Cloud solutions
Introduction
Big data storage has become an issue in the commercial world today because the advent of technology has expanded the scope on which a business can reach. Since necessity directs invention, the need for a cumulative point of information storage has been driven over the recent past by the need to install a shared storage facility that is asked on an online platform to save private organizations the trouble of having to store the immense amount of data and transfer it all over the world. Such an invention is known as the cloud solution, an application vital in almost all industries including online retail for which it has been recommended in the study herein.
In online retail services, the necessity of a platform for interaction with consumers is not in question. However, a vast database is necessary for storage of clientele information as well as the knowledge of the product on sale. At Global Retail Services, the current system in question is dependent on the prowess of the internal server. In as much as it currently serves the United States market grid almost effectively, the expansionist goals that Global Retail Services harbor is more likely to increase the scope of organizational data that its storage system handles. All factors considered both developing and maintaining a storage system for the company is a lot more expensive than obtaining a vendor’s permission to use their cloud computing systems.
Evaluating vendors for cloud solutions
The sensitivity of handing over a company’s storage protocols into the trust of a third party is a terrifying factor and is the primary reason for the process of evaluating the vendors in an attempt to secure the resources that are of importance to the firm in question. In assessing the vendors for a cloud system, experts have recommended nine areas for consideration, and they include access privileges and regulatory compliance, data provenance and segregation, data recovery, monitoring and reporting and business continuity.
In a cloud system, the guarantee of its ability to enforce hiring and oversight over access controls must be demonstrated before the acquisition. On top of that, the acceptance of the fact that companies are responsible for their data safety hence the openness to audits for compliance must be informed in the same way that a provider must guarantee the private location of data centers. Despite sharing environments as most clouds do, it is essential to find out the capacity of a server to segregate data to secure the multi-tenancy that comes along with shared environments. As importantly, data restoration procedures must be in place for the loss of data as well as the presence of a monitoring system in which case could help in investigations in case of anything.
Comparing three potential cloud providers
In the technology industry, investment in a system is only justified when the operation for acquisition is the best there is in the industry especially if the funds to conduct the purchase are available. In that case, the choice e for potential providers for the company is limited to only three vendors who are by far more significant than all the rest in the industry. The most dominant vendors currently are Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM all of which occupy the top three spots in that manner in descending order. However, there must be some distinctions that emanate from each, and every one of them since all of them is not in possession of the same characteristics hence their characteristic features are the initial basis for separation.
On Microsoft, it is the best-ranked vendor in the world currently, and its success is based on four factors which could be summarized as excellent leadership, involvement in all the platforms of cloud computing, commitment to innovative production environments and it is the current leader in market revenue. Amazon is equally impressive given that it boasts of a paradigm buster and a creator of categories despite the inadequacy of its software end-to-end capabilities. Lastly, IB comes third, and despite being the latest entrant into the club, it possesses all-around software systems that apply all the three platforms of cloud computing.
Recommended vendor
From a well-analyzed point of view, the company requires a stable vendor whose capacity is not in question, and neither is the competency. However, that makes a choice even harder because all the potential vendors are the top three best in the world and therefore qualify in all these aspects. On the other hand, Microsoft and IBM are at a distinct advantage owing to their ability to operate all the three platforms of cloud computing. In that case, they offer better informational integration, enhanced analytic skills and increased security of the information within. The choice of the vendor would be Microsoft, a position that it earns from the revenue streams the company realizes making it open to try an investment or two or even have it focus for you.
Conclusion
At the end of the debate, it is quite evident that the inclusion of cloud computing is inevitable for most industries in the contemporary world hence there isn’t any reason why Global Retail Services should not follow suit especially when it is on the throes of expansion. However, the paper also alerts on the dangers associated with overlooking the evaluation of the vendor, a procedure for which the steps are nine.