A Survey On Cloud Computing and Its Benefits

Abstract

Cloud computing is an increasingly popular paradigm for accessing computing resources. In practice, cloud service providers tend to offer services that can be grouped into three categories: software as a service, platform as a service, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud computing represents a shift away from computing as a product that is purchased, to computing as a service that is delivered to consumers over the internet from large-scale data centers – or ‘clouds’. This paper discusses some of the research challenges for cloud computing from an enterprise or organizational perspective, and puts them in context by reviewing the existing body of literature in cloud computing. Various research challenges relating to the following topics are discussed: the organizational changes brought about by cloud computing; the economic and organizational implications of its utility billing model; the security, legal and privacy issues that cloud computing raises. It is important to highlight these research challenges because cloud computing is not simply about a technological improvement of data centers but a fundamental change in how IT is provisioned and used. This type of research has the potential to influence wider adoption of cloud computing in enterprise, and in the consumer market too.