Governance in the Cloud - Research Paper Example

Current governance strategies must be closely evaluated when translating to the cloud environment due to unique characteristics and difficulties presented with the use of the cloud. The term cloud computer has been thrown around all too often as of late and some tend to use it as a buzz word without fully understanding what the ‘cloud’ is. The term “Cloud computing describes Internet-based technology (either software, platform, infrastructure or a combination) that stores and processes information and is provided as an on-demand service” (Speed 1).

It is the on-demand feature of this outsourcing solution that draws many to the cloud as it offers scalability and increased availability to clients. These advantages of cloud computing cut both ways as there are some concerns raised with each of these and in addition with the security and governance of the cloud environment. Cloud services offer scalability with the option to rapidly increase/decrease storage and processing power to meet current demands. Though scalable, cloud environments are not very flexible as they often upgraded, such as forcing users to adapt to new operating systems in the case of PaaS (Platform as a Service).

This is not always the case as “some cloud services, such as Amazon’s EC2, offer a lot of flexible options; however setting them up and maintaining the configuration takes more effort and skill than other out-of-the-box offerings” (Speed). Despite this potential draw back they are still flexible in that they can easily be turned on and off at will without committing to large upgrades in infrastructure and/or software. This scalability and flexibility provide the potential for a great savings in the IT bottom line.

To understand the basics of cloud economics we must consider the risk and reward of cloud services versus traditional IT cost over time. Traditional IT projects are an immense undertaking requiring vast amounts of resources; furthermore they fall into a lifecycle and eventually need upgraded or replaced at an additional cost. The advantage to cloud computing is that when an upgrade is needed or available it implemented in a relatively short time and a much lower cost, typically the client organization will see no increase in cost.

The client organization can reap this benefit due to the economy of scale with the Cloud provider sharing cost across all users. Considering Fig 1 (Speed, p. 2) we can see the benefit cloud computing offers on a long term basis. When looking to upgrade software or infrastructure it is much easier for the finance department to handle a more balanced financial requirement vice the dramatic cycle that the traditional IT approach subjects us to. Using COBIT to Manage Benefit, Risks and Security in the cloud In this ever-increasing competitive world, companies are heavily relying on data and information to make complex decisions on control and risks that would be rapid and flourishing.

However, for this purpose management needs to be familiar with the actions that should be taken and how to implement them. In this scenario, organizations require an objective method to recognize where they are and where they need to make improvements; they as well require being capable to execute management tool kits to observe this development. Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) is a set or group of resources that holds all the information that a business would need to put into