MBA 703 ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS SET A+
✔✔Concerns with OSS - ✔✔1. complexity of some products
2. a higher total cost of ownership for some products
3. concern about the ability of a product's development community to provide support or
product improvement,
4. legal and licensing concerns.
✔✔2 categories of cloud computing - ✔✔1. software as a service (SaaS)
2. utility computing
✔✔software as a service (SaaS) - ✔✔Where a firm subscribes to a third-party software-
replacing service that is delivered online
✔✔utility computing - ✔✔A form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own
software, and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider's computers
(hardware).
platform as a service, or infrastructure as a service
✔✔private clouds - ✔✔Pools of computing resources that reside inside an organization
and that can be served up for specific tasks as need arrives.
✔✔How do SaaS firms earn money? - ✔✔usage-based pricing model akin to a monthly
subscription. Others offer free services that are supported by advertising, while others
promote the sale of upgraded or premium versions for additional fees.
✔✔Benefits of SaaS (Clients) - ✔✔- Lower costs (less $$ on software and hardware
and IT staff)
- financial risk mitigation - start-up costs are low
- Faster deployment times and variable operating expense
- Scalable systems
- Higher quality and service levels
- Remote access and availability
, ✔✔Service Level Agreement (SLA) - ✔✔formal contract between customers and their
service providers that defines the specific responsibilities of the service provider and the
level of service expected by the customer
✔✔benefits of SaaS (vendor) - ✔✔- Limits development to a single platform (instead of
having to create versions for different operating systems)
- Tighter feedback loop
- Ability to instantly deploy bug fixes and product enhancements
- Lower distribution costs.
- Greater accessibility (vertical niches)
- Reducing software piracy
✔✔Risks Associated with SaaS - ✔✔- dependence on a single vendor.
- concern about the long-term viability of partner firms.
- users may be forced to migrate to new versions—possibly incurring unforeseen
training costs and shifts in operating procedures.
- reliance on a network connection—which may be slower, less stable, and less secure.
- data asset stored off-site—with the potential for security and legal concerns.
- limited configuration, customization, and system integration options compared to
packaged software or alternatives developed in-house.
- the user interface of Web-based software is often less sophisticated and lacks the
richness of most desktop alternatives.
- ease of adoption may lead to pockets of unauthorized IT being used throughout an
organization
✔✔SaaS provides the _______________ and _________________ to replace an
internal information system, - ✔✔software, hardware
✔✔Hardware Clouds - ✔✔A cloud computing model in which a service provider makes
computing resources such as hardware and storage, along with infrastructure
management, available to a customer on an as-needed basis. The provider typically
charges for specific resource usage rather than a flat rate. In the past, similar efforts
have been described as utility computing, hosting, or even time sharing.
✔✔Cloudbursting - ✔✔Describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity
during periods of spiking demand (black swans); is a scalability solution that is usually
provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed.
✔✔fault-tolerant provisioning - ✔✔keeping a firm's efforts at more than one location to
account for any operating interruptions, will appeal to firms with stricter uptime
requirements.
✔✔Cloud (utility) computing doesn't work in situations_________________ - ✔✔where
complex legacy systems have to be ported, or where there may be regulatory
compliance issues.
✔✔Concerns with OSS - ✔✔1. complexity of some products
2. a higher total cost of ownership for some products
3. concern about the ability of a product's development community to provide support or
product improvement,
4. legal and licensing concerns.
✔✔2 categories of cloud computing - ✔✔1. software as a service (SaaS)
2. utility computing
✔✔software as a service (SaaS) - ✔✔Where a firm subscribes to a third-party software-
replacing service that is delivered online
✔✔utility computing - ✔✔A form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own
software, and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider's computers
(hardware).
platform as a service, or infrastructure as a service
✔✔private clouds - ✔✔Pools of computing resources that reside inside an organization
and that can be served up for specific tasks as need arrives.
✔✔How do SaaS firms earn money? - ✔✔usage-based pricing model akin to a monthly
subscription. Others offer free services that are supported by advertising, while others
promote the sale of upgraded or premium versions for additional fees.
✔✔Benefits of SaaS (Clients) - ✔✔- Lower costs (less $$ on software and hardware
and IT staff)
- financial risk mitigation - start-up costs are low
- Faster deployment times and variable operating expense
- Scalable systems
- Higher quality and service levels
- Remote access and availability
, ✔✔Service Level Agreement (SLA) - ✔✔formal contract between customers and their
service providers that defines the specific responsibilities of the service provider and the
level of service expected by the customer
✔✔benefits of SaaS (vendor) - ✔✔- Limits development to a single platform (instead of
having to create versions for different operating systems)
- Tighter feedback loop
- Ability to instantly deploy bug fixes and product enhancements
- Lower distribution costs.
- Greater accessibility (vertical niches)
- Reducing software piracy
✔✔Risks Associated with SaaS - ✔✔- dependence on a single vendor.
- concern about the long-term viability of partner firms.
- users may be forced to migrate to new versions—possibly incurring unforeseen
training costs and shifts in operating procedures.
- reliance on a network connection—which may be slower, less stable, and less secure.
- data asset stored off-site—with the potential for security and legal concerns.
- limited configuration, customization, and system integration options compared to
packaged software or alternatives developed in-house.
- the user interface of Web-based software is often less sophisticated and lacks the
richness of most desktop alternatives.
- ease of adoption may lead to pockets of unauthorized IT being used throughout an
organization
✔✔SaaS provides the _______________ and _________________ to replace an
internal information system, - ✔✔software, hardware
✔✔Hardware Clouds - ✔✔A cloud computing model in which a service provider makes
computing resources such as hardware and storage, along with infrastructure
management, available to a customer on an as-needed basis. The provider typically
charges for specific resource usage rather than a flat rate. In the past, similar efforts
have been described as utility computing, hosting, or even time sharing.
✔✔Cloudbursting - ✔✔Describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity
during periods of spiking demand (black swans); is a scalability solution that is usually
provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed.
✔✔fault-tolerant provisioning - ✔✔keeping a firm's efforts at more than one location to
account for any operating interruptions, will appeal to firms with stricter uptime
requirements.
✔✔Cloud (utility) computing doesn't work in situations_________________ - ✔✔where
complex legacy systems have to be ported, or where there may be regulatory
compliance issues.
