The Impact of Cloud Computing on Education Industry

Introduction

Digital strategies have become a fundamental component of global enterprises operating in this dynamic world. A digital strategy encompasses the utilization of digital tools, usually driven by technological features, to enhance operational processes and redesign existing systems. Many organizations and companies have to follow some of the digital strategies for obtaining improved efficiencies and productivities, enhanced customer loyalty, and maximum cost reductions. Various digital technologies have transformed the world’s current operating systems and influenced every facet of our lifestyle, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). Similarly, Cloud Computing (CC) has emerged as one of the most remarkable of humankind’s inventions. Mell and Grance (2011) enunciate that CC is a disseminated model that enables the utilization of virtual resources, including networks and software applications. In 1960, John McCarthy articulated that computation could become a public utility in the future (Mathew 2012). Today, the renowned giants amongst the global stakeholders like Microsoft and Amazon have widely adopted CC technologies by offering virtual infrastructures via Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services that have attracted big and small businesses (Marston et al. 2011). The CC technology has made a substantial impact on the education industry by offering various types of services to the students, faculty and the administrative department. However, a new computing technology also brings its limitations and challenges to the education sector (González-Martínez et al. 2015). In this regard, the purpose of this report is to perform an evidence-based evaluation of the influence of CC technologies on the education department; including types of CC technologies and deployment models, benefits of CC services to students, teaching and administration staff, the role of digital strategies concerning CC services, and the superiority of CC technologies over traditional computing methods. The report will also present real-time case studies of three educational institutions that are employing CC technologies for educational purposes. Furthermore, the discussion will critically evaluate the current challenges arising from the adoption of CC technologies in educational institutions. Lastly, the key themes of the report will be summarized, and strategic recommendations will be made for countering the discussed challenges.

Evidence-Based Discussion & Critical Analysis

It is essential to comprehend the types of CC services and cloud deployment models before understanding how it benefits and poses limitations to the education industry.

Cloud Computing Types

Researches indicate that CC services are broadly classified into three main categories, namely, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Zhang, Cheng & Boutaba 2010; Mell and Grance 2011). IaaS is the lowest abstraction level where consumers are provided with networking, storage and other services on the demand of users. The next level, PaaS, is an upgrade of IaaS as it allows users to deploy onto the cloud applications, and service providers support the run-time environments of these applications. Information Technology (IT) personnel, software developers and non-technical users, such as students, utilize resources at the PaaS level. Moreover, SaaS is currently the best-known level of CC technology that comprises of software applications which connect thousands of users through web access (Zhang et al. 2010). Users do not require authorization to obtain the software, and the cost of application software is relatively lower, which is particularly beneficial for university-level faculties and students (Wang & Xing 2011). Google Docs and Dropbox are popular SaaS software applications employed by educational institutions for documentation and storage purposes.    

Cloud Service and Deployment Models

The three categories of CC employ a range of Cloud Service Models. These include software Applications, Run-time Environment, Middleware, Operating System, and Hardware (Pardeshi 2014). Education-providers use applications after reaching an agreement with the software applications providers. When faculties and students run the application, the environment in which it is running is known as the Runtime Environment. Middleware is an intermediate software that serves as a communication medium between software applications. This is extremely useful for educational purposes as it helps in connecting different software applications for serving various study-related objectives. The Operating System is the core of the application that manages the system resources of the user’s hardware. Moreover, Hardware comprises of physical units such as Central Processing Units (CPUs), data storage and networking, which has become an integral part of educational institutions.