Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has many varied definitions depending on who you asked. National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) defines it as a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network 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 interaction.(SP-800-145, 2011.p.6) The key differentiating factor from other computing technologies is its ease of use , on-demand nature to network resources such as software, hardware, and infrastructure. Cloud computing leverages three service models Software as a service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS) and four deployment models Private, community, public, and hybrid. (NIST SP800-145, 2011). As standalone, SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, typically involves a set fee per user, per month, so costs and the functionality offered tend to be fixed.(Ringstom, 2012, p. 1) While, as part of cloud computing, they can be customized to suit the customer's needs and resource usage can increase or decrease with demand.(Ringstom, 2012) In short, cloud computing is highly customizable, whereas SaaS offers more of one-size-fits-all approach.)(Ringstom, 2012, p. 1) Novatti is an Australian based company that specializes in globally providing payment solutions to the communication industry. Its services include online charging (prepaid billing), voucher management, and payments solutions such as digital wallets and prepaid online recharge. (IBM, 2012, p1) As a global company, Novatti wants to leverage cloud technology to deliver its solution to new marketplaces in the most cost effective and agile way possible. It turns to IBM

SmartCloud Enterprise infrastructure, operating under a Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model.(IBM, 2012, p1) According to Garland ,Gittings, & Pearl (2010): Cloud computing can play a strategic role for all companies, not just those in the technology or services industries. The vision is simple: By doing away with typical IT constraintslimited resources, consuming maintenance, and incompatible systemscloud computing frees the business to pursue growth and innovation.... With clouds ondemand approach, its possible to quicklyand at a fraction of the current costequip teams with the resources they need. Rather than weeks or months, the supporting infrastructure for a project could be set up in just a few days. That kind of rapid start-up means companies could try many new ideas, quickly rejecting ones that werent viable in favor of ones that are most promising. (p1) Cloud-computing enables IT related business processes to be fluid enough as business need changes. This agility helps business decision makers to stream business processes to quickly respond to customers demands and competitive forces. However, business executives need to determine projected business advantages of cloud adoption and its influence on the overall business strategy as well the impact on other functional areas such as finance, risk and governance, security, technical, R&D, and other areas. The effectiveness of achieving buy-in from top executive stakeholders for any IT endeavor depends on two key factors : 1) IT leadership's understanding of the what they are asking for including the cost, benefits and its overall value to

the business. 2) The true and sincere belief in the IT leadership on what is been sold to the business stakeholders. The CEO, Peter Cook, of Novatti understands these when he said We believed that cloud was the future of our company, so we looked for a strong partner that would be as committed to our customers as we are. And with IBM, we also gained one of the most knowledgeable cloud providers out there. ( IBM, 2012, p1) Evaluate business advantage realized by organization as a result of technology adoption. Some of the key benefits realized by Novatti in its move to cloud technology include( IBM, 2012, p.2): Cuts IT administration and hardware management costs by more than 50 percent with a virtualized architecture Opens up new markets, a move that allowed the business to land three major prospects within weeks of service launch Simplifies the creation of test and pilot environments, cutting the sales cycle and improving service levels flexible pay-as-you-use features that expedite performance and transaction

To sum up organizations like Novatti are moving to cloud computing for its associated benefits of agility, cost savings, multitenancy, reliability, and scalability.

References Garland, P. ,Gittings, R., & Pearl, M., (2010).Cloud computing gets strategic: Reducing technology costs is just the starting point. Retrieved from http://www.pwc.com/us/en/view/issue-13/cloud-computing-gets-strategic pg2.jhtm IBM (2012). Case studies - Novatti opens up new markets with cloud technology. Retrieved from http://www01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/RNAE 92FL7LOpenDocument&Site=default&cty=en_us

NIST SP-800-145, (2011). The NIST definition of cloud computing. Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html#800-145

Ringstrom, D. (2012).Cloud computing versus software as a service Retrieved from http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/technology/cloud-computing versus-software-service