The document discusses cloud computing and its potential applications for academic eLearning. It defines cloud computing as accessing computer resources over the Internet rather than locally. Motivations for cloud computing include cost savings, scalability, and the growing market for cloud services. The document examines cloud computing types, trends driving its popularity, potential benefits for large/small organizations and individuals, risks, and COMAS College's experiences using cloud systems for various applications.

1. Seventh International Conference on eLearning for Knowledge-Based
Society
Cloud Computing-The Magical
New ICT-Paradigm for Academic
xLearning ?
(eLearning, mLearning, uLearning)

2. Cloud Computing At A Glance
The term - Cloud
Computing – relatively new
The concept is not – Hotmail Web Hosting (Katzan 2010)
Lots of definitions (Golden 2009, Dothang 2010), the simplest one:
Cloud Computing – is getting computer services / resources
from the Internet.
Computer services means using all kinds of computer
resources on the web instead of using local resources.

3. Other Definitions of Cloud Computing
(Truitt 2009)
SaaS - Software-as-a-Service
SaaS - Security-as-a-Service
PaaS - Platform-as-a-Service
IaaS - Infrastructure-as-a-Service
XaaS – Everything-as-a-Service

4. Motivation
•
Merrill Lynch: 2012, the annual global market for cloud
computing is expected surge to $160 billion by 2012.
•
CA Technologies Chairman and CEO, William E. McCracken
said in CA World 2010 (May 2010): "In recent months, many
ask me whether I think that cloud computing is the IT future.
I always reply that I don't think, I'm sure".
•
Marc Andreessen, founder of the Mosaic web browser and
co-founder of Netscape, “cloud computing is the story of
the lifetime.”
•
Google CEO Eric Schmidt notes, "The cloud is a smart,
complex, powerful computing system in the sky that people
can just plug into."

5. Cloud Computing – Buzzword ?
Cloud Computing – is not a buzzword anymore !!!
Search of the term:
http://www.google.com/insights/search/
Number of search results:
Results @ Google
YouTube (xLearning) on Cloud Computing (one of many):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJncFirhjPg

6. Cloud Computing – search ?
What are people looking for (popular google search):

8. Client/server Computing on the Internet

10. Cloud Computing - Technology
System Layer
System Layer
Development Environment
Development Environment
CPU
OS
Grid Computing
Windows, Linux,
….IOS
Virtualization
Technology
Development
Azure, .Net, sandbox,
Google, Java, php
Storage Systems
Data Base
Proprietary
Open
, Oracle
, Postgres
Ms-SQL
MySQL
Application Layer
Application Layer

11. Service Models
2 Main Models :
The First - Free Of Charge.
Implications: commercials, NO SLA (support, service,
backup, data security etc) Gmail and Facebook.
The Second – You Have To Pay.
The user can choose the SLA

12. Cloud Computing - types
 Private Cloud
 Public Cloud
 Community Cloud (shared library software)
 Hybrid Cloud – most common in the future

13. Trends in ICT that make Cloud
Computing Popular
 Economic crisis
 More bandwidth (remember the 14,400 modem vs. NGN)
 Here and now – 24 hours a day 7 days a week
from everywhere (during flights)
 Pressure to lower the IT cost – TCO
 Technology people are expensive
 Green IT
 Pay-Per-Use (rent instead of buy)
 Real need for Scalability

14. Trends In ICT 2
 Lower the risk of IT projects (less than 50%
of the ICT projects are considered successful)
 Downsizing of client side – the mobile phone /
SmartPhone
 Economies of scale
 Phobia among CIOs (open source, cloud)
 Implementation and assimilation

15. Trends In ICT 3
 Storage prices went down (large data centers)
 Storage requirements and reliability went up
 Advanced Technology – Grid Computing
 Virtualization Technology
 TCP/IP – became standard

16. Who Can Benefit ?

Large organizations – not the core activity,
quick results, less risk (50% failure). Share the Email
system 85% outside 15% inside

Small organizations – Email, website, open office (free !!!)
collaborate with others, data protection, FW, backup,
no maintenance, CRM for a penny (salesforce )

The Individual – Gmail, Facebook, Twitter
 In other words – every one !!!

17. Risks and Disadvantages
• Security issues in cloud commuting might not be
resolved completely
• Third party environment might be considered
unsafe for most organizations, (Jean Thilmany,
2010).
• Lack of privacy since the third party will have full
access to the data.

18. Risks
• Losing management control (infrastructure)
• Loss of control on the backup and maintenance activities
• Losing data protection management
• Dependence upon outer services
• Integration between local and Cloud Computing systems.
• Implementing Identity Management (IDM)
• Data interchange between applications (SOA)
• Risk management using Cloud Computing
is much more complicated.

19. The Google Toilet

20. Is Jeff Goldblum dead ?

21. Our Experience @ “COMAS”
The College of Management Academic Studies :
– founded in 1978
– Located 10 km south to Tel Aviv
– the first non-subsidized, academic institution in Israel
– the largest college in Israel
– over 12,000 students
– over 34,000 alumni
– 1,300 desktops (PCs) and 150 servers, 80 of them virtual

22. Cloud Systems @ COMAS
 CRM for community relations management
 CRM for donor relations management
 “Decision-follow-up" system
 Project portfolio management in the IT department
 Conferences registration system
 Synchronous eLearning Platform
 Picture Gallery (Picasa&WordPress) – New!

23. Business Simulation Game
ICT steering committee: slow and unreliable Internet connection

24. Synchronous eLearning Platform
®AT&T Connect

26. ®AT&T Connect
•A large technical infrastructure (IaaS)
is needed to deliver synchronous courses.
•Technical support for both students and
professors.

27. Which Service Should be Moved
to the Cloud
• (1) Is it the operation / system - a core
operationactivityprocessapplication?
• (2) Is there a comparative advantage to installing them
on local servers?
• (3) Is it much cheaper to get these applications over the
cloud?
• (4) Is timetable a factor? Is fast implementation needed?
• (5) What is the risk of data security and data protection?

28. Conclusions and Implications

The economic crisis

The pressure to lower ICT costs

Higher education institutions - budget problems (chalenges)

Lack of regulations (unlike banks)

29. Conclusions 2

COMAS: "Implementing the cloud computing solution was
quick,
cheap,
efficient,
and
effective
resulting
satisfaction rate among users."

 H.E. are highly motivated to move to the cloud

The main barrier is data protection and security.

Computer resources will eventually become commodities
high

30. Further Research
• What will happen to IT departments in the future …
• What will happen to the Academia in the future
regarding xLearning …
• israeld@hdq.colman.ac.il , dudibreg@colman.ac.il

31. Thank You

32. http://www.google.com/insights/search/

33. Results @ Google