Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL

Davis et al. (1989) originally formulated the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in an attempt to understand why people accept or reject information systems. Davis (1986) adapted Fishbein and Ajzen's (1980) Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to intentions to accept the information technology. The original TAM explained the causal links between beliefs (usefulness of an IS and ease of using the IS) and users' attitudes, intentions and “actual computer adoption behaviour”.  The purpose of the TAM was to explain and predict user acceptance of IS from measures taken after a brief period of interaction with the system.  Figure 1 shows the original TAM model. 

Figure 1: Original TAM Model 

A person's acceptance of an IS is hypothesized to be determined by his or her intention to accept it. The intention, in turn, is determined by the person's attitude toward the IS and his/her perceptions concerning its usefulness. Attitudes are formed from beliefs a person holds about the IS. The beliefs in the TAM consist of the targeted IS user's perceptions of its usefulness and its ease of use. External variables, such as the task, user characteristics, political influences, organizational factors, and the development process, are expected to influence technology acceptance behavior indirectly by affecting beliefs, attitudes, or intentions. The TAM intended to resolve the previous mixed and inconclusive research findings associating various beliefs and attitudes with IS acceptance. It had the potential to integrate various development, implementation, and usage research streams in IS.

Davis et al. (1989) empirically tested the original TAM and found that the data partially supported the model. In a post hoc data analysis combining the TRA and TAM, Davis et al. (1989) suggested a revision of the original TAM which they claimed was a “powerful [model] for predicting and explaining user behaviour based on only three theoretical constructs: intention, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use”.  The revised TAM proposed by Davis et al. (1989) is presented in figure 2.

Figure 2: Revised TAM Model 

The model has two versions: one concerning pre-implementation beliefs about usefulness and ease of use and the other involving post-implementation beliefs about usefulness and ease of use. The other notable difference between the original and revised TAM models is the lack of the attitude construct.  In addition to empirical findings (Davis et al. 1989, Adams et al. 1992) that support the notion of different models for pre- and post-implementation beliefs and acceptance, it is expected that beliefs or attitudes differ or change with experience.  The pre-implementation version of the TAM predicts the acceptance of technology with perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of the technology measured before its actual implementation. The post-implementation model uses perceptions of ease of use and usefulness as determinants of technology acceptance after implementation of the technology.

After a brief interactive introduction to an IS (the pre-implementation version), both the usefulness and ease of use beliefs are depicted as having a direct effect on intentions concerning the technology. In other words, an individual would rely on both their perceptions of usefulness and ease of use to form their intentions. These intentions then predict acceptance behaviour. After a period of actually using the IS (the post-implementation version), the ease of use belief is depicted as having an indirect effect on intentions.  The implication is that once individuals have been using an IS, their subsequent intentions are formed from their perceptions of its usefulness. Intentions then are expected to predict future technology acceptance behaviour.

Source: Szajna, Bernadette (1996), "Empirical Evaluation of the Revised Technology Acceptance Model", Management Science, 42 (1), pp. 85-92

Word-of-Mouth and Social Networking

WORD-OF-MOUTH AND THE SOCIAL NETWORKING

The technology for managing customer relationships has gotten fairly sophisticated. Companies can draw on databases that tell them how much each customer has purchased and how often, which they may supplement with detailed demographic profiles. By applying statistical models, they can predict not only when each customer is likely to make a future purchase but also what he or she will buy and through which channel. Managers can use these data to estimate a potential lifetime value for every customer and to determine whether, when, and how to contact each one to maximize the chances of realizing (and even increasing) his or her value.

Company that wanted to know a customer’s full value would include a measure of that person’s ability to bring in profitable new customers. But the nearest that most firms get to estimating the value of a customer’s referral power is some gauge of the individual’s willingness to make referrals (Kumar, Petersen, and Leon, 2007) .

Word of mouth (WOM) is the process of conveying information from person to person and plays a major role in customer buying decisions (Richins & Root-Shaffer, 1988).  In commercial situations, WOM involves consumers sharing attitudes, opinions, or reactions about businesses, products, or services with other people. WOM marketing is influential, multifaceted, and typically hard to influence (Dellarocas, 2003; Ha, 2006; Helps et al., 2004). Positive WOM is considered a powerful marketing medium for companies to influence consumers.WOM communication functions based on social networking and trust: people rely on families, friends, and others in their social network. Research also indicates that people appear to trust seemingly disinterested opinions from people outside their immediate social network, such as online reviews (Duana, Gub & Whinston, 2008). This form is known as online WOM (OWOM) or electronic WOM (eWOM).

Recently online social networking sites like Facebook.com and Twitter.com have emerged as a popular way of discovering information on the World Wide Web. In contrast to traditional methods of content discovery such as browsing or searching, content sharing in social networking sites occurs through word-of-mouth, where content spreads via conversations between users. For instance, users share links to content on the web with personal recommendations like “This is a must-see video”.

While such WOM based content discovery existed long before in the form of emails and web forums, online social networks (OSNs) have made this phenomenon extremely popular and globally reaching (Rodrigues et al., 2011). In fact, today social networking sites are known to be a major driver of traffic to many web sites (Campbell, 2009).  Facebook and Twitter drive, respectively, 44% and 29% of the traffic (Schonfeld, 2010).  These OSNs are sharing tens of millions of web links every day, and we expect that the amount of information exchanged by word-of-mouth in OSNs will grow over time (Rao, 2010).

REFERENCES:

Campbell A. (2009), Social Activity Becomes Significant Source of Website Trac, Small Business Trends, http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/03/social-activity-signicant-source-website-trac.html.

Dellarocas, C. (2003). “The digitization of word-of-mouth: Promise and challenges of online reputation systems”, Management Science, 49 (10), pp. 1407–1424.

Duana,W., Gub, B., &Whinston, A.B. (2008). “Do online reviews matter?— An empirical investigation of panel data”, Decision Support Systems, 45 (3), pp. 1007–1016.

Ha, H.-Y. (2006). “The effects of consumer risk perception on pre-purchase information in online auctions: Brand, word-of-mouth, and customized information”, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 8, (2).

Helps, J.E., Lewis, R., Mobilio, L., Perry, D., & Raman, N. (2004). “Viral marketing or electronic word-of-mouth advertising: Examining consumer responses and motivations to pass along email”, Journal of Advertising Research, 44 (2), pp. 333–348.

Kumar, V.; Petersen, Andrew J. and Leon, Robert P. (2007), “How Valuable Is Word of Mouth?”, Tool Kit, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-9

Rao, L (2010), Twitter Seeing 90 Million Tweets Per Day, 25 Percent Contain Links, TechCrunch, http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/14/twitter-seeing-90-million-tweets-per-day/.

Richins, M.L., & Root-Shaffer, T. (1988). “The role of involvement and opinion leadership in consumer word-of-mouth: An implicit model made explicit”, Advances in Consumer Research, 15, pp. 32–36.

Rodrigues, Tiago; Benevenuto, Fabrício; Cha, Meeyoung; Gummadi, Krishna P. and Almeida, Virgílio (2011), “On Word-of-Mouth Based Discovery of the Web”, IMC 11, November 2-4, 2011, Berlin, Germany.

Schonfeld, E. (2010), Facebook Drives 44 Percent of Social Sharing On The Web, TechCrunch, http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/16/facebook-44-percent-social-sharing/.

Wi-Fi, Building a Wi-Fi network

Building a Wireless Network

If you already have several computers networked in your home, you can create a wireless network with a wireless access point. If you have several computers that are not networked, or if you want to replace your Ethernet network, you'll need a wireless router. This is a single unit that contains:

1. A port to connect to your cable or DSL modem
2. A router
3. An Ethernet hub
4. A firewall
5. A wireless access point

A wireless router allows you to use wireless signals or Ethernet cables to connect your computers to one another, to a printer and to the Internet. Most routers provide coverage for about 100 feet (30.5 meters) in all directions, although walls and doors can block the signal. If your home is very large, you can buy inexpensive range extenders or repeaters to increase your router's range.

As with wireless adapters, many routers can use more than one 802.11 standard. 802.11b routers are slightly less expensive, but because the standard is older, they're slower than 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n routers. Most people select the 802.11g option for its speed and reliability.

Once you plug in your router, it should start working at its default settings. Most routers let you use a Web interface to change your settings. You can select:

• The name of the network, known as its service set identifier (SSID) -- The default setting is usually the manufacturer's name.
• The channel that the router uses -- Most routers use channel 6 by default. If you live in an apartment and your neighbors are also using channel 6, you may experience interference. Switching to a different channel should eliminate the problem.
• Your router's security options -- Many routers use a standard, publicly available sign-on, so it's a good idea to set your own username and password.

Security is an important part of a home wireless network, as well as public WiFi hotspots. If you set your router to create an open hotspot, anyone who has a wireless card will be able to use your signal. Most people would rather keep strangers out of their network, though. Doing so requires you to take a few security precautions.

It's also important to make sure your security precautions are current. The Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) security measure was once the standard for WAN security. The idea behind WEP was to create a wireless security platform that would make any wireless network as secure as a traditional wired network. But hackers discovered vulnerabilities in the WEP approach, and today it's easy to find applications and programs that can compromise a WAN running WEP security.

To keep your network private, you can use one of the following methods:

WiFi Protected Access (WPA) is a step up from WEP and is now part of the 802.11i wireless network security protocol. It uses temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP) encryption. As with WEP, WPA security involves signing on with a password. Most public hotspots are either open or use WPA or 128-bit WEP technology, though some still use the vulnerable WEP approach.

Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering is a little different from WEP or WPA. It doesn't use a password to authenticate users -- it uses a computer's physical hardware. Each computer has its own unique MAC address. MAC address filtering allows only machines with specific MAC addresses to access the network. You must specify which addresses are allowed when you set up your router. This method is very secure, but if you buy a new computer or if visitors to your home want to use your network, you'll need to add the new machines' MAC addresses to the list of approved addresses. The system isn't foolproof. A clever hacker can spoof a MAC address -- that is, copy a known MAC address to fool the network that the computer he or she is using belongs on the network.

Source: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network3.htm

Wi-Fi Hotspots

WiFi Hotspots

If you want to take advantage of public WiFi hotspots or start a wireless network in your home, the first thing you'll need to do is make sure your computer has the right gear. Most new laptops and many new desktop computers come with built-in wireless transmitters. If your laptop doesn't, you can buy a wireless adapter that plugs into the PC card slot or USB port. Desktop computers can use USB adapters, or you can buy an adapter that plugs into the PCI slot inside the computer's case. Many of these adapters can use more than one 802.11 standard.

Once you've installed your wireless adapter and the drivers that allow it to operate, your computer should be able to automatically discover existing networks. This means that when you turn your computer on in a WiFi hotspot, the computer will inform you that the network exists and ask whether you want to connect to it. If you have an older computer, you may need to use a software program to detect and connect to a wireless network.

Being able to connect to the Internet in public hotspots is extremely convenient. Wireless home networks are convenient as well. They allow you to easily connect multiple computers and to move them from place to place without disconnecting and reconnecting wires. In the next section, we'll look at how to create a wireless network in your home.

Building a Wireless Network

If you already have several computers networked in your home, you can create a wireless network with a wireless access point. If you have several computers that are not networked, or if you want to replace your Ethernet network, you'll need a wireless router. This is a single unit that contains:

1.     A port to connect to your cable or DSL modem
2.     A router
3.     An Ethernet hub
4.     A firewall
5.     A wireless access point

A wireless router allows you to use wireless signals or Ethernet cables to connect your computers to one another, to a printer and to the Internet. Most routers provide coverage for about 100 feet (30.5 meters) in all directions, although walls and doors can block the signal. If your home is very large, you can buy inexpensive range extenders or repeaters to increase your router's range.

As with wireless adapters, many routers can use more than one 802.11 standard. 802.11b routers are slightly less expensive, but because the standard is older, they're slower than 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n routers. Most people select the 802.11g option for its speed and reliability.

Once you plug in your router, it should start working at its default settings. Most routers let you use a Web interface to change your settings. You can select:

• The name of the network, known as its service set identifier (SSID) -- The default setting is usually the manufacturer's name.
• The channel that the router uses -- Most routers use channel 6 by default. If you live in an apartment and your neighbors are also using channel 6, you may experience interference. Switching to a different channel should eliminate the problem.
• Your router's security options -- Many routers use a standard, publicly available sign-on, so it's a good idea to set your own username and password.

Security is an important part of a home wireless network, as well as public WiFi hotspots. If you set your router to create an open hotspot, anyone who has a wireless card will be able to use your signal. Most people would rather keep strangers out of their network, though. Doing so requires you to take a few security precautions.

It's also important to make sure your security precautions are current. The Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) security measure was once the standard for WAN security. The idea behind WEP was to create a wireless security platform that would make any wireless network as secure as a traditional wired network. But hackers discovered vulnerabilities in the WEP approach, and today it's easy to find applications and programs that can compromise a WAN running WEP security.

To keep your network private, you can use one of the following methods:

WiFi Protected Access (WPA) is a step up from WEP and is now part of the 802.11i wireless network security protocol. It uses temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP) encryption. As with WEP, WPA security involves signing on with a password. Most public hotspots are either open or use WPA or 128-bit WEP technology, though some still use the vulnerable WEP approach.

Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering is a little different from WEP or WPA. It doesn't use a password to authenticate users -- it uses a computer's physical hardware. Each computer has its own unique MAC address. MAC address filtering allows only machines with specific MAC addresses to access the network. You must specify which addresses are allowed when you set up your router. This method is very secure, but if you buy a new computer or if visitors to your home want to use your network, you'll need to add the new machines' MAC addresses to the list of approved addresses. The system isn't foolproof. A clever hacker can spoof a MAC address -- that is, copy a known MAC address to fool the network that the computer he or she is using belongs on the network.

Wireless networks are easy and inexpensive to set up, and most routers' Web interfaces are virtually self-explanatory.

Wi-Fi Overview

Overview 

If you've been in an airport, coffee shop, library or hotel recently, chances are you've been right in the middle of a wireless network. Many people also use wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking, to connect their computers at home, and some cities are trying to use the technology to provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents. In the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires.

WiFi has a lot of advantages. Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive. They're also unobtrusive -- unless you're on the lookout for a place to use your laptop, you may not even notice when you're in a hotspot. In this article, we'll look at the technology that allows information to travel over the air. We'll also review what it takes to create a wireless network in your home.

What is Wi-Fi?

A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication. Here's what happens:

1. A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
2. A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection.

The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter.

The radios used for WiFi communication are very similar to the radios used for walkie-talkies, cell phones and other devices. They can transmit and receive radio waves, and they can convert 1s and 0s into radio waves and convert the radio waves back into 1s and 0s. But WiFi radios have a few notable differences from other radios:

• They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions. The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data.

• They use 802.11 networking standards, which come in several flavors: 802.11a transmits at 5 GHz and can move up to 54 megabits of data per second. It also uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), a more efficient coding technique that splits that radio signal into several sub-signals before they reach a receiver. This greatly reduces interference. 802.11b is the slowest and least expensive standard. For a while, its cost made it popular, but now it's becoming less common as faster standards become less expensive. 802.11b transmits in the 2.4 GHz frequency band of the radio spectrum. It can handle up to 11 megabits of data per second, and it uses complementary code keying (CCK) modulation to improve speeds. 802.11g transmits at 2.4 GHz like 802.11b, but it's a lot faster -- it can handle up to 54 megabits of data per second. 802.11g is faster because it uses the same OFDM coding as 802.11a. 802.11n is the newest standard that is widely available. This standard significantly improves speed and range. For instance, although 802.11g theoretically moves 54 megabits of data per second, it only achieves real-world speeds of about 24 megabits of data per second because of network congestion. 802.11n, however, reportedly can achieve speeds as high as 140 megabits per second. The standard is currently in draft form -- the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) plans to formally ratify 802.11n by the end of 2009.

Other 802.11 standards focus on specific applications of wireless networks, like wide area networks (WANs) inside vehicles or technology that lets you move from one wireless network to another seamlessly.

WiFi radios can transmit on any of three frequency bands. Or, they can "frequency hop" rapidly between the different bands. Frequency hopping helps reduce interference and lets multiple devices use the same wireless connection simultaneously.

As long as they all have wireless adapters, several devices can use one router to connect to the Internet. This connection is convenient, virtually invisible and fairly reliable; however, if the router fails or if too many people try to use high-bandwidth applications at the same time, users can experience interference or lose their connections.

(Source: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network.htm)

The name of a popular wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization that owns the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) term specifically defines Wi-Fi as any wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards.

Initially, Wi-Fi was used in place of only the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, however the Wi-Fi Alliance has expanded the generic use of the Wi-Fi term to include any type of network or WLAN product based on any of the 802.11 standards, including 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, and so on, in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability.

Wi-Fi works with no physical wired connection between sender and receiver by using radio frequency (RF) technology, a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation. When an RF current is supplied to an antenna, an electromagnetic field is created that then is able to propagate through space. The cornerstone of any wireless network is an access point (AP). The primary job of an access point is to broadcast a wireless signal that computers can detect and "tune" into. In order to connect to an access point and join a wireless network, computers and devices must be equipped with wireless network adapters. 

Wi-Fi  is supported by many applications and devices including video game consoles, home networks, PDAs, mobile phones, major operating systems, and other types of consumer electronics.  Any products that are tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. For example, a user with a Wi-Fi Certified product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is also "Wi-Fi Certified". Products that pass this certification are required to carry an identifying seal on their packaging that states "Wi-Fi Certified" and indicates the radio frequency band used (2.5GHz for 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n, and 5GHz for 802.11a).

A common misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for "wireless fidelity," however this is not the case. Wi-Fi is simply a trademarked term meaning IEEE 802.11x.

(Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Wi_Fi.html)

Wi-Fi Demand

Demand for wireless LAN hardware has experienced phenomenal growth during the past several years, evolving quickly from novelty into necessity. Wi-Fi technology is most commonly found in notebook computers and Internet access devices such as routers and DSL or cable modems. The growing pervasiveness of Wi-Fi is helping to extend the technology beyond the PC and into consumer electronics applications like Internet telephony, music streaming, gaming, and even photo viewing and in-home video transmission.

These new uses, as well as the growing number of conventional WLAN users, increasingly combine to strain existing Wi-Fi networks. Fortunately, a solution is close at hand. The industry has come to an agreement on the components that will make up 802.11n, a new WLAN standard that promises both higher data rates and increased reliability.

A wireless LAN (WiFi) is a data transmission system designed to provide location-independent network access between computing devices by using radio waves rather than a cable infrastructure. Wi-Fi is meant to be used generically when referring to any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g etc. The first 802.11b networks could move data at up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps).  Then came products using 802.11a, followed shortly thereafter by 802.11g, each with maximum speeds of 54Mbps and throughput of around 25Mbps. WLAN hardware built around 802.11g was quickly embraced by consumers and businesses seeking higher bandwidth.  The next Wi-Fi speed standard, 802.11n, will likely offer a bandwidth of around 108Mbps.  And because it will be an industry standard, n-compliant devices will be interoperable.

Source: Sidhu, Bhavneet, Singh, Hardeep, and Chhabra, Amit (2007) “Emerging Wireless Standards - WiFi, ZigBee and WiMAX”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 25, 2007

Cloud Computing - Adoption

DRIVERS OF CLOUD COMPUTING ADOPTION

Eight attributes of cloud computing can be seen as drivers for the adoption of cloud computing. The attributes are availability, collaboration, elasticity, lower infrastructure costs, mobility, risk reduction, scalability, and virtualization. Table 1 provides how these attributes can serve as drivers for cloud computing adoption.

Table 1: Cloud Computing Drivers 

Attribute	Why It Can Draw an Organization Toward Cloud Computing
Availability	Users have the ability to access their resources at any time through a standard internet connection.
Collaboration	Users begin to see the cloud as a way to work simultaneously on common data and information.
Elasticity	The provider transparently manages a user’s resource utilization based on dynamically changing needs.
Lower Infrastructure Costs	The pay-per-usage model allows an organization to only pay for the resources they need with basically no investment in the physical resources available in the cloud. There are no infra-structure maintenance or upgrade costs.
Mobility	Users have the ability to access data and applications from around the globe.
Risk Reduction	Organizations can use the cloud to test ideas and concepts before making major investments in technology.
Scalability	Users have access to a large amount of resources that scale based on their demand.
Virtualization	Each user has a single view of the available resources, independently of how they are arranged in terms of physical devices. Therefore, there is potential from a provider perspective to serve a greater number of users with fewer physical resources.

Cloud Computing Adoption Barriers 

Some key organizational concerns can act as barriers to the adoption of cloud computing. These concerns are interoperability, latency, platform or language constraints, regulations, reliability, resource control, and security (see Table 2).

Table 2: Cloud Computing Barriers

Concern	Why It Can Act as a Barrier to Cloud Computing Adoption
Interoperability	A universal set of standards and/or interfaces have not yet been defined, resulting in a significant risk of vendor lock-in.
Latency	All access to the cloud is done via the internet, introducing latency into every communication between the user and the provider.
Platform or Language Constraints	Some cloud providers support specific platforms and languages only.
Regulations	There are concerns in the cloud computing community over jurisdiction, data protection, fair information practices, and international data transfer—mainly for organizations that manage sensitive data.
Reliability	Many existing cloud infrastructures leverage commodity hard-ware that is known to fail unexpectedly.
Resource Control	The amount of control that the user has over the cloud provider and its resources varies greatly between providers.
Security	The main concern is data privacy: users do not have control or knowledge of where their data is being stored.

Source: Lewis, Grace (2010), "Basics About Cloud Computing", Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Available at: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/assets/whitepapers/Cloudcomputingbasics.pdf, Accessed: August 14, 2012

Cloud Computing - Concepts and Perspectives

CLOUD COMPUTING CORE CONCEPTS

In the cloud computing model, computing power, software, storage services, and platforms are delivered on demand to external customers over the internet.  The access that this technology provides to resources and services can be scaled up or down to meet demand. Cloud computing providers typically charge customers on a pay-per-use model.

PERSPECTIVES ON CLOUD COMPUTING

The types of cloud computing technology can be viewed from two perspectives: capability and access. In this section, we look at three types based on capabilities provided and two based on who can access resources (figure 1).

Figure 1: Cloud Computing Types Based on Capability and Access

Examples on types of Cloud Computing

One type of cloud computing capability is called Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). SaaS focuses on providing users with business-specific capabilities, such as e-mail or customer management. In SaaS, organizations and developers can use the business-specific capabilities developed by third parties in the “cloud.” Some examples of SaaS providers are:

Google Apps: provides web-based office tools such as e-mail, calendar, and document management

salesforce.com: provides a full customer relationship management (CRM)6 application

zoho.com: provides a large suite of web-based applications, mostly for enterprise use

A second type of cloud computing capability is known as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). This capability type provides mainly computational infrastructure available over the internet (e.g., compute cycles or storage). IaaS allows organi-zations and developers to extend their IT infrastructure on an on-demand basis. Some examples of IaaS providers are:

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): provides users with a special virtual machine (AMI) that can be deployed and run on the EC2 infra-structure

Amazon Simple Storage Solution (S3): provides users with access to dynamically scalable storage resources

GoGrid: provides users with access to dynamically scalable computing and storage resources, as well as dedicated servers

IBM Computing on Demand (CoD): provides users with access to high-ly configurable servers plus value-added services such as data storage

Microsoft Live Mesh: provides users with access to a distributed file system; targeted at individual use

Rackspace Cloud: provides users with access to dynamically scalable computing and storage resources, as well as third-party cloud applications and tools

The third and final type of cloud computing capability is Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). In this type, application development platforms allow users to leverage the resources of established organizations to create and host applications of a larger scale than an individual or small business would be able to handle.  Some PaaS examples include:

Akamai EdgePlatform: provides a large distributed computing platform on which organizations can deploy their web applications; has a large focus on analysis and monitoring

Force.com: from salesforce.com (an SaaS provider), provides users with a platform to build and run applications and components bought from AppExchange or custom applications

Google App Engine: provides users with a complete development stack and allows them to run their applications on Google’s infrastructure

Microsoft Azure Services Platform: provides users with on-demand compute and storage services as well as a development platform based on Windows Azure

Yahoo! Open Strategy (Y!OS): provides users with a means of develop-ing web applications on top of the existing Yahoo! platform and in doing so leveraging a significant portion of the Yahoo! Resources

Source: Lewis, Grace (2010) "Basics of Cloud Computing", Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Available at: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/assets/whitepapers/Cloudcomputingbasics.pdf, Accessed: August 14, 2012

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks to some interesting and useful information's: 

Tips to securing you web browser:
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/

Cloud Computing - Usage and Security

CLOUD COMPUTING – USAGE

The cloud makes it possible for you to access your information from anywhere at any time. While a traditional computer setup requires you to be in the same location as your data storage device, the cloud takes away that step. The cloud removes the need for you to be in the same physical location as the hardware that stores your data. Your cloud provider can both own and house the hardware and software necessary to run your home or business applications.

This is especially helpful for businesses that cannot afford the same amount of hardware and storage space as a bigger company. Small companies can store their information in the cloud, removing the cost of purchasing and storing memory devices. Additionally, because you only need to buy the amount of storage space you will use, a business can purchase more space or reduce their subscription as their business grows or as they find they need less storage space.

One requirement is that you need to have an internet connection in order to access the cloud.  This means that if you want to look at a specific document you have housed in the cloud, you must first establish an internet connection either through a wireless or wired internet or a mobile broadband connection. The benefit is that you can access that same document from wherever you are with any device that can access the internet. These devices could be a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. This can also help your business to function more smoothly because anyone who can connect to the internet and your cloud can work on documents, access software, and store data.  Imagine picking up your smartphone and downloading a .pdf document to review instead of having to stop by the office to print it or upload it to your laptop. This is the freedom that the cloud can provide for you or your organization.

CHOOSING A CLOUD PROVIDER

Each provider serves a specific function, giving users more or less control over their cloud depending on the type. When you choose a provider, compare your needs to the cloud services available. Your cloud needs will vary depending on how you intend to use the space and resources associated with the cloud. If it will be for personal home use, you will need a different cloud type and provider than if you will be using the cloud for business. Keep in mind that your cloud provider will be pay-as-you-go, meaning that if your technological needs change at any point you can purchase more storage space (or less for that matter) from your cloud provider.

There are three types of cloud providers that you can subscribe to: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). These three types differ in the amount of control that you have over your information, and conversely, how much you can expect your provider to do for you. Briefly, here is what you can expect from each type.

Software as a Service

A SaaS provider gives subscribers access to both resources and applications. SaaS makes it unnecessary for you to have a physical copy of software to install on your devices. SaaS also makes it easier to have the same software on all of your devices at once by accessing it on the cloud. In a SaaS agreement, you have the least control over the cloud.

Platform as a Service

A PaaS system goes a level above the Software as a Service setup. A PaaS provider gives subscribers access to the components that they require to develop and operate applications over the internet.

Infrastructure as a Service

An IaaS agreement, as the name states, deals primarily with computational infrastructure. In an IaaS agreement, the subscriber completely outsources the storage and resources, such as hardware and software, that they need.

As you go down the list from number one to number three, the subscriber gains more control over what they can do within the space of the cloud. The cloud provider has less control in an IaaS system than with an SaaS agreement.

What does this mean for the home user or business looking to start using the cloud? It means you can choose your level of control over your information and types of services that you want from a cloud provider. For example, imagine you are starting up your own small business. You cannot afford to purchase and store all of the hardware and software necessary to stay on the cutting edge of your market. By subscribing to an Infrastructure as a Service cloud, you would be able to maintain your new business with just as much computational capability as a larger, more established company, while only paying for the storage space and bandwidth that you use. However, this system may mean you have to spend more of your resources on the development and operation of applications. As you can see, you should evaluate your current computational resources, the level of control you want to have, your financial situation, and where you foresee your business going before signing up with a cloud provider.

If you are a home user, however, you will most likely be looking at free or low-cost cloud services (such as web-based email) and will not be as concerned with many of the more complex cloud offerings.

After you have fully taken stock of where you are and where you want to be, research into each cloud provider will give you a better idea of whether or not they are right for you.

SECURITY

The information housed on the cloud is often seen as valuable to individuals with malicious intent. There is a lot of personal information and potentially secure data that people store on their computers, and this information is now being transferred to the cloud. This makes it critical for you to understand the security measures that your cloud provider has in place, and it is equally important to take personal precautions to secure your data.

The first thing you must look into is the security measures that your cloud provider already has in place. These vary from provider to provider and among the various types of clouds.

• What encryption methods do the providers have in place?
• What methods of protection do they have in place for the actual hardware that your data will be stored on?
• Will they have backups of my data?
• Do they have firewalls set up?
• If you have a community cloud, what barriers are in place to keep your information separate from other companies?

Many cloud providers have standard terms and conditions that may answer these questions, but the home user will probably have little negotiation room in their cloud contract. A small business user may have slightly more room to discuss the terms of their contract with the provider and will be able to ask these questions during that time. There are many questions that you can ask, but it is important to choose a cloud provider that considers the security of your data as a major concern.

No matter how careful you are with your personal data, by subscribing to the cloud you will be giving up some control to an external source. This distance between you and the physical location of your data creates a barrier. It may also create more space for a third party to access your information. However, to take advantage of the benefits of the cloud, you will have to knowingly give up direct control of your data. On the converse, keep in mind that most cloud providers will have a great deal of knowledge on how to keep your data safe. A provider likely has more resources and expertise than the average user to secure their computers and networks.

CONCLUSIONS

To summarize, the cloud provides many options for the everyday computer user as well as large and small businesses. It opens up the world of computing to a broader range of uses and increases the ease of use by giving access through any internet connection. However, with this increased ease also come drawbacks. You have less control over who has access to your information and little to no knowledge of where it is stored. You also must be aware of the security risks of having data stored on the cloud. The cloud is a big target for malicious individuals and may have disadvantages because it can be accessed through an unsecured internet connection.

If you are considering using the cloud, be certain that you identify what information you will be putting out in the cloud, who will have access to that information, and what you will need to make sure it is protected. Additionally, know your options in terms of what type of cloud will be best for your needs, what type of provider will be most useful to you, and what the reputation and responsibilities of the providers you are considering are before you sign up.

Source: Huth, Alexa and Cebula, James (2011) “The Basics of Cloud Computing”, Carnegie Mellon University, US-CERT, United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Cloud Computing - Overview

CLOUD COMPUTING – DEFINITION

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models (Mell and Grance, 2011).

What is Cloud Computing?

Imagine your PC and all of your mobile devices being in sync—all the time. Imagine being able to access all of your personal data at any given moment. Imagine having the ability to organize and mine data from any online source. Imagine being able to share that data—photos, movies, contacts, e-mail, documents, etc.—with your friends, family, and co-workers in an instant. This is what personal cloud computing promises to deliver.

Whether you realize it or not, you're probably already using cloud-based services. Pretty much everyone with a computer has been. Gmail and Google Docs are two prime examples; we just don't think of those services in those terms.

In essence, personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use. Data must be mobile, transferable, and instantly accessible. The key to enabling the portable and interactive you is the ability to synch up your data among your devices, as well as access to shared data. Shared data is the data we access online in any number of places, such as social networks, banks, blogs, newsrooms, paid communities, etc.

Ultimately, your personal cloud—which includes everything from your address book and music collection to your reports and documents for work—will connect to the public cloud and other personal clouds. Everything connects. That means every place on the Internet you interact with, as well as every person you interact with can be connected. This includes your social networks, bank, university, workplace, family, friends—you name it.

Of course, you will determine what you show the public and what you keep private. Clusters of personal clouds will form new social networks that will likely have a lot more privacy settings than Facebook, especially if these clusters are family or business oriented. (Privacy will be a huge issue as personal clouds hit critical mass.)

Eventually, your devices will learn about you and eventually intuit what you are doing, where you are going, and what you intend to do when you get there. Think of all this as helpful… not creepy.  Cloud computing is still evolving and yet to get to this stage.

(Source: Tadjer, 2010)

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS

On-demand self-service

A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

Broad network access

Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations).

Resource pooling

The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or data-center). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth.

Rapid elasticity

Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time.

Measured service

Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability1 at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

DEPLOYMENT MODELS / TYPES OF CLOUDS 

Private cloud

The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a single organization comprising multiple consumers (e.g., business units). It may be owned, managed, and operated by the organization, a third party, or some combination of them, and it may exist on or off premises.

Community cloud

The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a specific community of consumers from organizations that have shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be owned, managed, and operated by one or more of the organizations in the community, a third party, or some combination of them, and it may exist on or off premises.

Public cloud

The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for open use by the general public. It may be owned, managed, and operated by a business, academic, or government organization, or some combination of them. It exists on the premises of the cloud provider.

Hybrid cloud

The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities, but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).

(Source: Mell and Grance, 2011)

REFERENCES:

Mell, Peter and Grance, Timothy (2011), “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing”, Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, U.S. Department of Commerce, Special Publication 800-145, September 2011

Tadjer, Rivka (2010), “What Is Cloud Computing?”, PCMag.com, Available at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp, Accessed: August 14, 2012-08-14

Organizational Change and Management

Organizational Change

Organisational change is often stimulated by a major external force, for example, substantial cuts in funding, decreased market opportunity and dramatic increases in services. Typically, organisations undertake technical, structural or strategic shifts in the organisation to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, for example changing from a highly reactive organisation to a more stable proactive environment.  Change has to be managed and this process is called change management. 

Change Management

Change management is a set of processes employed to ensure that significant changes are implemented in a controlled and systematic manner.  One of the goals of change management is the alignment of people and culture with strategic shifts in the organisation, to overcome resistance to change in order to increase engagement and the achievement of the organisation’s goal for effective transformation.

Achieving sustainable change begins with a clear understanding of the current state of the organisation, followed by the implementation of appropriate and targeted strategies. The focus of change management is on the outcome the change will produce – the new arrangements that must be understood. Change processes usually apply to a task and/or structural change, and can be either Incremental or Transformational or Situational.

A comprehensive change management strategy should lead to the desired objectives and create a sense of ownership, enable sustained and measurable improvement and build capability to respond to future change.

Organizational Change and Transition

Change is the way things will be different, and transition is how you move people through the stages to make change work.

Change is a shift in the externals of any situation, for example, setting up a new program, restructuring a business, moving to new location, or a promotion. By contrast, transition is the mental and emotional transformation that people must undergo to relinquish old arrangements and embrace new ones.

Change is made up of events, while transition is an on-going process. Change is visible and tangible, while transition is a psychological process that takes place inside of people. Change can happen quickly, but transition, like any organic process, has its own natural pace. Change is all about the outcome we are trying to achieve; transition is about how we'll get there and how we'll manage things while we are en route. Getting people through the transition is essential if the change is actually to work as planned.

It is important to ensure that change management strategies are driven by the changes that need to occur, but not to lose focus on the more personal transition activities needed to ensure the success of the program.

REFERENCE:

adelaide.edu.au (2008) "Leading Change, Transition & Transformation", A Guide for University Staff, The University of Adelaide, Available at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/strategic/leading_change_toolit.pdf, Accessed: August 13, 2012

Advertising & Marketing

Some thoughts on advertising and marketing

It is through advertisement that people begin to feel a need for even those goods of which they had never heard before. Advertisement creates demand. it is the backbone of commerce and Industry. No business can stay in the business world without advertisement.  The business world rotates on the pivot of advertisement (Chaterjee, 2012).

Advertising is an announcement made to the public to call attention to the desirable characteristics of a product or service. It requires investments of both time and finances. Done well, investments in advertising may generate sales. Done poorly, consumers may develop a negative impression of the business.  Therefore businesses have to look at long-term customer relationships and these are companies who will convey the right information to the customers through their advertisements.  These businesses understand the importance of retaining customers (learningseed.com, 2009).

But we also have many businesses that do not think in terms of long-term customer relationship and only look at immediate benefits.  Effective advertisements should consider the six point of advertising strategy while developing advertisements (Bruch, 2005).
1. Primary Purpose: What is the primary purpose of our advertisement?
2. Primary benefit: What unique benefit can we offer customers? What primary customer value or need can my enterprise meet?
3. Secondary Benefit: What other key benefits will customers receive from our products or services?
4. Target Audience: At whom (what target market) are we aiming this advertisement?
5. Audience Reaction: What response do we want from our audience (come to the operation, visit a Web site, call an information line)?
6. Company Personality: What image do we want to convey in our advertisement?

Businesses that follow these steps will also calculate the effectiveness of advertisements.  These can be through:
• Tracking and evaluating total sales, average sales per customer or customer visits before, during and after an advertisement or series of advertisements is run;
• Recording the number of coupons redeemed (if a coupon was included in the advertisement)
• Asking new customers how they heard of your business

Through advertisements, companies should therefore not limit to retaining existing customers, but also in capturing new customers.  With this in thought, I would also like to bring in the concept of marketing and especially the four P’s of marketing (learningseed.com, 2009):
1. Product: The product is the item or service that people buy to satisfy a want or need. In the case of chocolate-covered cornflakes, the product is the food itself. The company makes many decisions about the product, including what it should look, taste and feel like, and how much of it should be sold in a package.

2. Price: Price is how much a customer pays for the product. The selected price, if too high--or even too low--will affect how well the product sells.

3. Place: The word "place" refers to the location where a product can be purchased. It could mean a physical store on the street, or a virtual store on the Internet. Marketing managers have to decide which stores should carry the chocolate-covered cornflakes – supermarkets, convenience stores, online grocery stores, or directly through TV commercials and catalogues, for instance.

4. Promotion: Promotion represents all of the ways a company communicates with a customer. Promotion has many elements, including advertising, public relations, publicity, merchandising, sales promotion, and direct mail. The chocolate-covered cornflakes company might put commercials on during certain television shows, design unique packaging and supermarket aisle displays, or mail coupons to potential buyers' homes.

Each of the four P’s is a variable you control in creating the marketing mix that will attract customers to your business.  Your marketing mix should be something you pay careful attention to because the success of your business depends on it.


REFERENCES:

Bruch, Megan L. (2005) "Advertising 101", Center for Profitable Agriculture, CPA Info # 111, February 2005

Chaterjee, Milan (2012) "Essay On Advertisement : Its Advantages And Disadvantages", Available at: http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/essay/an-essay-on-advertisement-its-advantages-and-disadvantages.html, Accessed: August 13, 2012

learningseed.com (2009) "Marketing’s 4 Ps: The Consumer Angle", Available at: http://www.learningseed.com/_guides/1237_marketings_4_ps_guide.pdf, Retrieved: August 13, 2012