A RESEARCH STUDY INVESTIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF CLOUD COMPUTING IMPLEMENTATION AS AN ALTERNITIVE FOR LEGACY SYSTEMS IN MAURITIUS GOVERNMENT MEDICAL ORGANISATIONS

ABSTRACT

Government agencies have moved to cloud-based services to evade the dangers of legacy systems, reduce their overall investment in IT technology and manage resources.As well as shining a spotlight on the various benefits of cloud computing.However, as with any other technology investment, there are still questions about the possible risks of cloud-based technology implementation. These issues and the lack of academic literature focusing on cloud computing in the government context reinforce the need for exploratory work and to draw lessons for government official and reputable organisations to ensure that expensive mistakes are minimized. Accordingly, this paper explores the application of cloud computing in both realistic environments and from an organizational consumer viewpoint, it also exposes the dangers of the continuous use of legacy systems within organisations via one reputable organisation and two government authorities. By means of qualitative case study enquiries, the authors can extrapolate potential benefits and risk factors that are mapped against the literature so that emerging factors can be established. These results, originating from the aggregated organizational consumer perspective, would support both researchers and practitioners engaged in cloud computing research and its strategic application in the public sector.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Introduction....................................................................................................................... 4

2. Literature review................................................................................................................ 5

2.1 Definition and history of cloud computing.................................................................. 5

2.1.1 What is cloud computing?................................................................................ 5

2.1.2 Before cloud computing.................................................................................. 5

2.1.3 Foundation of cloud computing........................................................................ 6

2.1.4 Benefits cloud computing................................................................................ 6

2.1.5 Limitations cloud computing............................................................................ 7

2.1.6 Types of cloud computing................................................................................ 8

2.2 Cloud deployment..................................................................................................... 8

2.2.1 Public cloud.................................................................................................... 9

Graphical representation of public cloud................................................................. 10

2.2.2 Private cloud................................................................................................. 10

2.2.3 Community cloud.......................................................................................... 12

2.2.4 Hybrid cloud................................................................................................. 14

2.2.5 The comparison of the types of cloud deployment models................................ 16

2.2.6 Cloud deployment models and SAAS deployment........................................... 18

2.2.7 Cloud services...................................................................................................... 19

3. Research finding.............................................................................................................. 20

3.1 Practical implementation of the cloud to the Government medical organisations.. 20

4. Research methodology...................................................................................................... 21

4.1 Case Studies............................................................................................................ 22

4.2 Risks of cloud computing......................................................................................... 23

4.1 Case study 1: Air Traffic Control....................................................................... 26

4.2 Case study 2: Netflix’s transition to the cloud.................................................... 27

5. Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 29

6.References........................................................................................................................ 30