Choosing a Suitable Cloud Solution Vendor

Discuss about the System Analysis Design and SDLC Approach.

The common wealth government of Australia will be launching a ‘My Health Record’ system. This system will provide a secure online summary of the individual’s health information. The system will be designed in such a way that the users can control what goes into the health record system.  However, in order to protect the security and the confidentiality of the data and the information that is stored in the health record system, it is essential to properly identify a correct vendor that will be suitable for providing a cloud solution (Garg, Versteeg & Buyya, 2013). The report further reviews the strengths and weaknesses of cloud based solutions and whether it will be appropriate to use cloud solutions for the storage of data in cloud. The pros and cons of using predictive and adaptive SDLC approach are further discussed in this report.

My Health Record system will be making use of the cloud based model in order to store the data of the patients. This is decided since the use of cloud increases the accessibility of the data and increases data security as well. It is essential to choose vendors that will be able to provide cloud solutions which will meet the requirements of the information system. The three cloud vendors that are chosen for the purpose are Microsoft, Amazon and IBM. The features of cloud based solutions that are provided by each of these cloud vendors makes them suitable for the requirements of the project that deals with development of “My Health Record System”.

Microsoft is one of the leading cloud vendors across the globe. It provides solution to all the three layers of cloud , which are IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. The different features of this cloud service that makes it suitable for the need of the project My Health Record system are as follows (Microsoft Azure, 2018)-

1. It offers a complete solution to all the three layers of cloud services, which are IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Therefore, it is often considered as powerhouse of all the three cloud approaches.
2. The cloud services that are offered by Microsoft provide solution to a wide range of products that covers IOT sensors and mobile devices.
3. Easy scalability of the services that are provided by Microsoft makes it suitable for the project under consideration.
4. This vendor makes use advanced technologies to fulfil the needs of the customers and therefore it will be appropriate to consider for this project.
5. This cloud solution is adopted by a number of business industries across the world and therefore, it is can be chosen for the project.
6. The artificial intelligence based applications are supported by the cloud services provided by Microsoft and therefore, it obvious that it makes use of advanced technology. Therefore, it will be suitable to consider for this project.

Another most widely used cloud vendor is Amazon as it offers a customized cloud solution to the customers. The significant features that make Amazon clod services appropriate for consideration are as follows (Amazon Web Services, 2018)-

1. The software solution that is offered by this cloud vendor addresses a broad range of business needs.
2. The cloud services offered by this vendor can be accessed from any devices. Easy accessibility is one feature that makes it suitable for this project.
3. The cloud services provided by Amazon can be customized according to the organizational needs.
4. It provides a secure data storage and provides secure access to the data that will be stored in the database.
5. The on demand services offered by Amazon offers a very cost effective cloud solution and therefore it is suitable for this project.
6. The robust service models and the proper disaster recovery plan make this cloud vendor suitable to consider for the project My Health Record System.

IBM is another cloud service provider that is considered for this project. The suitability of this vendor for this project is evaluated on basis of its features. The features of the services provided by IBM cloud are as follows (IBM Cloud services, 2018)-

1. This vendor too provides a cost effective solution to the customers. Furthermore, the services offered can be tailored according to the needs of the project and therefore it is suitable for this project.
2. The services offered by the IBM cloud are scalable and therefore it is suitable for My health Record Project.
3. It considers the security needs of the customer by providing a robust security structure which makes it suitable for this project.
4. The easy availability and the reliability in the data storage make it suitable for considering in the project.
5. The data stored in the IBM cloud can be managed quite efficiently which makes it suitable for this project.
6. It has not specific hardware requirements and therefore it is suitable to consider for the My Health Record project.

Cloud-based Storage Solutions for ‘My Health Record’ System

The choice of the cloud approach is to be evaluated from the options of public, private and hybrid cloud (Zheng et al., 2013). It is essential to consider which cloud environment will be suitable for deploying the ‘My health Record System’. The choice of public cloud cannot be considered as one of the significant aims of the project is to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the data which will not be maintained by the public cloud environment (Sen, 2015). This is because the data can be publicly acessed which cannot be allowed in case of My Health Record Project as the confidentiality of the patients’ data is to be maintained. Private cloud on the other hand provide a robust security option to the clients as the data stored in private cloud cannot be accessed by any unauthorized person (Jadeja & Modi, 2012). However, the cost of implementation is very high and the stored data will have a very restricted access. Therefore the choice of private cloud environment will not be appropriate as well. For this project, the hybrid cloud environment is proposed. The choice of the hybrid cloud environment is appropriate for this project since it offers a mix of both public and the private cloud (Li et al., 2013). The much needed security feature of offered by the private cloud and the public cloud helps in easy data accessibility. Therefore the choice of this environment is appropriate. The strength and weakness of the hybrid cloud environment are as follows.

Strength

The strengths of using a hybrid cloud environment are as follows (Wang & Jia, 2012)-

1. The use of hybrid cloud environment offers a robust security options for the data stored in the system (Li et al., 2015). This is possible as the hybrid cloud offers a private cloud platform that maintains the security and the confidentiality of the data.
2. The hybrid cloud environment provides more opportunity for innovation as large capital expenditure is not required for modelling of the new services. The infrastructure cost is considerably reduced in hybrid cloud environment. Therefore, the use of hybrid cloud provides a cost effective solution as well.
3. Hybrid cloud environment offers increasing scalability which makes it suitable to consider for this project.
4. Improved connectivity is another advantage of using hybrid cloud as it ensures maintenance of proper bandwidth for improving the performance of the system.

Weaknesses

There are certain weaknesses associated with the use of hybrid cloud environment which are as follows-

1. Major security issues might arise while switching between the public and the private cloud environment.
2. The cost of implementing the system in a hybrid cloud environment is more than a public cloud environment.
3. The dependency on the infrastructure that is provided by the cloud vendor is another major weakness in hybrid cloud.
4. The networking associated with the set up and use of hybrid cloud is quite complex.

The above points discuss the strengths and the weaknesses of using a hybrid cloud.  However, the security weakness can be eliminated by enforcing access control in the system.

In a predictive SDLC approach, it is assumed that the project is planned and developed well in advance and the project will be developed according to the project plan. This type of project implementation approach ensures that the project is completed within a scheduled time (Balaji & Murugaiyan, 2012). The Adaptive SDLC approach on the other hand is applied to the projects where the project requirements are not clear and the project might expect certain changes in the implementation phase. The advantages and disadvantages of both predictive and the Adaptive SDLC approach is to be evaluated in order to understand which approach should be chosen for the My Health Record Project.

The Three Cloud Vendors Analyzed

Pros

The advantages of predictive SDLC approach are as follows-

1. Clear definition of the project objectives is possible with the use of predictive SDLC approach and therefore, the process of risk identification and risk mitigation becomes easier (Mahalakshmi & Sundararajan, 2013).
2. The process of project implementation follows a sequential approach and therefore, it is possible to implement a project within a scheduled time.
3. It is easier to measure the project progress in predictive SDLC.

Cons

The disadvantages of using predictive SDLC in a project are as follows-

1. The scope is fixed so no improvement in the project is possible.
2. Since the testing is done at the end of the project, fixing of the bugs becomes quite difficult.

Pros

The advantages of using an adaptive SDLC approach is discussed below-

1. There are no fixed requirements of the project and therefore, it is easier to implement changes in the project even during project execution
2. The presence of feedback path helps in designing a project according to the customers’ need (Tuteja & Dubey, 2012).

Cons

1. It is difficult to complete a project in a set schedule due to incorporation of changes in project.
2. Project supervision is very necessary.

For this project, the predictive SDLC approach is chosen as the scope of the project is clear and the project is needed to be completed within a scheduled time, which is not possible with adaptive SDLC.

Conclusion

The report discusses the three vendors and their features that make them suitable for ‘My Heath Record’ project. The report recommends the use of hybrid cloud environment by analysing its strength and weakness. Furthermore, the use of predictive SDLC approach is found to be suitable for this project as the project has a clear requirement.

References

Balaji, S., & Murugaiyan, M. S. (2012). Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative study on SDLC. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 2(1), 26-30.

Cloud Solutions – Amazon Web Services (AWS). (2018). Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/?nc2=h_ql_s&awsm=ql-2

Garg, S. K., Versteeg, S., & Buyya, R. (2013). A framework for ranking of cloud computing services. Future Generation Computer Systems, 29(4), 1012-1023.

IBM Cloud services. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/cloud/services

Jadeja, Y., & Modi, K. (2012, March). Cloud computing-concepts, architecture and challenges. In Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies (ICCEET), 2012 International Conference on (pp. 877-880). IEEE.

Li, J., Li, Y. K., Chen, X., Lee, P. P., & Lou, W. (2015). A hybrid cloud approach for secure authorized deduplication. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, 26(5), 1206-1216.

Li, Q., Wang, Z. Y., Li, W. H., Li, J., Wang, C., & Du, R. Y. (2013). Applications integration in a hybrid cloud computing environment: Modelling and platform. Enterprise Information Systems, 7(3), 237-271.

Mahalakshmi, M., & Sundararajan, M. (2013). Traditional SDLC Vs Scrum Methodology–A Comparative Study. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, 3(6), 192-196.

Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing Platform and Services. (2018). Retrieved from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/

Sen, J. (2015). Security and privacy issues in cloud computing. In Cloud Technology: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1585-1630). IGI Global.

Tuteja, M., & Dubey, G. (2012). A research study on importance of testing and quality assurance in software development life cycle (SDLC) models. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE), 2(3), 251-257.

Wang, J. K., & Jia, X. (2012, November). Data Security and Authentication in hybrid cloud computing model. In Global High Tech Congress on Electronics (GHTCE), 2012 IEEE (pp. 117-120). IEEE.

Zheng, Z., Wu, X., Zhang, Y., Lyu, M. R., & Wang, J. (2013). QoS ranking prediction for cloud services. IEEE transactions on parallel and distributed systems, 24(6), 1213-1222.