The Era of Personal Cloud (Personal and Security)

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Introduction

When it comes to storage and security, Personal cloud provides a realistic approach, one that can be applied to minimize the total space and effort required in storage. This is based on the knowledge that duplication of files in multiple server space, not only becomes monotonous, but it is also expensive to device space. A personal cloud enables the user to develop application, settings and system and only operate on single server space. In fact, this approach enables the development of personal personal cloud services that provide users to orient a multi-devices application; for instance, tablet PCs, Smart TVs, Smartphone, and PDA all running on one central service.

A good Personal cloud is one that enables sharing with optimal risk management approach. In recent times, 3G and 4G technologies are enabling sharing of documents, pictures and videos which requires significant amount of security. Therefore, in order to support and make data sharing available among several multi-devices and improvising of user friendly orientations. However, it is good to acknowledge that in a mobile and resource constrained environment. In any case, the personal cloud acts as model synchronization and the development of protocol and XML based on reconciliation model. Hence, it is vital to agree that data synchronization using a middleware for synchronization. Hence, this approach enables proper development of heterogeneous backend service and as well, enrolls safe data access.

This research will attempt to prove that personal cloud requires safety and proper storage similar to the mainstream personal cloud. The research will firstly examine deployment of personal cloud services storage, costing and security. Secondly, the research will focus on abilities of building personal cloud in a real time environment.

Deployment of Personal cloud services

The delivery of the personal cloud service to the customers involves various steps. In this case, the personal cloud normally availed through private cloud. The private cloud provision involves offering services over the Internet. These are usually known and operated by the main stream service. Some of these services include private services such as email services, online photo storage services and the social networking sites. In other circumstances, personal services can also be availed via private clouds (Fujitsu, 2013). In the case of a private cloud, the whole cloud infrastructure is solely operated for a personal orientation. In this case, the cloud is managed by the organization’s management or a third party.

However, any information and services offered through the cloud is only availed to the organization. A private cloud entails the sharing of a service among several organizations. These are made available only to those in the classified groups. In this case, the cloud may be owned and operated by the personal cloud service provider. In a hybrid cloud, there is a combination of different techniques of resource pooling. For instance, community and the public clouds can be combined. This is significant since it increases efficiency and saves on costs (Chee, & Franklin, 2010: Chen, et al, 2013).

Personal Cloud and Storage

An emerging technology is any form of conventional technology, which presents new territory through pertinent technological advancements, and thus empowering proper storage systems. In this case, personal cloud is a form of emerging technology because it involves technical innovations that characterize progressive developments within an arena for competitive advantage. Many things characterize cloud computation as an emerging technology. The integration of an advanced information and technology is the first feature. In this case, personal cloud involves the application of computers and telecommunications equipment. These are used to store, transmit, retrieve and manipulate data (Conner, & Williams, 2004).

In the past decades, the storing of data was so complicated and hectic because it had to be stored in physical forms, and also the concept of security became a substantial consideration. This involved manual files which resulted in inconvenience and ambiguity. Besides, it was difficult to manipulate or retrieve the data since it was inaccessible. In many cases, the data was not safe, some of it got lost, and some was distorted making it useless. With the personal personal cloud technology, individuals can easily store data and other information easily. Moreover, people receive other services, which highly assist in the transfer and safe management of data and information (Searls, 2013).

Personal Cloud Security

It is through the emergence of personal personal cloud that the privacy of people has been protected on the internet. For instance, through private cloud, the cloud infrastructure is operated and managed solely: only the specified user can access it. In this case, the organization can choose to manage its infrastructure or choose a trustworthy third party. In the past, cases of identity theft had rampantly increased because any information on the internet relating to a person’s identity was insecure. In this case, people needed a safety mode in which one’s identity could be protected. The technology has instituted various developments aimed at discouraging identity theft (Kushida, & Murray, & Zysman, 2011). People have started implementing the technology since it has proved to be efficient and time saving. Moreover, through personal cloud there is the availability of several social networks. The technology offers different forms of features, but in a single package hence facilitating convenience. The availability of personal networks facilitates communication. This is very vital in the management of organizations and the dispensing of knowledge. As such, personal cloud is an emerging technology, which enhances efficiency and security during data transfer and storage (Chen et al, 2013).

Costing factors

When personal cloud is first applied in the personal , the costs incurred are usually negligible. Perhaps, the personal will have added a small cloud memory space sold at cheap prices. In some cases, others are even offered free of charge by some personal cloud companies. However, as time goes by, it may require some additional space, which now becomes costly to an individual because it requires additional resources to maintain and manage the cloud space since it grows randomly. Therefore, an personal that wants to employ cloud technology to store data or information temporarily ends up saving money in the end (Smoot & Tan, 2012).

An individual ensures that substantially from cloud technology by ensuring they optimize on costs incurred by using technology as much as possible. This can be done by running a background check on all companies offering cloud technology services, and then pick out the one with the least cost. The individual should also consider that a central storage facility offer the most eligible features that can be applied in their line of business. This helps the individual to reduce on the cost of hiring IT experts to create and implement these features. In the end, optimization helps personal s, which end up using cloud services for long periods. As a result, an personal saves on a lot of money that would have been squandered in the end in case a poor decision was made when hiring a cloud technology company (Heaven, 2013: Svantesson, & Clarke, 2010).

Personal s may also profit majorly from personal cloud by implementing features and applications developed. In this case, they should apply them as their own. This plays a big role in the growth of the IT sector of a business that directly affects the efficiency and reliability of the services it offers to its clients. Eventually, an individual using cloud technology may end up buying or leasing some of these features for a greater gain. This also increases the amount of profit the individual earns (Smoot & Tan, 2012).

Storage

The application of personal cloud is cheaper since it attracts the benefits of economies of scale. In this case, maximum output and productivity are achieved using the minimum amount of resources. The traditional means of computing are very expensive as it uses conventional software. The personal cloud is cheaper as it is based on payment, depending on one’s usage of this technology. The system of ‘pay-as-you-go’ is one of the extra cost effective models that have been initiated by the cloud technology. Besides, it minimizes the cost of licensing new software and programs (Mezgar, & Rauschecker, 2014)

Storage Space

Personal cloud offers virtually unlimited storage space for data. The drop box is one of the main features that fall in this category. In this case, the users can store their data in their desired capacity. Moreover, there is an assurance of the data’s security. Users applying this technology have no fear of consuming the available space because of the availability of the unlimited online storage space (Heaven, 2013).

Easy backup and recovery

Through personal cloud technology, data is easily recoverable and easily stored. This is better as compared to storing data in physical devices such as hard drives. In this case, the data can be distorted or totally disappear. From a research carried out, companies using personal cloud, recover from the disaster of data loss eight times faster than those that do not use personal cloud. Therefore, the companies do not have to suffer major financial losses because of losing pertinent data (Moeller, 2013).

Flexibility

Personal cloud is one of the most flexible technologies that exist because users can access data and any other relevant information at any time and from any location. In fact, employee productivity increases since they can perform their jobs from different locations. With an internet connection, the employees can work at any time from any place. This saves on time and costs: employees perform their duties more effectively compared to reporting daily at their places of work (Halpert, 2011).

Automatic Software Integration and Updating

Through the personal cloud technology, computing software, integration and frequent updating is automatically done because service providers ensure that this is realized. In this case, individual processing are saving time because updating of the software consumes significant time. Moreover, the management saves on costs that could be incurred during the updating process. In this case, the funds are used in financing other key projects in the organization that facilitate profit-making ventures (Conner, & Williams, 2004).

Demerits of personal cloud

A major challenge of personal cloud is that it is not flexible: clients using cloud-computing services are entirely dependent on whether they are connected to the internet or not. Moreover, companies, which offer personal cloud, offer their services to their clients via websites. When these websites crash or experience technical hitches, this may end up delaying an individual who need to access their information (Smith, 2013).

Data and information belonging to clients are not completely secure because many hackers try to hack their way into the main servers. Once they acquire access, they may manipulate the information that is personal to clients. This may cause negative publicity of personal cloud services. This may end up scaring many potential clients who could have been considering using personal cloud (Mezgar, & Rauschecker, 2014).

Low storage capacities offered by personal cloud companies. Most companies have a limit to the amount of space in gigabytes they allocate to each customer. More often than not, if a customer wants additional space he or she has to pay an extra amount to the company for the space to be provided to them. In addition, the memory allocated to clients will never be more than their internal memory space. Therefore, they end up viewing cloud computation as a secondary means of storing data. This is currently a major challenge in the world of personal cloud (Moeller, 2013).

Furthermore, personal cloud is relatively slower to access as compared to a real computer memory. Many features in computers are not available in cloud computation. For example, an application that works well when running from computer memory takes a short time to launch. However, the same application takes a long time to launch when operated from a cloud service platform (Fujitsu, 2013).

Organizations suited to personal cloud

For a short period, personal cloud has turned out to be a technology that affects everyone’s day-to-day living because our individual files are stored in the cloud. Most people’s friendships are maintained via the applications that are found in the cloud. There are organizations, which are best suited to integrate the technology of personal cloud in their business: the technology brings better results to the company. One of the organizations best suited is the intercontinental Hotels Group (Gruttadauria, 2011).

In this case, the group is constructing a private cloud environment. This is aimed at moving its core CRM systems off the mainframes and onto the industrial equipment. These types of organizations are best suited because of their market sizes and their level of competition in the industry. For instance, the Continental Hotel Group is an organization that has its customers throughout the world. In this case, the implementation of personal cloud technology is necessary in order to market itself (Smith, 2013: Sanyal, & Iyer Parthasarathy, 2013).

The existence of social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace is vital in advertisements since they are accessible to any person located at any place on the globe. In this case, an individual can advertise itself and hence increase its customer or market range. This is also pertinent in order to cope up with the increasing competition in the hotel and hospitality industry ((Park, et al 2010). In this case, the organization applies the public cloud infrastructure for application development and testing. This enables it to host the web content closer to its worldwide customers. The organization is also evaluating moving most of its major proprietor systems, including the room reservation software into the cloud (Rob, 2013).

Rehab related organizations are other major organizations where the personal cloud technology is better suited. One of the rehab organizations that have integrated this technology is Rehab care. After the foundation of this group in 1982, it has developed to be the third largest supplier of the acute care, rehabilitation services in the United States (XIE, & Zhao, 2013). The company integrated the technology to provide a reliable system for capturing the treatment details. These include the therapies applied and the time they took. Moreover, the technology is best suited in such institutions in order to supply the necessary reports and claims to the health insurers (Jaatun, Zhao, & Rong, 2009: Walters, 2012). The development of the end-user devices together with the cloud-based software has turned the company’s traditional business into its current position. Through personal cloud technology, therapists are given an email that is Google-based and productivity suite. Moreover, instead of buying Microsoft office, a therapist can pay $50 a year in order to do all the necessary work. Since it is aimed at its expansion, Rehab care is working on a pre-admission screening application. This is aimed at reducing the tedious paperwork required when adding a new patient (Kavis, 2013).

Personal cloud technology can also be applied by the start-up companies or organizations meaning that the technology is not only applicable for organizations that have already developed their roots in the industry but also for the new ones. ServiceMax and NVoicePay are examples of the start-up companies that have successfully applied this technology. In this case, they rely on the cloud as their basic architecture (Jaatun & Rong 2009). In this case, they run as little of their data center as possible. Through NVoicePay, small businesses have automated their invoice payment. This is something that is still a paper work in most of the small businesses and companies. In this case, the business seems like an individual’s online bill payment from a bank. This contains links to the accounts receivable system (Halpert, 2011).

The personal cloud system provides software that integrates for tracking in which the vendors accept various electronic payments. According to the company, the personal cloud approach keeps the transactions, PCI-compliant because it exposes any customer identity and other sensitive information into the cloud infrastructure (Chee, & Franklin, 2010). However, it relies on the Microsoft SQL Azure cloud platform in order to compute the rest of it works. These include notifying parties of payments and frequent update of the customers’ accounting systems. According to NVoicePay, through the personal cloud technology, there is a significant elimination of costly integration. This is usually the case when there is integration of a local accounting system with an electronic payment system. This is the main expense that most of the small and the mid-size avoid by sticking to the checkbook system (Kumar & Yung-Hsiang, 2010).

Organizations in Abu Dhabi that should employ personal cloud technology

According to research, many companies in Abu Dhabi have not started using cloud-computing technology. However, the research also shows that these companies can benefit immensely by the use of cloud technology. These companies face various challenges that might harm their success in their industry. However, these can be saved and managed efficiently by the use of cloud technology (Kavis, 2013).

The first company that would benefit immensely from this technology is the Abu Dhabi ports company. It mainly deals with managing eleven ports and industrial zones in Abu Dhabi. In order for the company to achieve this, it needs to keep on track with the happenings in every port and industrial zone. It is also responsible for assessing and keeping a record of how this port and industrial zones are faring in terms of trade. Therefore, the company needs a large database in order to cater for the storing of all data exchanges involved in all these ports and industrial zones (Reese, 2009).

The value of personal cloud becomes evident in such a scenario. The company can be leasing a large amount of space from a cloud technology organization, which would help it to expand easily over the years. This can help the company to reduce on the costs that would have been incurred when purchasing new expensive mainframe computers to do the job. Service providers in personal cloud can also create applications to help clients in areas like trading and socializing via online platforms. These will help in connecting people easily and later facilitating trade in the area (Halpert, 2011).

Another company that would benefit is the Abu Dhabi aviation. It is the largest helicopter based aviation company operating over fifty-eight helicopters. Abu Dhabi aviation has recently expanded its operation to over six countries. Some of these include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Brazil and many more countries (Reese, 2009). The company has also recently started engaging in other business activities like airlifting medical patients, air photography excavations and spraying crops in the UAE by using helicopters. As a result, there is rapid expansion of the company. Personal cloud would come in as a handy tool for the company (Gruttadauria, 2011).

An increase in the number of employees and clients is proportional to the company’s growth. For this reason, it needs additional computer storage space to assist it in holding the growing numbers. Therefore, if the company considers on leasing or buying space from a cloud technology firm, it can save a significant amount of money instead of frequently buying new mainframe computers (Breeding 2013). Cloud technology can also help the company to monitor how much money is earned per year. This is by creating a database specific with these details. This will help the company to plan much easily.

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