow up can confirm that at least some agree that it has delivered on the lofty promises assured in the first article. It appears that the innovation gridlock of adopting cloud computing has finally reached tipping point. As evidenced in the astronomical growth of amazons AWS GovCloud, the cloud of choice for the CIA. The Fortune article even claims that government contracts account for more cloud services then private industry an interesting reversal of matters.
The success and benefits of cloud computing are well sold, so much so that there seems to be an ongoing paradigm shift from server storage, however there remain questions of security and privacy when private corporations are trusted with so much and so sensitive government information, which is of course ultimately the information of private citizens.
Although this article is from 2010, the benefits of migrating to the cloud that are highlighted are still relevant. Value for money, or simply reducing IT costs is a huge advantage of moving to a cloud based system and the cloud environment further enables data sharing in a more efficient manner. Another strong advantage is the control and flexibility that cloud based systems offer clients through the possibility to increase computing resources more easily than trying to increase the capacity of an in-house system. The above article champions the cloud as being a significantly greater IT infrastructural solution compared to traditional IT systems and I would agree, however there are still disadvantages to cloud systems that have prohibited government agencies and companies in adopting them. These disadvantages can include the requirement of a high bandwidth internet connection, incompatibility issues and vendor lock-in with certain cloud providers and, although cost reduction is a huge advantage in a lot of situations, cloud solution are not always more cost effective. The Irish government cancelled their Government Cloud Services Catalogue project due to the received tenders not meeting the minimum standards set out by the government (http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/government-cancels-cloud-computing-project-gcsc-1.2154994). Although I believe that cloud systems offer more advantages than disadvantages, it is crucial for a review of a company’s/agency’s requirements needs to be completed to understand the most suitable IT solution, which may not require the cloud
ReplyDeleteEven though it isn't specifically mentioned in the article I've been dealing a lot recently with the data protection implications of hosting data in the cloud. At the last GIS user-group for Local Authority GIS officers, we talked about how 'Safe Harbour' gave way to 'Privacy Shield' which will in turn give way to GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). It is all well and good talking about savings by hosting data in the cloud but you also need to know where and on what server your open-data is and that whomever is hosting it satisfies GDPR. Otherwise you could be legally liable for a breech. How would you know if your data was being hosted by a company that did qualify for GDPR but then they out-source to a company that doesn’t?
ReplyDeleteAlso at the last GeoDirectory open day here in Dublin we had a talk by Linda NiChualladh who is the data protection officer at An Post. Some of the points she mentioned that jumped out at me were that the new GDPR legislation is the most debated EU legislation since tobacco legislation. Also data controllers and data processors will be held liable for breeches of the law.
There is also talk of a new EU directive called 'Upside-Down' which is looking at holding back information on the water system. It's been decided that in the age of terrorism having easily accessible open-data that details information on reservoirs that supply drinking water to thousands might not be the best idea.
My reading on all of this is that we may start to see a bit of a roll-back on the rush to host everything in the cloud. All it would take is one big data breech that caused a huge legal problem because people didn't check where their data was physically stored and if it was secure.
The blog is from 2010, although interesting it is old, actually there are a lot of cloud system that show the potential predicted in this article. Sharing Data and the work with the Big Data is common today, lot of platform works with cloud computing today, ESRI, Google... and relatively young technologies such BIM are a good example about the potential of this, and shows all the advantages that the article list.
ReplyDeleteInside this cloud computing also exist problems security is a special issue which should be face of.
http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/linux-foundation-proposes-open-source-best-practices-badge/d/d-id/1321812
https://dev.acquia.com/blog/security-cloud-why-open-source-best-choice
http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/departments/articles/418564-open-source-good-bad-cloud-security.htm
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ReplyDeleteCloud Computing has been heralded as a great money saver for organisations but is this really the case. Cloud computing as mentioned in the article does allow quicker and cheaper computing. A lot of organisations in the past who have gone to the expense of purchasing a server end up only hosting one application on it. They then find that the expensive server is using maybe only 20-30% of its capabilities with the rest of the server being redundant. With cloud computing these organisations can host their application in the cloud and only pay for what server space they actually use.
DeleteOne of the downsides of cloud computing is that a lot of the organisations like Amazon and even ESRI, who offer cloud computing services, are hosting the applications and data that are input in the US. Laws in the US tend not to be similar to Europe around data protection policies and European residents may be alarmed to find that elements of the US government may be trawling through the data they supply online. This may cause all sorts of litigation if it is true and may not be the money saver organisations thought it was.
Cloud computing has enormous potential benefits as more data becomes 'open data' and more data can be collected, manipulated, and presented by using different technologies i.e. not just the desk top pc but also mobile phones and mobile computing devices. Cloud computing allows cheaper computing but also means that users and organisations need to be more aware of data governance and access issues as other bloggers in this blog have mentioned. This is clearly an issue which takes on a different dynamic as data availability becomes real-time. Yet businesses and government clearly have an obligation to not only manage security in an appropriate way but importantly to make consumers and users of data aware of data access issues and levels of privacy. The Cloud Customer Standards Council have suggested a 10 step programme (http://www.cloud-council.org/deliverables/CSCC-Security-for-Cloud-Computing-10-Steps-to-Ensure-Success.pdf) and the Cloud Security Alliance another industry led body are working on developing standards and approaches to this. It is nonetheless important for organisations and government which hold data to make decisions about what opt outs, opt ins and levels of security are appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThis article and comments thrown up a lot of interesting debate about the Cloud computing and open sources best practice. In Ireland and across Europe the last seven year has been very challenging with economy struggling in recession. The catchphrase in the public sector are: doing more with less, value for money in the public service. Public and private agencies are more likely to benefit from cost saving measure and increase productivity cloud computing tend to offer. However there are security issue, data protection and legal framework with cloud computing. Workshops and user groups of this nature are meant to address these challenges with objective of setting up best and standard practice to serve as guidelines for operating cloud computing and open source data. Case studies of the existing use of cloud computing and open source data and potential drawbacks will assist to build a robust cloud computing architecture into the future. There are also questions of interoperability of data among the users and organisations. The commercial success of amazon AWS and its capability is a good example at hand. ESRI AGOL(ArcGIS-On-Line) and Arcgis enterprise are another great examples. The potential use of cloud computing and opensource data in the future will depend on one question: Does potential benefit completely outweigh the limitations?
ReplyDeleteCloud computing appears at first glance to be an amazing cost saver for governmental bodies, companies, educational facilities and individuals as it allows for more data to be shared freely and for storage of data to be of a much lower cost. It also, as the article mentions, can pave the way for development in technology and the way people use it. When data and technologies are cheaper and more easily shared, they are more accessible and so can be used by a greater range of people who will bring new skills and ideas and enable the full potential of technology to be realised. However like others have said, the open nature of cloud computing causes privacy, legal and security concerns. Such as how can a company be sure that their data is not at risk of a security breech or hacking and how can governmental agencies ensure that the confidential data they hold is not shared or leaked. The holders of the data are legally responsible for it and the privacy of it and so there would be concerns with the use of cloud computing that issues could arise regarding its security.
ReplyDeleteThe article gives a fascinating run through of some of the many benefits offered by Cloud Technology, especially to the Government. The article refers to Cloud Technologies as an enabler of Open Source best practices that promotes efficiency and value for money. According to this article, the USA pumps billions ($) into the IT industry every year. A large percentage of that being attributed to the high cost of servers and storage capacity which are sometimes not used. A solution to this is Cloud Computing. Accessible globally it can be utilised by agencies to promote new ways of working quicker for less.
ReplyDeleteIt cuts out the need for big systems which can take months to implement. When the article was written in 2010, they were already looking to integrate big vendors such as OpenText and Microsoft into the Cloud. Further investigation away from the article has confirmed that they now offer the Microsoft Cloud.
Cloud is becoming and has become in some cases a trans-formative technology with an Open Source Approach. With the added benefit of its interoperability, it has improved the workings of many government departments.
Although the article is outdated by 7 years and technology has advanced significantly within these years it still made for an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThe article has said that in order for the technology to be fully successful there needs to be more high profile examples in order to showcase the benefits. Which would then hopefully lead to an upsurge in usage as other companies will replicate their competitors. Whilst doing further research on the topic I found that this upsurge is taking place. As the number of organizations adopting cloud software has almost doubled in the last few years and by 2017, the public cloud services market is predicted to exceed $244 billion. So, all in all it hasn’t done too badly for itself!!
This migration to the cloud could save large businesses a considerable amount of money as they won’t have to spend a major amount on maintaining their servers and large storage facilities. Also if they don’t use their server to its full storage they still have to pay the same amount while on the cloud they only have to pay for what they store.
Having gained experience using Amazon AWS during this module I have seen first-hand the benefits of downloading software via the cloud. If you were downloading software on your own computer you run the risk of obtaining viruses while using the virtual machine doesn’t carry the same risk.
There will always be hostility from a number of people about privacy concerns when using the cloud and not really knowing how secure the whole thing is. However as I said as the start it’s a growing industry and its only going to get bigger.
I agree with what others have said here, in that there are many benefits as well as constraints to a mass move to cloud computing.
ReplyDeleteThere are many benefits such as low cost- people can access things that previously needed expensive hardware and software (although in some cases we still have to pay for access on the cloud). As well as this, it's much easier to scale up the data or software if there is a great demand, and its easier to make it available to the public.
Cloud services can be available anywhere, which makes it perfect for many businesses who work on the move.
Cloud computing seems to be the way forward in regards to computing.
But there are always considerations to be made.
"downtime" or crashes of the programme could happen frequently, and could potentially mean many people lose their unsaved work, or the source become unreliable. As well as this, updates and general upkeep cannot be controlled by the user- meaning some services can become slow or out of date (the world of computing is so fast moving, updates need to occur regularly!)
Finally, and probably the most important drawback is security and privacy. Private information stored on the cloud can be hacked and stolen, These risks can be mitigated by using security applications, encrypted file systems, data loss software, and buying security hardware to track unusual behaviour across servers- but this may add additional costs!!
Overall the move to the cloud is fantastic in my opinion,but care must be taken regarding security. This market is expanding rapidly, and it will only continue.
The article states that the cloud has many benefits such as great storage space, low cost and good for sharing data. Although the article is outdated, these facts are still true. Many companies use the cloud as it is cheap and efficient (as well as people for everyday things) and the versatility is great, i.e. it can be used on PC and mobile.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as stated by others, privacy is a huge issue, as with many things GIS related. Companies storing information in the cloud cannot be fully reassured that it will not be hacked etc.
But, as in many instances such as this, the benefits and drawbacks must be weighed carefully and overall, the benefits tend to outweigh the risks.
The use of cloud based storage solutions could be considered to be beneficial, due to cost reductions, greater data availability and lead to further technology development and public data interaction.
ReplyDeleteBy creating online databases that can be easily accessed, it can encourage data use and experimentation.
Concerns regarding cloud storage of data include privacy and security issues. Data that is stored online is vulnerable to hacking efforts, which may be an issue if data stored online for government use contains personal information.
Businesses that store data on cloud services are responsible for ensuring data security. An example of cloud services being hacked is mentioned in the following article, where Apple's icloud was compromised.
http://data-informed.com/has-cloud-storage-made-businesses-more-vulnerable-to-hacking/
This article is quite an interesting read for myself as I am not that familiar with cloud computing. It seems to me that the wasted processing power and storage that is already being paid for but not used would be best put into practical use by someone rather than it laying untapped. Problems I can see with this are that if all this data is freely available in the cloud, will it still have the same privacy restrictions and regulations that other more secure ways of data management have? ie. by government and medical facilities? I believe certain data types would not be suitable for this type of storage. but again, if this way of using potential processing power and unused storage space makes more things available to more people than previously, it has the potential to be viewed in new ways and by doing so, could make newer, more relevant practices come into the mainstream. This to me is another example of a problem that will have to have a new, more modern way of governing the process and its participants, if the delicate balance between individual privacy concerns and open-source innovation is to be maintained.
ReplyDeleteThe application of cloud computing has surged since this article was published almost 7 years ago. Although the article itself is dated, much of the information included within it, is still completely relevant.
ReplyDeleteAs stated throughout the article, the costs previously spent by governments on servers and storage was excessive and as such introducing the concept of cloud computing has not only increased cost efficiency but has also improved functionality. The ability to quickly share information between one another through these cloud services is also a huge benefit.
While privacy may be seen as the main limitation when it comes to cloud based services, i do feel that this is an issue that will always be evident when it comes to data management and as such any sharing of data should be approached cautiously.
The cloud offers flexibility on pricing compared to the expense of using servers, organizations are now using it is to improve their services to save money by allowing them to find new ways of working quicker and for less and ultimately improving services to citizens. With the trend in open data which can be obtained by anyone who needs to use it to utilize the data into applications and therefore “freeing up the process of moving forward with new innovations.
ReplyDeleteIn this very interesting article we can see the benefits and the potentials that cloud computing offered back in 2010.
ReplyDeleteThe apparent benefits of the Cloud and open source data are still the actuating force that makes governments, businesses and the users, considering of using such capabilities as
high speed,low cost, huge computing power and innovation.
The given example of the Government of Canada provides "food for thought" about the future developments, not only of the Cloud computing but also of the nature of the public services that the public sector offers to the citizens. It is interesting to take a look on today's vision, the strategy and the security approach, in the following site.
https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/information-technology/cloud-computing.
From my experience in the oil field industry, the cloud expanded the capabilities of field engineers in access, use and delivery of data and software, on site, real time, providing high quality services in a ,definitely, faster and cheaper manner. Lately I can still add to that my late experience with Amazon AWS where data storage and applications in the cloud provides me interoperability of data and speed from any device, anywhere in the world.
Of course there are problems and legal and security issues that are still to be solved yet the progress into that direction is determined by the huge benefits and the continuous improvement of computing power and eventually science and technology. I recommend the following link to the article at Nature.com by Elizabeth Gibney "http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-satellite-is-one-giant-step-for-the-quantum-internet-1.20329" which gives a taste of a futuristic internet security , if i may say. As the author puts it: "Quantum communications are secure because any tinkering with them is detectable. Two parties can communicate secretly — by sharing a encryption key encoded in the polarization of a string of photons, say — safe in the knowledge that any eavesdropping would leave its mark."
Since this article was published in November 2010, the growth in cloud computing has certainly expanded rapidly. The article provides a fascinating insight into the growth of cloud computing and many of these insights are still relevant today. As stated in the article, one of the main aims of cloud computing is to define and control ‘value for money’. Ultimately, cloud computing aims to provide a better, more efficient and cost effective service to users. As the article alludes to, cloud computing can allow for further technological growth. Cloud computing has increased the movement and availability of information and software around the world. As the growth in cloud computing has increased, a simultaneous growth in ‘Open Data’ has occurred.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the main issues surrounding cloud computing is security. Data breaches, abuse of cloud services and the hijacking of accounts are only a few of the threats that are posed to cloud computing.
There definitely are many benefits to switching to cloud based computing. Using ArcGIS Online as an example, users can now log in to their account from anywhere with an internet connection and access all the relevant information they need, whether this is within their own organisation or data created and made publicly available. I'm a big fan of the idea of being able to work without having to be stuck in an office and the move to the cloud seems to be making that an increasingly more realistic goal.
ReplyDeleteSticking to the example of using ArcGIS Online, as far as obtaining data online, you need to be careful to check the validity of the user who created it.
I think from a company's perspective, the switch to cloud based storage needs to weighed up against the security risks and how valuable your data is. Effectively, you are giving your data to someone else to look after it, who's sole purpose of doing business with you is to make money off you, not to look after your personal interests.
Overall, I'm sure the switch will be a positive thing however the credibility of server providers must meet a set level of standards to prevent any mishaps.
I agree Mark. Law changes in the US would seem to further support the concern for data, as they're planning to allow user data to be sold to companies... further increasing the risk of data breaches.
DeleteAdvantages of using Cloud services is cost saving and it ability to allow new ways of working. The ‘ultra-lean approach’ lets companies save money whilst allowing them to keep up to date with technological advancements and develop working models that best suit their business needs. For smaller companies, Cloud services allows access to expensive technology that previously only larger companies could afford to use. Cloud services can also grow with these smaller companies, meaning they are able to manage their businesses better and plan to the future. A disadvantage to some users could be to those small businesses who still in 2017 have inadequate internet (e.g. rural businesses). There is also the issue of users being locked into some services which may turn out to be detrimental to their business over a longer period. Security can also be an issue with Cloud services, especially when data (such as personal or sensitive data) is being stored externally away from the business. Whilst Cloud service companies will say they will keep your data safe, businesses and governments can only really take them for their word but that will not stop potential hackers from trying to gain access to such data and then there is the discussion on law and what countries this applies to!
ReplyDeleteThere are many advantages and disadvantes to cloud computing which is becoming prevalent.
ReplyDeleteThe cost savings to many businesses can be significant, saving money on both data storage and requirements of applications. There are also the associated cost savings on equipment storage space, cooling systems etc. There is often more reliabilty with cloud technology and storage. Both software and data can be managed by someone else and this may save time and money in any procurement exercises.
The main disadvantage appears to be security, as we have seen in several high profile cases. The chances of important business data or highly sensitive public service data, say involving vulnerable people, being hacked is greater if this data is held in the cloud.
There may be a degree of limited control and access of an organisations own data which can cause problems also.
The benefits of the adoption of cloud computing appear mainly on the massive cost savings and network access to computing resources. I think GIS business will expand rapidly by the emerge of cloud computing and the availability of open data and online software.
ReplyDeleteA great example of migration to cloud computing happened last year, Netflix have announced that they will move their core billing systems from their own data centre to AWS, and from Oracle to a Cassandra/ MySQL combination.This migration mission came after the expansions of the company to 130 new countries.
Despite of the complexity processes and challenges of the migration to the computing cloud, they achieved their goals, and that will encourage other big businesses to follow their steps and try to make the journey in the near future.
The main vulnerability of adopting cloud computing is how to make a balance between looking for savings platform system and the need to secure your sensitive data, which will remain a big question mark.
As a few have said, this article is 7 years out of date however, the growth of cloud computing has expanded rapidly. We all know this as Phil McLaughlin who came in and spoke to us and who works for ESRI mentioned that they now use the cloud to store and manage their data rather than using a local server or personnel computer. Therefore that’s where the benefits of cloud computing comes in. It is easily accessible because it is free, it’s quick, cheap and it “offers one immediate stream of business benefits of cost savings.” Big business companies, government agencies and other agencies are all attracted to this service. Although, security remains a primary concern. Governments and businesses are hesitant with adopting cloud computing. There is fear that important and classified data could be lost or stolen and used inappropriately in the wrong hands.
ReplyDeleteThere is an ongoing interest in cloud technologies and its ability to maximise success and efficiency while minimising operational and managerial costs. This article demonstrated the benefits of adopting cloud computing for reducing costs of computing resources such as servers, network components and storage capacity by paying only for what is intended to be used. It also improves service delivery from the public sector to citizens. However, there are possible risks associated with cloud migrations that must be considered. You might not be able to migrate in the cloud if you store and retrieve very sensitive data because of compliance requirements which could also limit your choices. Another challenge is to evaluate your application for migration readiness including the application design and integration complexity. Ongoing workshops aim to establish collaboration between the public and private sector to boost the development of cloud computing standards and security issues. Organisations need to make an intelligent decision through rational analysis before taking the leap.
ReplyDeleteI think as everyone has agreed here there are many benefits as well as challenges presented by the use of cloud computing.
ReplyDeleteThe primary challenge, again as noted previously, is that essentially you are trusting someone else with your data. That lack of control must be a huge concern for government agencies for example who can be dealing with personal and highly sensitive data.
Despite this there are many benefits to consider. Particularly the "elastic" nature where services can be scaled up and down which provides better value for money where resources are only used and charged for as necessary.
Cloud computing seems to be something which is at the forefront of the software market at the moment. ESRI being a great example with their ArcGIS online platforms.
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ReplyDeletei believe cloud technology can be of great benefit to companies in terms of its cost efficiency. i think the real concern is security of data. what happened to Code Space (http://www.infoworld.com/article/2608076/data-center/murder-in-the-amazon-cloud.html is a perfect example of how vulnerable the cloud technology can be.
ReplyDelete