Page 31 - DCAP609_CLOUD_COMPUTING

Cloud Computing

Notes 2.4 Uses of Cloud Computing

Now, let us look at the other side of the coin. If cloud computing is not meant for everyone, who
is it not for then.

2.4.1 Offline Workers

Individuals who work offline in a non-Internet-enabled environment cannot be considered the
right candidates to adopt cloud computing. This means that people working in an office without
Internet access or those working out of their vehicle, anyone who works at home without
Internet access may not use cloud computing for their businesses. So, we can say that without
Internet, cloud computing is not possible.

Task Explain in a flow diagram the working process of offline workers.

2.4.2 Internet-impaired

Since, we already know that cloud computing is based on the Internet cloud and depends on
Internet access, if you do not have Internet access, then cloud computing becomes useless. You
cannot run Web-based applications or open any documents stored on the Web without an
Internet access in cloud computing. Therefore, users who do not have a readily available Internet
connection should not use cloud-based computing. Only those with Internet access shall use
adopt this technology of cloud computing.
If you have slow Internet access, like in case of dial-up Internet connections then avoid switching
to cloud computing since accessing big applications and documents on the Web will become
difficult and very time consuming.

2.4.3 Security Conscious

In today’s date we cannot guarantee that cloud computing is completely safe. Cloud systems can
be hacked and cloud-based documents can be accessed by any unauthorized users. There is also
a possibility that your data could be fiddled with or destroyed during transmission between
your computer and the cloud. Such a situation is very rare but it could happen.
You may not want to trust cloud computing if your documents are confidential. It is similar to
a situation wherein you will not transmit confidential documents over a public Wi-Fi network.

You should not upload and store your documents on a cloud computing network having doubtful
security. Refrain from taking any chances in security related issues to protect your documents
from being damaged or destroyed.

2.4.4 Anyone used to Existing Applications

This is the important reason for you not signing up for a Web-based application. If you use
Microsoft Office or similar applications then you must remember that Web-based applications
are not completely compatible with Microsoft’s file formats. It means that you might face
difficulty in opening your Word or Excel docs with your Web-based apps and vice versa.
If you or your organization is a using the Microsoft shop, the shift to a Web-based application
could be very tough. Make sure that your docs can convert, or that the Web-based apps can read
and write in Microsoft’s native formats.

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