Cloud Computing in MUST

Using Cloud Computing in MUST: A Strategy to Improve Cloud Computing in the Current Security Issues

Yasir Mahmood

Mirpur University of Science & Technology (dept. CS&IT), Mirpur AK, Pakistan

 

Abstract 

In the current growing needs of cloud computing for MUST, universities are facing problems in providing necessary computer science & information technology (CS&IT) support for educational, research and development activities and all material share from different sources e.g. Live etc. The objective of this paper is to find alternatives to the use of IT, while leading universities to improve agility, security and obtain savings. The research methodology consisted in a strong analysis of the latest research on Cloud Computing as an alternative to IT provision, management and security. It also took into account the best practices for Cloud Computing usage within universities all around the world, plus the authors’ experience in IT and education. The article begins with a brief introduction to Cloud Computing in universities working, referring to the most important results obtained so far. Further, a starting point for universities to use Cloud Computing is provided, by proposing an adoption strategy. We work on these stages processes/functions/applications from several major universities based on some key criteria. In order to be applicable in practice, the proposed model takes into account the university’s architecture and criteria such as mission, availability and importance of applications and also the data’s mission, sensitivity, confidentiality, integrity and availability.

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Keywords : Cloud Computing, higher education, cloud strategy, agility, security

Introduction 

CS&IT education was acknowledged in time as one of the pillars of society development. Through the partnerships between education Institution, government and industry, researchers and students have proven their contribution to the transformation of society and the entire world economy.  

 With the evolution of technology, the number of services which migrate from traditional form to the online form grows as well. For these specific services, an adequate providing form must be found in the online best environment.

 As a response to these pressures, the universities must perform changes in order to be service oriented and in order to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of all internal operations and of all interactions with us. At the organization level, Cloud Computing may be considered an extension of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)  and an alternative to the use of IT for educational environment.

Using Cloud Computing in CS&IT education

The potential and efficiency of using Cloud Computing in computer education has been recognized by many universities among which we US University of California, Washington State University’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, higher education institutions from UK, Africa , U.S and others. Cloud Computing offers to universities the possibility of concentrating more on teaching and research activities rather than on complex IT configuration and software systems , through a fast IT implementation. Our research reduce complexity Cloud Computing. 

In addition, cloud solutions can be used to support cooperative learning and socially oriented theories of learning, using computer technologies to support collaborative methods of instruction. That Research of Cloud computing offers many benefits to e-learning solutions by providing the infrastructure, platform and educational services directly through cloud providers and by using virtualization, centralized data storage and facilities for data access monitoring). In order to ensure success in e-learning, universities use metrics systems adapted to measure the effectiveness of e-learning solutions based on the cloud. 

Currently, there are many practices and examples regarding the use of cloud computing. For instance, in Commonwealth, many colleges and universities had collaborated at the formation of Virginia Virtual Computing Lab. By including the cloud services, North Carolina State University achieved a substantially decreasing of expenses with software licensing and at the same time to reduce the campus IT staff from 15 to 3 employees with full working schedule . Another example is Kuali Ready , a community-source project chartered to provide a business continuity planning service and it is also an example of higher education institutions organizing themselves to provide cloud services. Kuali Ready is a good early example of some key principles that are emerging to guide cloud developments.

Within the present economical context, the use of Cloud Computing becomes a necessity and not an option for many universities in PK. The IT leaders from higher education (from online survey) have considered that improving IT services is the most important decision factor, while only 38% gave the same importance to costs reduction.  

Main Benefits, Risks and Limitations

Benefits

·         Access to applications from anywhere 

·         Support for teaching and learning

·         24 hours access to infrastructure and content 

·         Opening to business environment and advanced research

·         Software free or pay per use

·         Protection of the environment by using green technologies

·         Increased openness of students to new technologies

·         Improve security opportunities

·         Increasing functional capabilities

Limitations

·         Speed/lack of Internet can affect work methods

·         Security and protection of sensitive data

·         Not all applications run in cloud

·         Risks related to data protection and security and accounts management

·         Organizational support

·         Standards adherence

·         Security and protection of sensitive data

Cloud Architecture for MUST University 

Thinking, planning, and working in the cloud requires universities to cope with specific challenges of cloud environment (Bristow et al., 2010) such as uncertain definitions, privacy, contractual and jurisdictional issues, risk and nonperformance, interoperability, network capacity, architecting, staff  and perceptions.

A Cloud Adoption Strategy for CS&IT edu.

Migrating towards cloud needs a well- defined strategy that supports Cloud Computing capabilities. Representing an important part of the MUST dept. CS&IT strategy, migration must be aligned to this. The success of the strategy implementation depends on the existence of a service-oriented architecture at the level of the institution that offers the necessary infrastructure for cloud implementation.

suggest a migrating strategy towards cloud, formed of the following stages :  

a) developing the knowledge base about Cloud Computing;

b) evaluating the present stage of the university from the point of view of the CS&IT needs, structure and usage;  

c) experimenting the Cloud Computing solutions; 

d) choosing  the Cloud Computing solution; 

e) implementation and management of the  Cloud Computing solution.

Conclusions 

Despite its critics and drawbacks, it seems that Cloud Computing is here to stay. Universities have begun to adhere to this initiative and there are proofs that indicate significant decreasing of expenses due to the implementation of cloud solutions.  

The aim of our work was to identify the particularities of using Cloud Computing within CS&IT education. Mainly, we have considered the risks and benefits of cloud architecture and proposed a cloud adoption strategy proper for universities. An analysis of the data and the main activities that exist within a university was the starting point for  innovations.

Reference  

Information’s sources the best is internet CISCO. [Online], http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/g ov/2009_cloud_public_sector_t

and

ww.wikipedia.com

and outher  internet souces