Cloud Computing is a phrase given to remotely access, manipulate and configure the resources of hardware and software. It offers online data storage, infrastructure, and application. It provides us means by which we can access the applications as utilities over the internet and allows us to create, configure, and customize the business applications online.
Cloud computing does not require a software to be installed on a local PC and thus offers platform independency. In other words Cloud Computing has made our business application collaborative and mobile.
In general terms Cloud Computing means to make use of resources over the internet namely networking and software, servers and storage. Also cloud computing model is cheaper and better affordable than a local machine resource investment.
The advantages of cloud computing further include increase in scale of resources whenever required, improved security posture, performance and speed, and improved productivity.
The roles and responsibility of various cloud computing parties who are associated in the cloud service arrangement are listed below:
- Service provider
- Broker
- Access Security Broker
- Customer
- Regulators
- Cloud Service provider:
A Cloud Service Provider or CSP is basically an organization which offers all services related to servers, infrastructure, networking software etc. They are also responsible in managing and employing the staff and render security in exchange of the service they provide. The Client organization is therefore relieved of their duties of managing them and setting up their infrastructure. It is clearly the most visible concept of Cloud computing. We come across this word very often without knowing its significance. Examples of CSP are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, etc.
- Cloud broker:
A Cloud Broker is an intermediate organization between the Cloud Customer and the Cloud
Service Provider. The Cloud Broker assists the Cloud customer to negotiate with the Cloud
Service Provider on the terms and conditions, pricing and other details. Cloud Broker is an organization of high significance because as increasing firms transfer their necessary data to the cloud, it becomes more complicated and it undergoes many changes gradually. Thus it becomes a difficult task for a customer to choose the correct Cloud Service Provider.
- Cloud access security broker:
The concept of Cloud Access Security Broker or CASB’s began in 2011 and was developed initially to improve security for Shadow IT services. With time it has evolved into other services like preventing misuse of cloud data from outsiders and insiders, tokenizing and encrypting data which is to be uploaded. CASB’s enhances the improvement in security for cloud services as cloud migration increase in number and security is more than a necessary. They are organizations that are present on the cloud or on premise and are the intermediate organization between the Cloud Service Provider and Cloud Customer. It is estimated that by the year 2022 CASB’s will govern over 60% of Cloud services.
- Cloud customer:
The Cloud Customer is the one for whom the Cloud Services have been developed. It is the organization that is intending to seek some or more cloud services from the Cloud Service Provider. Other organizations related to Cloud Service mentioned in the list work for the satisfaction of the Cloud Customer.
- Cloud Computing Regulators:
A Cloud Computing Regulator is an organization which ensures that companies follow compliance and regulatory frameworks. The organizations which lay down regulations are known as Regulators. Eg. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulatory frameworks to stay in compliance include Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbenes Oxley Act (SOX), Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) etc.