Introduction
Cloud computing aims to deliver computing resources over the internet, on a pay-as-you-go basis. The technology offers the resources of data storage, computing power, and networking to businesses and individuals. Such cloud-based services allow private and public-sector entities to access a wide range of applications and services through the internet, rather than having to maintain their own infrastructure.
The field of cloud computing offers a lot of exciting questions and topics to explore. This case study on cloud computing in Saudi Arabia focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of the technology and its application in KSA.
Cloud Computing – Defining the Concept
The technology of cloud computing is a model that emphasizes on computation and data sharing based on scalable nodules of network (Griffith 1). In the contemporary business circles cloud computing has rapidly turned into a buzzword and this has been experienced over the past decade. The importance of cloud computing model to organizations has received significant acceptance. In fact, the acceptance in business application as a tool occurred as a result of the availability of computing capability, software, and supportive infrastructure.
Recent study indicated that the revenue realized from cloud computing will surpass the $14 billion mark. Cloud computing appears in four categories namely NaaS (Network as a Service), SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) as indicated by Gruman and Knorr (p.3). The rush to cloud computing is evident in highly synchronized industries in diverse nations. In the information technology sector, cloud computing is the fastest developing concept as organizations seek to provide services to the rapidly increasing clientele.
Cloud computing technology has numerous advantages. However, the issue of security and privacy has raised more concerns among the end users of the technology. Many organizations are faced with the challenge on whether or not to embrace the technology. The move to cloud computing means that the organizations require moving to a cloud computing administration in order to keep and manage the information and data. It has been observed that organizations embrace the cloud computing concept due to the savings such organizations realize from making the decision to move the available data and information.
The organizations circumvents the costs of buying computers, software as well as the cost of installing and maintaining the system. Like any online venture, cloud computing entails a wide range of risks and advantages. As a result, it is important for the organizations to consider such factors before the decision to move the information to cloud services (Griffith 3). Therefore, this report analyses the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing, size of investment, growth rate as well as analysis and data of cloud computing in Saudi Arabia.
Cloud Computing Advantages
There are a number of benefits associated with cloud computing. In fact, both businesses and the end users enjoy the advantages of cloud computing. The apparent benefit remains that cloud computing has stepped up to sustain the required capability of maintaining and developing environment and infrastructure. Several businesses emphasizes on their primary industry through subcontracting the entire hassle of the Information Technology.
In essence, cloud computing has a smaller learning curve for the users to adapt to besides being cost efficient. Cloud computing is continuously available and convenient with simpler recovery and backup (Viswanathan 3). Moreover, cloud services provide independent platforms, diversified devices, and are environmentally welcoming. Cloud computing provides the users with redundancy and resiliency as well as augmented capacity of storage. Thus, cloud is easy to integrate and deploy due to the improved scalability that increases its performance.
Disadvantages of cloud computing
Cloud computing remain as an apparatus of huge advantages to the end users. Nevertheless, cloud computing as a tool has certain inefficiencies and disadvantages. Cloud based solutions are prone to amplified susceptibility due to reduced privacy and security. Equally, there is limited flexibility and control with procedural technical hitches and interruption (Viswanathan 5). The lock up in of seller as well as dependence marks the main drawback of cloud computing as the user may find impossible or difficult to unsubscribe from a supplier.
Cloud Computing in Saudi Arabia: a Case Study
The organizations in Saudi Arabia have slowly strived to uncover the model of managed and outsourcing services. The slow concept of clouding has resulted from the intrinsic aspiration of retaining full regulation of the Information Technology. In the recent years, the accumulative security suspicions, espousal of cloud services has developed quicker than the general application of the services of IT (IDC 4). Certainly, the joint Saudi subcontracting marketplace is rising at nearly sixteen point three percent yearly as equated to the IT services marketplace that grows at a rate of thirteen point nine percent.
Yet, an increase of almost fifty three in expenditure of cloud services is projected by the IDC (International Data Corporation) despite the challenges. Most of the Saudi corporations are facing compression of advancing business flexibility, the IT service optimization, and improving operational productivity. Similarly, the Saudi Arabian companies are re-examining the contemporary situations on technologies like analytics, cloud computing, and virtualization (Geelan 5). All these technologies are increasingly becoming prevalent across the nations as they increase profitability.
The right of entry to international communications organization together with technological developments of cloud computing, virtualization, and datacenter union has catalyzed for the continued development of Information Technology outlay in Saudi. Such growths as well as progressively always-on trade and globalized atmosphere show that the Saudi expertise frontrunners must be ready for change. The leaders should be extremely flexible, well-versed, and highly alert on the commercial, technological, and economic settings in their separate establishments.
The executives in Saudi are apprehending that it is important to improve policies for cloud computing and classify the suitable models and assignments for different corporations. However, the advantages of cloud computing are gently being appreciated by initial users while the worries regarding connectivity, data privacy, usability, and security continues (IDC 6). In general, the cloud services will experience an extensive endorsement as the benefactor countryside develops and the global thespians continue to enlarge their manifestation in Saudi Arabia.
Cloud Computing Development in Saudi Arabia
In the past twelve months, the cloud marketplace has progressed significantly in Saudi Arabia. The residential suppliers and telecom machinists have expressively invested in evolving the cloud computing services. The general perception is that Saudi Arabian consumers fancy the providers with local occurrence and that the clienteles long for close interface at the time of project series and rummage sales. Saudi has increased indigenous provider services with pure play cloud suppliers associating with the local performers to efficiently gain entree into the local marketplace.
Entry into the local market entails onboarding, training, migration, and business development. The Saudi strong inclination to the in-house isolated cloud utilizations results from the determined concerns of safety (Sabharwal 4). Although, minority part of Saudi have proceeded to adapting to the virtualized substructures into full-grown reserved cloud atmospheres.
The scenario is anticipated to adjust as cloud computing suppliers continue to capitalize on the education of consumers for better understanding of cloud computation. Cloud computing in Saudi is driven by the benefits seen in cost reduction, management of risk, and commercial expectations. Hence, most of the organizations consider improving the cloud computing approaches and ascertaining suitable models and workloads for the corporations (Alharbi 5).
Cloud Computing in Saudi Arabia – Analysis
The technology of cloud services has increased in several nations with apparent extra growth projections. The IDC has reported that the entire expenses on cloud supply in Saudi Arabia are anticipated to rise by more than 34.85% yearly. Equally, the long term expenditure is projected to increase at a multiple yearly growth frequency of 49.70% in the fiscal 2016. The Saudi contract out flea market is rising at nearly 16.30% per year as equated to the IT services that develops at a rate of 13.90%.
An increase of 52.90% in expenditure of cloud services is projected to occur in Saudi by the IDC. The establishments across Saudi Arabia have customarily desired to manage the Information Technology procedures internally. Nonetheless, interests are cumulating in Saudi’s farm out simulations whereby corporations appear to gradually employ succeeded and hosted cloud computation. The escalating implementation of cloud services is a stride towards cloud-based ideal since firms develop comfort with the conception of distant services supply (IDC 6).
Cloud computing services require a proper workflow in order to be effective. In practice, the pattern (workflow) of activity is aided by the systematic administration of flows of information and energy, distinct frame and roles, as well as resources within the learned and documented work procedure. The workflows are intended to accomplish processing objectives like information dispensation, provision of services, or physical makeover (Ahmed and Akhtar 305). Any workflow might be symbolized via a display that characterizes data-flows attached to the tightly and slackly united processing mechanisms of cloud computing.
Cloud Services in Saudi Arabia
The Virtustream and Mobily (Etihad Estisalat) are the biggest telecom machinists in Saudi that offer cloud services (Arab News 4). Such establishments deliver cloud services to the enterprises and the other districts having a collection of cloud-based services and apparatuses in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the hybrid and public cloud amenities in Saudi are projected to mutually come from Virtustream and Mobily that provide world class services to SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises) and businesses (Mahyar and Abdollahzadehgan 65).
The NEC’s from Japanese, Siemensors of Germans, EMC’s, and classifications such as CISCO are some of the universal statistical set-ups and storeroom authorities that got into the Saudi souks. Similarly, the Huawei China is making official entry into the market as well with the current launch of cellphone cloud center that is intended to offer an assortment of data and cloud services to diverse Saudi corporations. Hence, cloud computing services are also offered by the other companies such as Google Inc., Salesforce.com, JERAISY GROUP, and IBM of Saudi Arabia.
Conclusion
The technology (cloud computing) is an increasingly popular and developing work out model. The industry frontrunners like IBM, Google, and Microsoft have supported the enterprises in endorsing cloud computation in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the communal literature that reflects on the cloud computation study computing is still scarce. The available study reveal that a discrete emphasis on cloud computing is laid on the requirements of the technical computation in public.
However, several questions regarding insecurity with cloud computing remains unanswered. The nation has experienced a number of benefits associated with cloud in the inner marketplaces. The cloud computing marketplace in Saudi Arabia has progressed significantly in the past years. Therefore, several organizations consider improving the cloud computing approaches and ascertaining suitable models and workloads for the corporations. The business fraternity in Saudi believes that the benefits of cloud services will continue growing as the drawbacks diminish given that cloud computing appears to have made Information Technology much simpler.
Works Cited
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Arab News, 2013. Mobily Champions Business Benefits of Cloud Computing. Web.
Griffith, Eric. What is Cloud Computing?. 2013. Web.
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IDC, 2014. Cloud Computing in Saudi Arabia Moves From ‘Hype’ to ‘Test’ Phase; Expected to Grow by 52.9% In 2014.
Geelan, Jeremy. Twenty One Experts Define Cloud Computing Virtualization. 2008.
Mahyar, Amini and Azam Abdollahzadehgan. “The Organizational Critical Success Factors for Adopting Cloud Computing In SMEs.” Journal of Information Systems Research and Innovation. 12.1 (2010): 61-69. Web.
Sabharwal, Guarav. IDC’s Cloud Computing and Datacenter Roadshow. 2013.
Viswanathan, Priya. Cloud Computing – Is It Really All That Beneficial? 2010.