Lesson PDF - Spirit of Enterprise

Cloud – Enabling It And Business
The Impact of IT
Some technologies have such an impact that they change the
way we think about work and the way that work is organised and
managed. Information technology (IT) is certainly one
such technology.
Computers are everywhere and every student is familiar with
them. IT has changed the way that organisations store and
distribute information and communicate with employees and
customers. However, organisations cannot afford to stand still
because IT is changing all the time. One example of this is a topic
that is currently discussed on a daily basis. That topic is cloud
computing. In this case we look at the business of a company that
is at the forefront of this phenomenon. EMC produces mass
storage devices for the IT industry and business sector.
Business Growth
EMC started business in
the USA in 1979. It is
now a multi-billion dollar
company that produces
sophisticated systems to
help organisations to
manage vast amounts of
data. How did such growth
occur? Organisations can
grow in two ways - The EMC plant in Co.Cork
organically or inorganically.
When an organisation develops new products and markets
using its own resources, the growth is called ‘organic’. Inorganic
growth is generally produced by buying another company. This
is known as acquisition. It can also be the result of mergers and
alliances with other companies. EMC has made many
acquisitions. These acquisitions would have been carefully
considered to ensure that they would fit EMCs strategic vision
as it positions itself as an industry leader.
The Power of Branding
We are all familiar with
well-known brands in the
consumer world. A
company’s logo is often
closely associated with
the brand and we see their
logos every day. This is
because (B2C) businessto-consumer
companies
that serve consumer
markets such
The EMC logo
(EMC 2 )
representing
“EMC Corporation” is interesting.
Not only is it a homage to Albert
Einstein’s equation E=mc 2 ,
probably the most famous
equation in the world, but the
letters are the initials of the three
founding members.
EMC is a global leader in enabling organisations to
implement cloud computing and to store, manage,
protect and analyse their most valuable asset -
information. EMC is the world’s leading developer and
provider of information infrastructure technology and
solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to
transform the way they compete and create value from
their information.
EMC serves customers in more than 100 countries
around the world. These customers include financial
services firms, manufacturers, healthcare and life
sciences organisations, internet service and
telecommunications providers, airlines and
transportation companies, educational institutions and
public-sector agencies.
The company employs approximately 55,000 people
worldwide (including vmware) and had consolidated
revenues of $20 billion in 2011.
EMC in Ireland
EMC established its manufacturing facility in Ovens,
Cork in 1988. This was the first EMC plant outside of
North America and is now the largest one outside the
USA. It is known as a Centre of Excellence and
incorporates research, training as well as manufacturing.
An investment of €20 million was made in the Research
and Development Centre in 2008 as part of its 20th
anniversary celebrations. The EMC sales offices are
located in Dublin and Belfast.
A partnership was established with University College
Cork in 2011 to carry out research with Cloud, Big Data
and Data Centre technologies. EMC now employs over
2,500 people in Ireland.
EMC Ireland Limited,
Ovens, Co Cork
Tel: 021 4281500 Fax: 021 4281523
This case and all teaching components can be printed
from the Spirit of Enterprise website at www.soe.ie.
You can find out more about EMC at www.emc.com

Cloud – Enabling It And Business
as motor vehicles, soft drinks or food, invest heavily in promotion,
especially advertising in both print and broadcast media.
EMC is a (B2B) business-to-business company, marketing its
products to other businesses in a very specialised sector. This
means that promotion will be less public than in consumer
markets. Nevertheless, B2B companies still pay attention to
branding. Once a brand becomes established and the products
associated with it are perceived as providing high quality
performance and good value, markets can be developed more
easily. EMC has achieved this reputation.
The Cloud
Modern organisations thrive on information (generally known in
IT circles as data). Records must be maintained on many areas of
activity. Some examples are work programmes, personnel
details, sales, purchases and financial transactions. These
records are usually kept in electronic format on data storage
devices or memory. Some of the data might be kept on the hard
disks of office computers while the more critical ones might be
stored in a database on a powerful computer called a database
server located somewhere in the organisation. However, it is
possible for the organisation to store its data on servers located
in data centres and access them via the internet. This is called
cloud computing. Cloud technology inside a companies own
data centre is known as a ‘private’ cloud. Storing your information
on cloud technology outside your company is known as a ‘public’
cloud. Telecommunications networks have traditionally been
drawn as clouds with users and service providers attached. We
don’t need to know the details inside the cloud. The computer
that accesses the server for information is called a client.
Benefits to Business
The quantity of data held by organisations is increasing all the
time. The organisation can decide to invest in additional storage
capacity such as hard disks. This additional capacity may require
physical space and IT people to manage it. The alternative is to
outsource to a data centre provider who can provide the storage
required. The data can then be accessed remotely. In fact, modern
data centres offer much more than simple storage. Organisations
can avail of powerful data management software, allowing users
to search data, share files, manage customer accounts and carry
out many other tasks.
You have probably already used the cloud
This case focuses on mass data storage by organisations.
However, applications such as word processors can also be
used remotely. In fact, whenever you use a webmail service
such as Gmail or Hotmail, or social networking service such
as Facebook or Twitter, you are using cloud computing.
Of course electronic equipment can fail so it is important that
data be duplicated to avoid loss. Accordingly, the data is stored
on more than one server. This provision of additional or standby
capacity is called redundancy. If an organisation requires more
or less storage it can arrange this remotely at any time. Such
flexibility is very attractive to many users. You may also have
used Google Docs to type reports, design presentations or
share files.
Some Issues
New technologies usually raise new issues for society. Data
security is a major example. Files might contain private
information about customers, their personal details and bank
accounts. In addition, many types of information are subject to
data protection legislation. For further security data is often
encrypted and can only be read by someone who has the
correct key (code) to decrypt it. Another legal issue relates to
the ownership of the data; is it owned by the data centre where
it is stored or by the client organisation? Managers need to
consider this when choosing to move their data to the cloud.
Role of Management
IT is so important these days that all managers need to know
something about it. Managers must be able to communicate
effectively with IT professionals. To do this they will need to be
familiar with the specialised jargon such as terms used in this
case. More importantly, it is essential to ask the right questions
when new software or IT services are proposed for the organisation.
These questions are concerned with cost/benefit, staff training,
ease of access, productivity and of course, security.
Your Task
Assume you have been asked to advise on whether your school
should use the cloud to deliver the applications currently stored
on the hard disks of the school’s computers’ (or school server if
there is one). You must deliver a presentation describing the
advantages and disadvantages of transferring to the cloud.
Presentation should:
• Identify these applications
• Identify what costs need to be established before a
decision can be made
• List some cloud suppliers in the Irish market (an internet
search will be necessary for this)
• Contrast the benefits and possible disadvantages of
outsourcing to the cloud.