¶ … Benefits Values Cloud Computing Business Enterprises." You reputable research papers, articles journals alongside ACM Communications Journal Professor Dr. Rajkumar Buyya's articles, research papers journal materials found (Prof Buyya) -line home page "www. The benefits and values of cloud computing to business enterprises

Introduction to the literature review section

The scope of the current chapter is that of assessing the values and benefits of cloud computing to enterprises. The literature review section is constructed through the gradual and sustained consultation of various specialized sources in the available literature. The sources to be used at this stage are all reputable, coming from all articles, journals and books, each of these sources revealing their own advantages and disadvantages.

The books and textbooks for instance possess the advantage of discussing a topic in increased detail, but the shortage of possibly being outdated. This limitation is relative and this relativity is due to the nature of the topic studied. For instance, in a historical study, the books used would have an increased relevance, regardless of the time in which they were written. Nevertheless, in the context of research in the field of technology, this limitation is severe due to the rapid pace of technologic development and the need to consult relevant and new data.

Then, the journals to be used have the advantage of discussing specific issues as these relate to the topic of cloud computing, but their disadvantage is that they might address niche subjects, of a relative relevance to the current topic. Additionally, they could be written in a highly technical manner, which reduces the access to information of the novice technology specialist.

Finally, the literature review section would also integrate data from articles, with a primary advantage that they discuss the most recent aspects of cloud computing in the enterprise context, in a quick and efficient manner. However, since they are seldom peer reviewed, they might be influenced by the bias and subjectivity of the writer. In order to address this limitation, emphasis would be placed on the selection of reputable, reliable and objective sources of information.

Aside from the nature of the sources to be integrated throughout the chapter, emphasis at this stage is also placed on the organization of the literature review section. In this order of ideas, the current chapter would be structured based on the nature of the information presented. In this specific order of ideas, the integrant parties of the current chapter include:

Definitions of cloud computing

Characteristics of cloud computing

Benefits of cloud computing to business enterprises.

2. Definitions of cloud computing

Cloud computing is a relatively novel concept, recurrent in the technological realm, but with applications in various aspects. The notion generically refers to usage of technology more as a service, rather than an actual product. The users would consume technology in an efficient manner, similar to the usage of a commodity, and would gain access to various resources, through a network system. Still, while this understanding of cloud computing is rather rudimentary, a universally accepted definition of the term has yet to be developed. In such a setting, as Dough Terry at ACM Communications Journal notes, cloud computing "means different things to different people."

In order to support a superior understanding of the concept, the current section focuses on the provision of several definitions, as they appear in the specialized literature. In this order of ideas, Ryan Ko approaches the definition of cloud computing from the standpoint of the consumers, who become able to simply utilize the required technologies, without other technological considerations. In this line of thoughts, a first definition of cloud computing is represented by the following:

(1) "Fundamentally, cloud computing is a concept that aims to enable end-users to easily create and use software without a need to worry about the technical implementations and nitty-gritties such as the software's physical hosting location, hardware specifications, efficiency of data processing, and so forth" (Ko, 2010).

Hui Du and Yu Cong however approach the definition of cloud computing through the lenses of the services provided with the aid of the cloud. In this order of ideas, they state that cloud computing is comprised on the provision of either one, two or all three of these types of services: storage of data, infrastructure / platform services and software applications.

(2) "The computing resources provided in cloud computing fall into three broad categories of service: data storage, infrastructure/platform, and application software. Data storage is about storing and managing the volume of business data and valuable personal data for companies. In the infrastructure/platform...

[…] For application software, cloud computing allows companies to run a variety of software applications using cloud services without managing their own applications" (Du and Cong, 2010).
As Du and Cong point out, the usage of cloud computing is highly relevant in the organizational context, where it can store data, use it and manipulate it. In the infrastructure and platform phase, it is often possible for the cloud computing providers to also offer hardware support to their customers; they can install the hardware, configure the system, and maintain the IT infrastructure. Last, in the application phase of the cloud computing services, economic agents become able to use a variety of services which they do not possess nor maintain. Some of these services could include software for business operations, sales applications, human resource applications and so on.

Other definitions of the concept are presented below:

(3) "Cloud computing is maintaining data, applications and programs on a remote server that can be accessed through many devices, such as desktop computers, netbooks or smartphones. Proponents often describe it as the ultimate on-demand or as-needed computing service" (Salow, Meier and Goodwin, 2011).

(4) "Cloud computing is 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. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models" (Mell and Grance).

(5) "A model for delivering information technology services in which resources are retrieved from the internet through web-based tools and applications, rather than a direct connection to a server. Data and software packages are stored in servers. However, cloud computing structure allows access to information as long as an electronic device has access to the web. This type of system allows employees to work remotely" (Investopedia, 2012).

3. Characteristics of cloud computing

Cloud computing is already present in the life of technology users, even when these are not entirely aware of this. Specifically, the cloud computing platform is being currently used and implemented in electronic mail or social websites, where the users can create accounts, store and transmit information without having to learn the code and program the application. Then, aside from the individual users, small size companies can also access the features of cloud computing to avoid personal servers and simply use the services of specialized tertiary parties.

"For example, end-users no longer need to learn a new language or worry about the program's memory requirements to create a Facebook or MySpace application. A small- to medium-sized enterprise no longer needs to own and maintain actual physical servers to host Web applications but are instead able to lease virtual private servers (VPS) for a monthly subscription fee. With cloud computing, end-users and businesses can simply store and work on data in a "cloud," which is a virtual environment that embodies data centers, services, applications, and the hardworking folks at the IT companies" (Ko, 2010).

In other words, the first two characteristics of cloud computing is that it is widely spread and that it can also be used in both individual as well as professional contexts. Another important feature of cloud computing is represented by the fact that it abstracts the service from the product. This very feature of cloud computing creates points of difference and distinguishes it from other approaches to computing, such as grid computing or utility computing.

"This is done by virtualizing the products (for example, the complex network of computers, servers, and applications that are used in the back end) so that computing is now accessible to anyone with a computing need of any size. By accessible, we mean that it is easy for a non-technical person to use this software and even create his or her own" (Ko, 2010).

The abstractization of the service from the product revolves around the ability of cloud computing to serve the need for a computing product through the delivery of a computing service. In other words, it virtualizes the product to ensure the satisfaction of a wide palette of customer needs, be these needs small individual ones, or large organizational ones. Additionally, it does this through a user friendly mechanism, meaning as such that computing becomes available to people without a technological background. In other words then, another feature of cloud computing is that of increasing the access to computing for a wider category of consumers.

Another aspect…