This thesis is focused on cloud computing and its impact on enterprise resource planning information systems. The historical background of cloud computing is discussed in the first of the thesis. After that, analysis of all possible services and types of cloud computing are provided. In this first part of this thesis, there is also an analysis of cloud computing providers who provide one of the possible cloud computing service - Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS). This thesis evaluates IaaS providers based on suggested methodology. According to this methodology each provider is ranked and the provider with the highest score is used as a provider for outsourcing infrastructure for a new model of information system which is suggested further in the thesis. The next part of this thesis provides a detailed view on cloud computing service closely related to software distribution - Software as a Service(SaaS). This focuses on key features of this approach, there is a discussion about differences between ASP and on-premis approach. At the end of this part there is a detailed discussion about SaaS benefits and risks for customers as well as software vendors. Having discussed all necessary theoretical background a local software company providing mainly on-premise enterprise resource planning information system is described. After all threads and opportunities of this company are analyzed it is suggested to provide a new option of distributing one of its information system to customers - in the form of SaaS. Based on the decision in the previous part, one of the information systems offered to customers is chosen and reengineered in order to allow distribution over the Internet as SaaS. While changing the architecture of the information system, the main focus is to reduce initial costs. A necessary features which need to be changed are analyzed from three perspectives - technological, process and economical. In all of these perspectives there is a discussion about problems which need to be kept in mind. Each problem is analyzed and the solution options are discussed. Towards the end of each problematical part there is a recommendation for the company in order to reach the set goals. The final part is comparing the on-premise system and the SaaS system. The comparison is provided in the customer example. There are calculations for each solution and a discussion about potential attractiveness of a newly designed information system for potential customers.

One of the most important attribute a cloud service provider (CSP) offers their customers through their cloud services is scalability. Scalability gives customers the ability to vary the amount of capacity when required. A cloud service can be divided in three service layers, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as- a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Scalability of a certain service depends  on  software licenses on these layers. When a customer wants to increase the capacity it will be determined by the CSP's licenses bought from its suppliers in advance. If a CSP scales up more than what was agreed on, then there is a risk that the CSP needs to pay a penalty fee to the supplier. If the CSP invests in too many licenses that does not get utilized, then it will be an investment loss. A second challenge with software licensing is when a customer outsources their applications to the CSP’s platform. As each application comes with a set of licenses, there is a certain level of scalability that cannot be exceeded. If a customer wants the CSP scale up more than usual for an application then the customer need to inform the vendors. However, a common misunderstanding is that the customer expects the CSP to notify the vendor. Then there is a risk that the vendor never gets notified and the customer is in danger of paying a penalty fee. This in turn hurts the CSP’s  relationship with the customer. The recommendation to the CSP under study is to create a successful customer relationship management (CRM) and a supplier relationship management (SRM). By creating a CRM with the customer will minimize the occurring misunderstandings and highlight the responsibilities when a customer outsources an application to the CSP. By creating a SRM with the supplier will help the CSP to maintain a flexible paying method that they have with a certain supplier. Furthermore, it will set  an example to the remaining suppliers to change their inflexible paying method. By achieving a flexible payment method with the suppliers will make it easier for the CSP to find equilibrium between scalability and licenses.

En un mundo donde la transformación digital avanza a un ritmo veloz y aparecen de forma exponencial nuevas soluciones y capacidades tecnológicas, las grandes compañías necesitan sacar más y mejores productos al mercado. Sin embargo, sus pesadas arquitecturas tecnológicas legadas y sus capacidades de integración y escalabilidad no les permiten llegar al mercado en el tiempo y forma deseado. En este contexto, la investigación se centra en la creación de una arquitectura en la nube que permita habilitar, implantar, desarrollar e integrar servicios, soluciones y sistemas transaccionales de distinta naturaleza de forma segura, escalable, resiliente y ágil. La validación de la misma con el desarrollo de 3 patentes en explotación que implementan casos prácticos, ofrece veracidad al modelo propuesto para resolver el problema.

With the enormous competition in the industry, organizations must frequently find better ways to embrace organizational learning. This research study advocates eLearning to be one of the best methods for organizational learning, and this is the study’s main area of interest. This research explored a case at a telecommunication organization named ComTek (pseudonym). The research study addressed a problem of eLearning low usage rate, which resulted in ComTek not meeting their set learning targets during the time of the study. The usage rate was measured using the number of enrolled assessments. The study uses qualitative methods to propose a conceptual framework to understand the causes of low eLearning usage. This conceptual framework illustrated the use of the activity theory elements to understand the problem of eLearning low usage, paired with the use of cloud computing services to access eLearning, and the use of content delivery techniques to help understand eLearning low usage. This conceptual framework took advantage of cloud services like Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This research study focused on the periods from 2016 to 2017 for collecting data and creating an understanding of the research setting, while other data was derived from historical documents about the phenomenon studied. During this period, there was inadequate literature about cloud computing and other aspects to consider within the domain of telecommunication organizations. The literature study, therefore, comprised of literature from different domains. During the study, ComTek used eLearning with the aid of learning management systems (LMS) to manage learning and leverage employee skills. During the period of the study compared to other years, about 50% of assessments had a usage rate of below 80%, a standard target established by ComTek as a benchmark, placing compliance and training at a low rate. Of the 50% of assessments, some were just above 40% in usage rate, were of a high stake, and were in the categories of compliance and training iv assessments. While this was the case, this study did not consider the technical implementation of the application systems involved, and did not create any form of intervention, but focused on understanding the activities that were involved in the learning environment. This research study used a paradigm that was constructive and interpretive in nature, using qualitative methods with the belief that there were multiple realities in understanding the situation at ComTek and possible solutions to it. To unpack the multiple realities, an exploratory case study was conducted as a research approach. In this study, the researcher used multiple data collection methods, including open-ended questionnaires and unstructured interviews. / School of Computing

(anglicky) This thesis deals with benefits and risks of using cloud computing in public sector institutions. The thesis focuses mainly on the usage of public cloud deployment model. The thesis is divided into 4 main chapters. The first chapter presents definition and basic characteristics of cloud computing. The second part consists of PESTL analysis that describes the impact of macro-environmental factors (namely political, economical, social, technological and legal factors) on the use of cloud computing in public sector institutions. The third part presents SWOT analysis of cloud computing and its use in public sector. The fourth chapter presents a case study of the implementation of cloud computing services at The Faculty of Arts of the Charles University. The results of the conducted analysis tend to positive effects of cloud computing use in public sector institutions, presuming a proper risk analysis is done before implementation begins. Klíčová slova (anglicky): Cloud computing, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, public sector, PESTL, SWOT, virtualisation

Innovation of new technology and its adoption contributes not only increasing the businessvalues but as well facilities the business growth and agility to an organization. Cloudcomputing provides hiring, renting and provisioning exclusive use of IT services as ondemand,pay-per-use basis via Internet. This emergence technology has shifted the competitiveIT-landscapes by providing a new computational platform for effective, creativeand deliverable business value model. However, many small organizations are reluctantto deploy their IT platform to Cloud due to the diverse adoption barriers cloud suffers.Despite this the promising attributes CC offers such as of IT operational cost reduction,accessibility and instant deployment makes it a vital embarking point to adopt this technologyespecially small and medium base enterprises (SME). Since SMEs are exploringthe possibilities of adopting this technology, it is imperative for them to critically evaluatethe feasibility of this technology for their specific businesses. This paper aims to investigatecloud adoption factors which might pursue pertaining or embarking cloud integrationamong SME’s. An on line web based survey instrument using questionnaires was used toconduct the study. The conclusive findings of the study suggests that Cloud computinghas the potential to transform the existing business operation, increase the business valuesand agility, customer relationship also promote sustainable competitive business edgefor SMEs while reducing the IT capital expenditure investment cost. The findings willassist IT managers/Chief Technology and /or Information Officers(CTO/CIO) representsthe SMEs for considering a possible adoption approach to cloud services.

Yes / Failure Prediction has long known to be a challenging problem. With the evolving trend of technology and growing complexity of high-performance cloud data centre infrastructure, focusing on failure becomes very vital particularly when designing systems for the next generation. The traditional runtime fault-tolerance (FT) techniques such as data replication and periodic check-pointing are not very effective to handle the current state of the art emerging computing systems. This has necessitated the urgent need for a robust system with an in-depth understanding of system and component failures as well as the ability to predict accurate potential future system failures. In this paper, we studied data in-production-faults recorded within a five years period from the National Energy Research Scientific computing centre (NERSC). Using the data collected from the Computer Failure Data Repository (CFDR), we developed an effective failure prediction model focusing on high-performance cloud data centre infrastructure. Using the Auto-Regressive Moving Average (ARMA), our model was able to predict potential future failures in the system. Our results also show a failure prediction accuracy of 95%, which is good.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:06:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6215.pdf: 2705931 bytes, checksum: f13134b07bf961a0e166ae8f6fdc0bf0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-27 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / During the last decade, the advent of large scale processing and the need for rapid modification of computational structures have increased the popularity of Cloud Computing, particularly the Infrastructure as a Service model. Several companies have invested in infrastructure to become providers of this kind of service, whether for general public or only to supply their own business needs. This has increased the number of virtualized datacenters across the world and created a growing interest in interoperability between different providers. However, due to the lack of technology standardization, and to limitations in the current network s architecture, this interoperability is still an issue. Based on this, this research project presents an OpenFlow based network flow redirection architecture to support service continuity during the migration of applications between different IaaS providers. The tests performed show the applicability of the proposed architecture in a real network environment, having control only of the network edges, and without setting up any specific hardware. / Durante a ultima década, o advento do processamento em larga escala e a necessidade de rápida modificação de estruturas computacionais fez com que a computação em nuvem se popularizasse, em particular na forma de aprovisionamento de Infraestrutura como Serviço. Diversas companhias investiram em infraestrutura para se tornarem provedores desse tipo de serviço, seja para o publico ou para proverem recursos para seus próprios negócios. Isto aumentou o numero de centros de dados virtualizados e gerou o interesse na interoperabilidade entre os diferentes provedores. Entretanto, devido a falta de padronização de tecnologias, e devido a limitações na arquitetura das redes atuais, essa interoperabilidade ainda e um assunto em aberto. Com base nisso, o presente trabalho apresenta uma arquitetura de redirecionamento de fluxos de rede baseada em OpenFlow para o suporte a continuidade de serviço durante a migração de aplicações entre diferentes provedores de IaaS. Os testes realizados comprovam sua aplicabilidade em um cenário real, controlando apenas as bordas da rede, e sem a instalação de nenhum hardware específico.

Les opérateurs de cloud IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) proposent à leurs clients des ressources virtualisées (CPU, stockage et réseau) sous forme de machines virtuelles (VM). L’explosion du marché du cloud les a contraints à optimiser très finement l’utilisation de leurs centres de données afin de proposer des services attractifs à moindre coût. En plus des investissements liés à l’achat des infrastructures et de leur coût d’utilisation, la consommation énergétique apparaît comme un point de dépense important (2% de la consommation mondiale) et en constante augmentation. Sa maîtrise représente pour ces opérateurs un levier très intéressant à exploiter. D’un point de vue technique, le contrôle de la consommation énergétique s’appuie essentiellement sur les méthodes de consolidation. Or la plupart d'entre elles ne prennent en compte que l’utilisation CPU des machines physiques (PM) pour le placement de VM. En effet, des études récentes ont montré que les systèmes de stockage et les E/S disque constituent une part considérable de la consommation énergétique d’un centre de données (entre 14% et 40%). Dans cette thèse nous introduisons un nouveau modèle autonomique d’optimisation de placement de VM inspiré de MAPE-K (Monitor, Analyze, Plan, Execute, Knowledge), et prenant en compte en plus du CPU, les E/S des VM ainsi que les systèmes de stockage associés. Ainsi, notre première contribution est relative au développement d’un outil de trace des E/S de VM multi-niveaux. Les traces collectées alimentent, dans l’étape Analyze, un modèle de coût étendu dont l’originalité consiste à prendre en compte le profil d’accès des VM, les caractéristiques du système de stockage, ainsi que les contraintes économiques de l’environnement cloud. Nous analysons par ailleurs les caractéristiques des deux principales classes de stockage, pour aboutir à un modèle hybride exploitant au mieux les avantages de chacune. En effet, les disques durs magnétiques (HDD) sont des supports de stockage à la fois énergivores et peu performants comparés aux unités de calcul. Néanmoins, leur prix par gigaoctet et leur longévité peuvent jouer en leur faveur. Contrairement aux HDD, les disques SSD à base de mémoire flash sont plus performants et consomment peu d’énergie. Leur prix élevé par gigaoctet et leur courte durée de vie (comparés aux HDD) représentent leurs contraintes majeures. L’étape Plan a donné lieu, d’une part, à une extension de l'outil de simulation CloudSim pour la prise en compte des E/S des VM, du caractère hybride du système de stockage, ainsi que la mise en oeuvre du modèle de coût proposé dans l'étape Analyze. Nous avons proposé d’autre part, plusieurs heuristiques se basant sur notre modèle de coût et que nous avons intégrées dans CloudSim. Nous montrons finalement que notre approche permet d’améliorer d’un facteur trois le coût de placement de VM obtenu par les approches existantes. / IaaS cloud providers offer virtualized resources (CPU, storage, and network) as Virtual Machines(VM). The growth and highly competitive nature of this economy has compelled them to optimize the use of their data centers, in order to offer attractive services at a lower cost. In addition to investments related to infrastructure purchase and cost of use, energy efficiency is a major point of expenditure (2% of world consumption) and is constantly increasing. Its control represents a vital opportunity. From a technical point of view, the control of energy consumption is mainly based on consolidation approaches. These approaches, which exclusively take into account the CPU use of physical machines (PM) for the VM placement, present however many drawbacks. Indeed, recent studies have shown that storage systems and disk I/O represent a significant part of the data center energy consumption (between 14% and 40%).In this thesis we propose a new autonomic model for VM placement optimization based on MAPEK (Monitor, Analyze, Plan, Execute, Knowledge) whereby in addition to CPU, VM I/O and related storage systems are considered. Our first contribution proposes a multilevel VM I/O tracer which overcomes the limitations of existing I/O monitoring tools. In the Analyze step, the collected I/O traces are introduced in a cost model which takes into account the VM I/O profile, the storage system characteristics, and the cloud environment constraints. We also analyze the complementarity between the two main storage classes, resulting in a hybrid storage model exploiting the advantages of each. Indeed, Hard Disk Drives (HDD) represent energy-intensive and inefficient devices compared to compute units. However, their low cost per gigabyte and their long lifetime may constitute positive arguments. Unlike HDD, flash-based Solid-State Disks (SSD) are more efficient and consume less power, but their high cost per gigabyte and their short lifetime (compared to HDD) represent major constraints. The Plan phase has initially resulted in an extension of CloudSim to take into account VM I/O, the hybrid nature of the storage system, as well as the implementation of the previously proposed cost model. Secondly, we proposed several heuristics based on our cost model, integrated and evaluated using CloudSim. Finally, we showed that our contribution improves existing approaches of VM placement optimization by a factor of three.

Många företag idag använder molnet som en del i deras systemarkitektur. Det har blivit allt vanligare att verksamheter flyttar sina applikationer till molnet som gör det möjligt att nå både information och applikationer över internet. Det finns flera olika sätt att använda sig utav molntjänster. Verksamheter kan själva ta hand om infrastrukturen och själva införskaffa den hårdvara som krävs för att driva verksamhetens applikationer och göra det möjligt att nå applikationer och informationssystem över internet. Det finns också möjlighet att hyra en plats i stora datacenter från en tredjepartsleverantör, vilket också kallas för det publika molnet. Att hyra en plats i det publika molnet är fördelaktigt av många anledningar, bara genom att få tillgång till flera datacenter världen över till en låg kostnad är en av dem. En annan är att kunna utnyttja den prestanda som finns i det publika molnet utan att själv behöva göra några investeringar i hårdvara eller infrastruktur. Att själv investera i den infrastruktur som krävs för att ha ett moln med datacenter över hela världen skulle vara väldigt kostsamt för en verksamhet. Det är då mycket kostnadseffektivare att hyra in sig i en tredjepartsleverantörs datacenter. Detta innebär dock att verksamheten måste anpassa sig tredjepartsleverantören samt att den information och de applikationer som verksamheten har hamnar i samma datacenter som andra verksamheters. Den här studien ser närmare på de funktioner i molntjänster som tredjepartsleverantörer kan leverera samt vilka fördelar det kan föra med sig vid utveckling av informationssystem. Studien syftar till att följa upp på verksamheter som under en tid använt sig av molntjänster från en tredjepartsleverantör för att sedan låta dem beskriva vilka fördelar de upplevt. För att genomföra studien har intervjuer med personer som under en längre tid arbetat med molntjänster som levererats av en tredepartsleverantör. Även tidigare forskning på ämnet har studerats. Sedan har även en analys sammanställt den insamlade empirin för att skapa sig en bild över hur relationerna mellan teknikens funktioner och fördelar påverkat arbetet med utveckling av informationssystem. Detta leder fram till en slutsats som presenterar de fördelar samt det resultat som verksamheter kan förvänta sig för utveckling av informationssystem genom användning av en publik molnarkitektur från en tredjepartsleverantör. Den här studien visar att funktioner inom publika moln kan på flera sätt förbättra utvecklingsprocessen för informationssystem. Tekniken kan bidra med funktioner som kan korta ner tiden det tar att sätta upp testmiljöer samt att få applikationer i drift. Det kan också leda till sänkta kostnader genom en fördelaktig pay-as-you-go modell men kan även leda till en inlåsningseffekt mot tredjepartsleverantören. / Many companies today are using the cloud as part of their system architecture. It has become increasingly common for businesses to move their applications to the cloud which makes it possible to access both information and applications over the internet. There are several ways to use cloud services. Businesses can acquire the necessary infrastructure and hardware required to run their applications and make it possible to reach the applications over the internet. There is also the option to rent space in data centers from a third-party provider. This is also referred to as the public cloud. Renting space in the public cloud is beneficial for many reasons as you can get access to multiple data centers worldwide at a low cost. It is also possible to take advantage of the performance of the cloud available if needed without making any investment in hardware or infrastructure. If a business would invest in the infrastructure required to run their own cloud in data centers all over the world it would be very expensive. It is a lot cheaper to rent space in a third-party provider's data center. However, this means that the business must accept the third-party provider’s terms. The information and applications that the business have in the third-party provider’s data centers will be stored together with other clients. In this study we look at the functions of cloud services that third-party providers have to offer and what benefits it can bring for development of information systems. This study aims to follow up on businesses that have used cloud services from a third party and then have them describe what benefits they experienced from using the technology. To conduct this study interviews have been done with people with lots of experience working with public cloud services from third-party providers. Previous research on the topic have also been studied. An analysis compiled the collected empirical data to create an overview of the relations between the technology and how it can benefit and affect the process for development of information systems. This leads to a conclusion that present how an organization's processes for developing information systems may be affected by the acquisition of public cloud services from third party suppliers. This study shows that functions in the public clouds can significantly improve the development process of information systems. It can provide functions and benefits that can reduce the time it takes to set up a test-environment and also shorten the time it takes to implement applications. It may also lead to reduced costs due to its beneficial pay-as-you-go model but may create a locked-in-effect to the third-party provider.