Why Should Nonprofits Care About Cloud Computing

September 28, 2010 Why Nonprofits Should Care About Cloud Computing Anna S. Jaeger Co-Director of GreenTech TechSoup Global [email_address] www.techsoup.org/greentech

Topic and Objective
Topic: Overview of Cloud Computing - Defining types of cloud computing and how it might apply to your organization
Take Aways:
Understand the different types of cloud computing,
Understand how it is impacting nonprofits,
Outline some criteria for use,
Mention some challenges of which you should be aware.

We are working toward a time when every nonprofit and social benefit organization on the planet has the technology resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential

TechSoup is an integrated offering of the Resources, Knowledge, and Connections that NPO ’ s need to effectively use technology to advance their work

Mission of GreenTech
Help nonprofits and NGOs reduce their environmental impact through the effective use of technology.
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We help you, reduce the impact of your IT and use IT to reduce the impact of your organization.
www.techsoup.org/greentech @TSGreenTech

Please Ask Questions
What are some things you would specifically like to learn today?
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As we go along, please feel free to ask questions.

Valuable Prizes
Pay attention, I have prizes to give away, but you must answer questions based on the presentation!
Prizes!

Your Technical Experience Poll
Technical Experience:
Accidental Techie
Some Technical Experience
Solid Tech Experience
Advanced

Quick Audience Poll
Knowledge of Cloud Computing
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

Last Poll
Do you use cloud computing in your organization or personally ?
Yes
No
Who knows?!

Defining Cloud Computing
Understanding the Types

CyberOptic Group Cloud Definition
“ … cloud computing enables computer software and hardware resources to be accessed over the Internet without the need to have any detailed or specific knowledge of the infrastructure used to deliver the resources, much like a utility model. You really don't need to know what the phone company or electric company does on there end to enable calls and allow the lights to go on when you flip the switch; and, you really don't want to know as long as when you plug into it, it works.”

Forrester Research Definition
“ A standardized IT capability (services, software, or infrastructure) delivered via Internet technologies in a pay-per-use, self-service way .…”
From: TechRadar™ For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals: Cloud Computing, Q3 2009 , James Staten, Forrester Research, Inc., Oct. 2, 2009

Fun Video
Cloud Computing in plain English by CommonCraft

Slide by Microsoft

Cloud as Business Model
Some say “cloud computing” is nothing new.
Despite all the hype, there’s very little, from a technical capability standpoint, that hasn’t been widely available for years.
Image from: http://www.eci.com/blog/25-why-cloud-computing-is-right-for-your-hedge-fund.html

Why Should You Care?
IDC forecasts that from 2009 through 2014
Worldwide IT product spending will grow at an annual rate of 5.0%
Spending on Cloud Services will increase at an annual rate of 27%, i.e., _very_ fast.
Non-Cloud IT product spending will grow at an annual rate of 3.3%, i.e., positively, but slowly.
Source: IDC’s Public IT Cloud Services Forecast: New Numbers, Same Disruptive Story

Benefits of Cloud Computing
Little to no upfront costs : watch out for recurring operating costs.
Little to no IT staff required : many applications available in the cloud require much less in-house IT support because the hosting provider takes care of installs, upgrades, backups, security, and standard maintenance for you.
No servers need to be researched, purchased, maintained, or recycled.
Rapid deployment: Often, accounts can be set up in minutes. More complicated pieces of software (CRM, accounting packages, donor management software) still require more set up and probably training.
Convenience: Staff and volunteers can access your applications from almost any Internet connection with their login information. No more setting up VPNs or systems to allow remote access to your servers.
Be on latest software vendor managed upgrades.

Green Benefits
Fewer servers are built and running:
fewer toxic materials and water used to build them
fewer toxic materials are dumped
less energy is consumed in the running of the servers
Less powerful client computers: all the processing is performed on the hosted server(s).
keep your older computers longer
reduces demand for new computers

Green Benefits
Slide by David Deal of Community IT Innovators

Cloud Computing
“One of the biggest opportunities for decreasing an organization’s power and equipment usage is through the use of hosted software.… This offers significant environmental advantages, and typically also simplifies IT administration. ”
David Deal in Greening Your IT Through Your Software Choices

Some Helpful Reading
Comparing Online vs. Traditional Office Software
Why Should Nonprofits Care About Cloud Computing?

Types of Cloud Computing
IaaS: Infrastructure as a service
PaaS: Platform as a service
SaaS: Software as a Service

Examples of Cloud Providers
Amazon – EC2 and S3(IaaS)
Google – App Engine(PaaS)
Microsoft – Azure(IaaS & PaaS)|BPOS(SaaS)
Salesforce – NPO Starter Pack(SaaS)
Caution: Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change

NIST: 4 Cloud Deployment Models
Private cloud
enterprise owned or leased
Community cloud
shared infrastructure for specific community
Public cloud
sold to the public, mega-scale infrastructure
Hybrid cloud
composition of two or more clouds
From NIST: Presentation on Effectively and Securely Using the Cloud Computing Paradigm v26

NIST: 5 Essential Cloud Characteristics
On-demand self-service
Broad network access
Resource pooling
Location independence
Rapid elasticity
Measured service

Discounted Offerings Free offerings Slide by Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite

NIST: Three Features of Mature SaaS Applications
Scalable
Handle growing amounts of work in a graceful manner
Multi-tenancy
One application instance may be serving hundreds of companies
Opposite of multi-instance where each customer is provisioned their own server running one instance
Metadata driven configurability
Instead of customizing the application for a customer (requiring code changes), one allows the user to configure the application through metadata

SaaS Common Examples
Software as a Service
Document Sharing - Google docs, Office Live, Zoho
CRM solutions – Salesforce, Blackbaud
Backup - Mozy
Collaboration/Training tools – ReadyTalk, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Unified Communication Tools
Social Networking: LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr
HR Tools: Performance Reviews, Payroll
Project Management: Basecamp

Prize Give Away
What are the three types of Cloud Computing?
Hint: _aaS, _aaS, _aaS

How is the Cloud Impacting NPOs?

Slide by Microsoft

Impacting NPOs: More Complexity
More IT choices = IT decisions more complicated and more confusing
Some cloud based services like webhosting, HR services, and conferencing (like Skype) are already well developed in the cloud
Others like security and disaster recovery will take longer to develop .
Info from Forresters

Impacting NPOs: Lower Barrier to Entry
Particular importance to smaller organizations: it lowers the “barrier to entry” for certain large-scale enterprise applications, that wouldn’t be cost-effective to install and run internally for a small staff; but can make sense, when available on a per-user subscription basis (Microsoft Sharepoint is a good example of this).

Impacting NPOs: Shifting Use
More staff and volunteers have access to more systems outside the office .
Fundraising, volunteer management and donor management all have solid offerings in the cloud.
Many SaaS providers offer free or discounted services for NPOs: Salesforce, GrantStation, VolunteerMatters, Google Docs, Office Live

Impacting NPOs: Shifting Use
Next 6 to 8 years we’ll be in a state of hybrid cloud adoption
More people will be using both ‘on premises’ and cloud versions of MS Office
Use of computers will change toward easier collaboration/sharing and better access to the office anywhere you are.

Impacting NPOs: Software Costs
In the next 6 to 8 years, nonprofits will probably not be reducing software and IT staffing costs very much.
Migration to cloud software and services will be gradual and costs will be shifting, but not going down dramatically.
You’ll probably being paying more in monthly fees, and less on buying software packages.

Impacting NPOs: Hardware Costs
IT hardware costs will gradually go down for nonprofits over the next 6 to 8 years.
You will probably need fewer on premises server computers, and less robust and expensive desktop or laptop computers as more of your work is online.
Telecom costs may increase as more bandwidth and stability is needed.

Summary: Cloud Economics
Decreased captial costs
Usually, increased operating costs
Example 1: Preferred Hotel
Traditional: $210k server refresh and $10k/month
Cloud: $10k implementation and $16k/month
Example 2: Nevada Crisis Call Center
Trimmed technology management work by $20,000 annually
Eliminated a recurring capital expense of $15,000
More reliable IT services

Prize Give Away
Name 2 impacts the cloud is having on nonprofits

Some Criteria for Use

Usage Compute Time Average Inactivity Period Compute Time Average Usage Average Usage Compute Time Compute Time Average Usage

Criteria for Use: Questions for Vendors
When selecting a service & provider, consider these items:
Costs: upfront, ongoing, utility model
Security & Compliance
Reliability & SLAs
Connectivity: stability & bandwidth
Features
Ease of startup

NIST: Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Contract between customers and service providers of the level of service to be provided
Contains performance metrics (e.g., uptime, throughput, response time)
Problem management details
Documented security capabilities
Contains penalties for non-performance

Some Easy Targets
Virtual PBX
VoIP – potentially eliminate your phone
Electronic fax services like MyFax and eFax
Email systems
Green Host for Websites

Questions for Green Website Hosting Providers
When selecting a provider, consider these items:
$$: most are comparable or better than traditional hosts
Ease of startup
Features
Reliability
How green are they? Do they buy carbon off-sets or power their operations with their own solar panels? Do they virtualize their servers? Are they certified by anyone?
Lists of Green Web Hosts
webhostinggeeks.com
TreeHugger
WebHostingReport.com
http:// twitter.com/greenwebsites

Travel Reduction
Reduce commuter and business travel
Travel contributes to 50% of CITI’s total emissions
(even with 75% of travel done via public transit, biking, and walking!)
Ingredients: Remote & mobile access to ICT resources - data, voice, video
Numerous studies confirming moderate to significant positive environmental impact

Video
Peer-to-peer, small groups:
Skype
VuRoom add-on allows for group video
Quality?
Hosted, better for groups:
WebEx (for up to 6 people)

Working with Distributed Teams
Web conferencing:
GoToMeeting, WebEx, Ready Talk
File sharing:
Box.net, Dropbox, Jungle Disk, Google Docs, BPOS/SharePoint
Comprehensive hosted apps:
Zoho, Google Apps, MS BPOS+Office Web Apps
Extranets/project collaboration:
Basecamp, SharePoint

Some Challenges

Challenges with Cloud Computing

Risks of Cloud Computing
Loss of connectivity: If you have a slow or unreliable connection, cloud computing isn't right for your mission-critical needs.
Service levels: Ensure reputable provider & provides an acceptable level of uptime & rapid response to issues.
Regulatory compliance: If you need to be HIPAA - or PCI-compliant or conform to other regulations, make sure your service provider is certified.
Backups: Make sure you have copies of and access to your data, especially if your service should fail.
Security: There are a variety of concerns about storing sensitive client data in the cloud due to privacy and security standards, that include data security for phishing, spamming, and hacking concerns. The jury is still out on some of these issues, so for the time-being, we recommend caution when storing sensitive financial or personal information about your supporters and clients online.

NIST: Analyzing Cloud Security
Some key issues:
trust, multi-tenancy, encryption, compliance
Clouds are massively complex systems that can be reduced to simple primitives that are replicated thousands of times and common functional units
Cloud security is a tractable problem
There are both advantages and challenges

NIST: General Security Advantages
Shifting public data to a external cloud reduces the exposure of the internal sensitive data
Cloud homogeneity makes security auditing/testing simpler
Clouds enable automated security management
Redundancy / Disaster Recovery

NIST: General Security Challenges
Trusting vendor’s security model
Customer inability to respond to audit findings
Obtaining support for investigations
Indirect administrator accountability
Proprietary implementations can’t be examined
Loss of physical control

NIST: Cloud Security Advantages Part 1
Data Fragmentation and Dispersal
Dedicated Security Team
Greater Investment in Security Infrastructure
Fault Tolerance and Reliability
Greater Resiliency
Hypervisor Protection Against Network Attacks
Possible Reduction of C&A Activities (Access to Pre-Accredited Clouds)

Simplification of Compliance Analysis
Data Held by Unbiased Party (cloud vendor assertion)
Low-Cost Disaster Recovery and Data Storage Solutions
On-Demand Security Controls
Real-Time Detection of System Tampering
Rapid Re-Constitution of Services
Advanced Honeynet Capabilities
NIST: Cloud Security Advantages Part 2 From NIST: Presentation on Effectively and Securely Using the Cloud Computing Paradigm v26

NIST: Cloud Security Challenges Part 1
Data dispersal & international privacy laws
EU Data Protection Directive and U.S. Safe Harbor program
Exposure of data to foreign government and data subpoenas
Data retention issues
Need for isolation management
Multi-tenancy
Logging challenges
Data ownership issues
Quality of service guarantees

NIST: Cloud Security Challenges Part 2
Dependence on secure hypervisors
Attraction to hackers (high value target)
Security of virtual OSs in the cloud
Possibility for massive outages
Encryption needs for cloud computing
Encrypting access to the cloud resource control interface
Encrypting administrative access to OS instances
Encrypting access to applications
Encrypting application data at rest
Public cloud vs internal cloud security
Lack of public SaaS version control

Security & Privacy
Customizability
Visibility & Control
Data Accessibility
Global Reach
Ease of Provisioning
Business Agility
Deployability & Manageability
Slide by Microsoft

Questions on Challenges?

Prize Give Away!
Name a benefit, a green benefit, and a risk of Cloud Computing
Extra credit: Why should you care?

Conclusion
Cloud has a lot to offer, esp. small nonprofits.
Cloud solutions are often greener, easier to implement, and more secure.
Cloud solutions are not right for every need or every organization.
Talk with your board, staff, volunteers and/or consultants. Decide which is the best first step for your organization.

Thank you!
More Info:
Come to www.techsoup.org/greentech to find other tips and suggestions.
Anna S. Jaeger TechSoup Global [email_address] www.techsoup.org @TSGreenTech

Why Should Nonprofits Care About Cloud Computing

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