Contemporary Computing As An Assemblage: An Analysis Of Cloud Computing And Microsoft

The Trend of Assemblage in Computing

Question:

“Contemporary computing can be seen as an assemblage.” Discuss.

To achieve this:

• Select TWO computing stories from the Live News exercise you fulfil in each week’s tutorial. Using Actor Network Theory as your primary tool for analysis, at a minimum:

• Describe the scales on which the actants in your stories “act” in the assemblage

• Discuss how these actions can enhance management functions

• Outline what issues/questions these actions raise. To achieve this, compare and contrast the viewpoints of a range of theorists and critics explored throughout the module.

Assemblage in computing is seen as a trend in the recent decade. Cloud computing is one such computing that uses software and hardware and gives its services over the electronic platform. Cloud computing help in storage of data in the third party data centre. To maximise the advantages of effective resources we use cloud computing. Cloud computing has its history dates back to 1950 called the remote job entry process.  Amazon launched the public cloud system for the first time in the year 2006. In this essay, a rigorous analysis is made to see how cloud computing can be used as the assemblage in the contemporary scenario. There is a dynamic interaction artifact of IT, organisation, services and associated interests. Using actor-network theory and social theory the essay will illustrate ERP and Microsoft’s cloud-based computing development to highlight the processes of business value generation. The implications have been proposed for future based cloud technology.

 In case of Microsoft, the contemporary computing can be seen as an assemblage like most other IT companies. To help the enterprise customers, the Microsoft Services have introduced and developed the cloud computing system through which it can take a key step towards the user experiences, agility and economics. In case of Microsoft, the cloud computing system has played a significant role to bring pa change in its business strategy. That means this system determine how the business of Microsoft will operate and compete in the world IT market. Telstra, the leading communication company of Australia which created new cloud-based marketing strategy for its customers and for this cloud computing, was able to complete the first phase of market in three months with the help of Microsoft services and accelerated the delivery of cloud deployment solution of the full enterprise in between nine months (Awad, 2014).

To meet the growing demand for new solutions, new devices and new applications for the resulting data explosion and to avoid the complexity and burden in IT market, it becomes very essential for the popular IT brands like Microsoft to introduce the cloud computing. In the present fast-paced world, where the young generation are mostly attached with the technologically updated devices, data and apps, IT industry is becoming more challenging and exciting for the IT firms to compete with each other and to innovate or introduce a new product in the market. Hence, to deliver new project or product at a faster rate, to access more quick data, to manage the devices easily and to test the environment faster; cloud computing is used by Microsoft as a helpful technique(Chen, Liang and Hsu, 2015).

Cloud Computing and its History

To deliver the broadest array and the solutions for the cloud computing through the worldwide business Microsoft operating on three key areas:-

First of all, Microsoft has the vision to establish a unified platform for the modern business in future and for this Microsoft has build a cloud computing platform that is also known as Cloud OS. The Microsoft Azure is at the heart of Cloud OS and acts as a cloud computing platform that is open and flexible in nature. This enables us to build, deploy and manage the apps quickly across the global network of the datacenters which are managed by Microsoft. This application can be built by using any framework or tool and language. With these public cloud applications, the existing IT environment can easily be integrated especially for the companies that want to build their own private clouds such as Window Server, SQL Server and System Centre (Yang et al., 2014).

Secondly, a cloud computing productivity that is suit in the form of office 365 is delivered by Microsoft. This offers today’s deepest and best available productivity, unified communications, spanning business intelligence, social capabilities, collaboration and email.

There is also a third key which is considered as a suit of business solutions through the Microsoft Dynamics which deliver the cloud computing system that is easy to use besides delivering the cloud solutions for ERP and CRM which help the fast growing organization in managing their cost(Hofmann, 2008).

There are different products of Microsoft, related to cloud computing, such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft.NET, Microsoft Intune, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2 etc. consisting the solutions of Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Virtualization and private cloud, Big data etc. Microsoft mainly delivers the hybrid cloud computing. There are two technical resources related to this cloud computing system. One is the planning for cloud services in configuration manager, and the other is the deploy Windows Azure Pack for the Windows server (Uden, 2013).

As Microsoft has a long history of running the internet-scale services, it can easily improve its cloud computing services. However, there also exists some problems related to usage of office 365 regarding data storage and data transfer, but it is believed that in future most of the services provided by Microsoft will move to the cloud services (Houng et al., 2013).

Enterprise Resource Planning is software used in the business management processes to club all the applications for managing the business.  The software incorporates all the operations like HR, product planning, inventory control, accounting, distribution control, etc. There are many vendors that offer cloud-based ERP software such as Workday, Net Suite, Acumatica and others. These companies require internet connections to access the systems. The systems are not based on the older versions, and all the clients are based in the newer versions. The cloud-based ERP solutions are made by the veterans of the tradition ERP vendors (Mahmood, 2013).

As time continues to pass, the ERP solutions happen to mature. From the beginning of the year 2013, we see that there are functional capabilities building up. There was a difference between Cloud-based technology and deeper functionality. There is an intense decision by the vendors to provide superior technology. For faster development, the vendors are offering solutions that are modified.ERP cloud based solutions are generally used in small companies with relatively smaller employee size because they have hardly any money for investment in IT infrastructure. The concept is changing as we see larger companies using the ERP cloud solution. Cloud-based solutions are easy to use and lack sophistication that on-premises vendor holds (Mozammel-Bin-Motalab and Al Mamun Shohag, 2011).

Microsoft’s Cloud Computing System: An Assemblage Perspective

The ERP system has both notorious failures and glorious successes.  Though a lot of cost and complexity is involved in its implementation it is valued by many companies.

Cost: The cloud ERP solutions are purchased through subscription model that includes support and hosting cost. The operating and initial cost is low for cloud-based ERP. As the needs of the companies evolve the solutions, the providers of clod based systems should also scale up. The vendors they provide all the backup and user support (Singh, 2013).

Deployment at the rapid pace: Deployment time is reduced by the use of cloud-based technology. It offers limited options to meet most of the needs of the business. The time it takes to produce the result depends on the time it can change the pertinent data.

Scalability and Flexibility:  The vendors are providing extra software and functions to the companies without involving any cumbersome processes.  The companies are choosing cloud-based technologies to adjust quickly to the competitive environment (Rhoton and Haukioja, 2011).

The cloud-based ERP vendors have been providing the ERP functionalities. They have also been making functions that can forecast statistics, social media and management of products. These offerings have no similarity with the ERP offerings that are hosted and workings of the traditional on-premises. There are geographical restrictions for using cloud-based ERP .the requirement of finances are not supported by many countries in which the company may reside.

Cloud-based solution does not provide many options for configurations. This is the reason why many good companies are using it in purchasing, sales and delivery of accounts. The company may not be able to operate the ERP solutions by the highly developed applications and business processes (Shadravan, 2013).

When using cloud-based ERP solution the company is willing to trust a third party provider to share its information.  Oracle and SAP have invested a lot on the security but failed in vain. The providers are giving guarantee that the data will be stored in the data centres.  Many human resources software holds the very sensitive data on employees that are crucial and leads to competition.

A company is likely to adopt an ERP based cloud software when there is rapid expansion of the availability of functionality and lower risk due to adoption (Shroff, 2010).

Conclusion:-

Hence, from the above discussion it can be said that in this technologically updated modern phase, where the contemporary computing can be seen as an assemblage in most of the IT companies, the cloud computing services are helpful to overcome the complexities in IT market as well as to meet the technological needs of the present generation. Different types of cloud computing based services are provided by different types of companies, and different types of cloud computing services and technologies have its own unique features, advantages and disadvantages. Hence, to overcome their limitations and to provide better services, at present most of the contemporary computing can be seen as assemblage that provide more improved technological based services in the whole world.

References

Awad, H. (2014). Investigating Cloud ERP Challenges in Public Universities in the Middle East “Field Study”. IOTCC, 2(3), p.12.

Chen, C., Liang, W. and Hsu, H. (2015). A cloud computing platform for ERP applications. Applied Soft Computing, 27, pp.127-136.

Hofmann, P. (2008). ERP is Dead, Long Live ERP. IEEE Internet Computing, 12(4), pp.84-88.

Houng, K., Shanmugam, B., Samy, G., Albakri, S. and Ahmad, A. (2013). Security Model for Microsoft Based Mobile Sales Management Application in Private Cloud Computing. IJ-CLOSER, 2(3).

Mahmood, Z. (2013). Cloud computing. London: Springer.

Mozammel-Bin-Motalab, A. and Al Mamun Shohag, S. (2011). Cloud Computing and the Business Consequences of ERP use. International Journal of Computer Applications, 28(8), pp.31-37.

Rhoton, J. and Haukioja, R. (2011). Cloud computing architected. [Tunbridge Wells, Kent]: Recursive Press.

Shadravan, D. (2013). Microsoft SharePoint 2013 inside out. Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Press.

Shroff, G. (2010). Enterprise cloud computing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Singh, G. (2013). A Study Of Impact Of Erp And Cloud Computing In Business Enterprises. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.

Uden, L. (2013). 7th International Conference on Knowledge Management in Organizations: Service and Cloud Computing. Berlin: Springer.

Yang, L., Cao, J., Tang, S., Han, D. and Suri, N. (2014). Run Time Application Repartitioning in Dynamic Mobile Cloud Environments. IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, pp.1-1.