How IT improves managerial role Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How IT improves managerial role - Essay Example The new model of management suggests ways of flattening the organization structure, streamlining its processes, and speeding up its feedback systems in order to help produce these continuously improving results. This essay will examine how IT improves the managers’ performance. To meet the demanding expectations of a good model, an agency requires a great deal of complex data that is timely, complete information about both processes and outcomes. The model also requires that the organization have the ability to act promptly on that information. These requirements can be met only by agencies that take advantage of recent developments in information technology. Today’s companies are much larger and complex. They most likely manufacture, service, and finance what they sell. They also operate in complex, fast-changing, competitive, global environments that can quickly turn competitive advantages into competitive disadvantages. If I am given managerial roles I will ensure that I integrate information technology in the accomplishment of organizational aims in an effective and efficient approach through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational assets. The type of information am likely to deal with is on how to set annual budgets for the entity, analyzing financial information and statistics of the firm, managing staffing and recruitment levels, deal with customer complaints, and make risk assessment and health safety checks. In all these a manager can integrate IT to make his work easier for example in preparing the budget he can use applications which makes it possible to prepare budgets quickly. The manager can post performance information on intranets, making weekly and even daily information available for decision making at all levels. Coordinated service system requires coordinated information streams. Integrated information system not only increases client satisfaction but more imp ortantly increases the agency’s ability to

Postoperative pain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Postoperative pain management - Essay Example Management of pain following a surgery employs oral or rectal analgesics, intramuscular opioid injections, systemic opioid analgesia, continuous subcutaneous infusion of analgesics, and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA).Management of pain following a surgical procedure is one of the major challenges and source of concern for health care providers (Berge et al, 2004). However, surveys have revealed that hospital postoperative pain management, such as opioid intramuscular injections are frequently inefficient, resulting in unrelieved pain in approximately 50% of patients (Steinberg et al, 2002). Various studies have shown that postoperative pain has significant influence on the recovery of the patient, length of stay in the hospital, mobility, cost of hospitalization and also postoperative morbidity like cognitive dysfunction and pulmonary complications (Pain Management Guideline Panel., 1992). According to Sommer et al (2008), moderate to severe pain occurs in more than 50 percent of patients who undergo abdominal surgery It is crucial to control postoperative pain and currently in every hospital in the western world, control of post operative pain is given utmost importance. An understanding of pain management in the postoperative period can be enhanced through reflection. Reflection is evaluation and examination of thoughts and actions of oneself. For health practitioners, reflection means focusing on the interaction of oneself with colleagues and environment in a particular situation so that they are able to evaluate their own behavior. â€Å"Reflection gives scope for better understanding of oneself so that existing strengths can be used to build-up for future actions "(Somerville and Keeling, 2004). In order to be an effective practitioner, one must be able to identify one's strengths in approaching a problem, assess one's level of competency and improve on what one thinks are the weaknesses so that when the same problems arise in the future, the right ap proach can be adapted. Reflection is also an opportunity for professional growth and development to increase competence in the nursing practice (Alexander, Fawcett and Runciman, 2006). Reflective practice is very essential for nursing clinical practice because it helps the nurse to understand, assess and learn through the experiences during clinical practice (Burns and Grove, 2005). In the following assignment, I shall discuss about management of a patient with postoperative pain based on Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle. This is because, Gibbs Reflective Cycle is a straight forward and recognized framework for reflection wherein it enables clear description of the situation of the patient, the analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, analysis to make sense of the experience, conclusion where other points are considered and reflection upon experience to examine what you would do if situation arose again. Case description Mr. X was a 67 years old male patient, who I looked af ter in a Surgical High Dependency Unit (SHDU). He was transferred from theatre following Whipples, where a total pancreatectomy was performed along with the removal of Gall Bladder and Duodenum.  Past medical history included hypertension and chemotherapy 2 years ago following the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was also underweight. The patient was transferred to SHDU in a stable condition. On the 1st day post op, the Epidural Analgesia’s catheter was dislodged by accident and according to the protocol (NHS 2009), it could not be used anymore. Although, the patient had prescribed oral pain reliefs as required, Mr. X showed discomfort and pain, once resting and moving in bed. Because of the risk of post operative complications including pressure sores and chest infection, the issue was highlighted to Pain Management Nurse, who prescribed Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA). The Pain Management Nurse provided short educational session for Mr. X, as he never used PCA before and appeared to be anxious about

Research Strategy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Strategy Paper - Essay Example A simple definition of time management would be managing time to make the best out of it (Time Management, n.d.). Although, generally people realize the importance of time in their life but still it is one of the most common problem in peoples daily life. Time management process would include planning, organizing, staffing, directing and evaluating (The Management Process, n.d.). Research strategy simply refers to the set of strategies adopted in order to conduct the research. A research strategy regarding time management would involve all the information which need to be gathered to solve the problem of time management. If the research is conducted on basis of the work of a day, then the most important thing which would be required is the list of all the jobs that need to be done on that day. The second required information would be the time available for these jobs. The importance each job and possible time that could be allocated to each job need to be identified. According to the relative importance of each job a daily routine of work need to be prepared. Once this is prepared, information on each of the job would be required. Relative size of the job could be decide based on this information and based on assignment size sufficient time would be allocated to each of the jobs or assignment. Important information would be regarding number of individual that would be required to complete the job. Information could be gathered regarding the activity required to do the jobs. Information might also be required to find out the otherwise idle time, because this time could be utilized in doing unschedule d works. All these information could be obtained in the course of day to day activities. Once the required information are gathered, they need to be properly evaluated. These information need to be evaluated on the basis of their relative importance, validity, perspective etc. Information

Compare and Contrast Essay Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast Essay Essay Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were just two young teenage boys whose lives were taken from this world. The two cases for these two boys have some similarities between each other they were two 17 year-old African-American boys, both boys were unarmed, and the stand your ground law was used for each case. There are also some differences between the cases such as George Zimmerman was found not guilty while Michael Dunn was found guilty, Zimmerman stayed on the scene of the crime while Dunn did not do the same, and last eye witnesses were present to Dunn’s case but Zimmerman had zero eye witness. This is the twenty-first century yet we still have hate towards other races. In February 26, 2012 â€Å"Trayvon Martin a seventeen year old African American boy went to the store for some candy and a soft drink. George Zimmerman a Hispanic man was the neighborhood watch captain for the Retreat at Twin Lakes† (HLNtv.com). Now in November 23, 2012 Michael Dunn a White man â€Å"leaving a wedding reception for his son pulled into a gas station for wine and chips next to the SUV Jordan Davis† another seventeen year old African American boy â€Å"and three of his friends were in† (CNN.com). Zimmerman was monitoring the neighborhood when he calls 911 to report â€Å"a suspicious person.† He was â€Å"instructed to not get out or approach the person† who was. Martin. Zimmerman â€Å"disregarded the instructions given to him by the police and moments later shot Martin† and unarmed boy (CNN.com). If he was unarmed walking back to his house how could he have had any intention of being aggressive towards another man? In Dunn case he got into an argument with Davis and his friends about the loud music asking them to turn it down. Dunn said he â€Å"saw Davis reach down in his passenger seat to pull out a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun.† So â€Å"Dunn grabbed his gun an open fired ten bullet, three of which struck Davis.† Later when the car was searched no gun was found in the car (usatoday.com). Davis just like Martin was an unarmed boy. In the presence of both cases Zimmerman and Dunn both found there selves in a self-defense situation in other terms the â€Å"stand your ground law† (huffingtonpost.com). The Zimmerman case was considered self-defense but he would not have had to defend himself if he didn’t approach Martin. Also when Martin was unarmed what did Zimmerman need to defend himself of? Dunn on the other hand was not in a calm state of mind he was the â€Å"prosecutor portrayed him as a gunman whose â€Å"blood started to boil† because an armed teenager had disrespected him† (usatoday.com). Even though Dunn thought Davis had a gun he should not have fired off ten rounds rapidly. Dunn could not have been defending him and his wife when the teenagers were unarmed. They were no harm to Dunn and his wife. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch men and was patrolling the street when he saw Martin. There were not one eye witnesses to seeing what happened at the scene besides Zimmerman a nd Martin who was dead. The only thing they had to go off of was the bruises forming and blood running from the back of his head, also the recording of the gun shot from the police recording of Zimmerman’s phone call. In Dunn’s case he was at a gas station with people around including the four men he was talking to about the loud â€Å"rap crap† music as he called it (CNN.com). Usually when you flee the scene of a crime it means you are guilty. After Zimmerman got out and came up too Martin and defended himself by shooting him. He stayed at the scene was it because no one was around and he already called the cops, and he knew that with his head bloody it was constituted as the â€Å"stand your ground law?† As for Dunn he fled forty miles back to his motel as soon as he shot off ten rounds. There he took â€Å" his dog for a walk, ordered pizza, and drank rum and cola† (CNN.com) Zimmerman was found not guilty after a year and six months went by. The six women jury found George Zimmerman not guilty. The jury had three choices to convict Zimmerman of â€Å"guilty of second degree murder, to find him guilty of the lesser charge manslaughter, or to find him not guilty. The jurors deliberated for more than sixteen hours total, including the thirteen on Saturday alone† (CNN.com). Now for Dunn even though he had pretty similar crimes as Zimmerman he was found guilty. Dunn received â€Å"a minimum of twenty years on one count, another twenty year count, and another minimum of twenty  year count† (usatoday). Works Cited Neale, Rick. Fla. USA TODAY. Larry Kramer, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.

Approaches to Manpower Planning Process in Construction

Approaches to Manpower Planning Process in Construction Introduction Man power planning is concerned with coordinating, motivating and controlling of the various activities of the people within the organisation. An effective manpower planning requires a careful assessment of the future needs of the organisation and it is a procedure used in organisation to balance future requirements for all levels of employee with the availability of such employees. Manager has to reasonably predict future events and plan out the production. The plans need to be supported by all the members of the organisation. Managers are required to estimate the business needs of the organisation and plan for the resources needed to realise the business goals. Manpower Planning Process The process of man power planning is reviewing current resources, predicting future requirements and ensuring that the demand and supply of people and skills is balanced. With understaffing, the organisation loses projects, economies of specialisation and scale and profits. Overstaffing results in losses in terms of salaries and competence. Analyse existing manpower in the Organisation Personnel planning begin with a clear understanding of the current Personnel situation in the company. An analysis of current employment categories, the number of employee currently in post, knowledge and skills available of them are important steps in the manpower planning. An assessment of the training development potential of existing employees and analysis employee turnover rate in the organisation also include the process. Forecast future requirements of manpower Forecasting is typically anticipates future staffing requirements. Strategies are formulated to not only anticipate their needs over time, but to consider optimal solutions for the long term and under challenging economic conditions. Organisations with a plan in place, and a keen understanding of their long-range objectives, may instead decide to weather the economic changes and keep trained, talented, and dedicated staff in place for the inevitable business uptrend. Job Analysis Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis are job description and job specification. Before the recruitment takes place it is essential to determine, the duties, responsibility and requirement of a particular job and relationship with other jobs and positions within the organisational hierarchy. 3.4.0 Job evaluation Job evaluation is an attempt to determine and compare demands, which the normal performance of a particular job makes on normal workers without taking into account the individual abilities or performance of the workers concerned. The aim of job evaluation is to determine systematically a jobà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s relative worth. It is a formal and systematic comparison of jobs to determine the worth of one job relative to another and eventually results in a wage or salary hierarchy. 3.5.0 Recruitment and Selection Employee recruitment forms a major part of an organisations overall resourcing strategies, which identify and secure people needed for the organisation to survive and succeed in the short to medium term. Recruitment and selection are usually considered as one process. Recruitment needs to be carefully planned in order to attract the right type of applicant. Ultimately, this increases the chances of making a suitable selection and appointment. Recruitment activities need to be responsive to the ever increasingly competitive market to secure suitably qualified and capable recruits at all levels. To be effective these initiatives need to include how and when to source the best recruits internally or externally. 3.6.0 Training and Development of Employee After the recruitment and selection of an employee, is to provide the employee training and development facilities. New employee usually, is not fully fit at the time of procurement some training is always essential. The organisation, along with the individual, is responsible for training for specific jobs or positions according to their level. Development can occur formally or informally, as people grow and learn to adapt by using their education and training. Training programmes will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programmes etc. Training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers. 4.0.0 Barriers of Manpower Planning and Practical solutions Manpower planning is a key to successful management practises, which is link to business strategies of the organisation. However, there are some problems with manpower planning both short term as well as long term. 4.1.0 Economy Downturn For example, according to various sources, in the past recent years there was a boom at UAE, more development projects, infrastructure projects and real estate project was stared. The sharp increase in construction, along with other key factors, has meant the industry was seeing a lack of skilled construction staff. The demand for certain categories of employees and skill is also influenced by changes in social structure in an economy. Firms employing in construction have greatly enhanced the worth of technicians, surveyors and engineers during the last couple of years. In contrast the present climate of economic and labour market in UAE is downturn therefore Companies operating in fields compel to reduce their workforce due to high competition and short of new construction and development projects. This type of economy changes is occurring confusion of proper manpower planning. Solution The huge boom of construction and development field in UAE now over, while the present it going to down little by little but various source of news says [TopNews Arab Emirates] it expect to recover in near future. The boom time there was shortage of skill workman like Engineers, surveyor and Technicians in the firms but now excess. In some situations even after implementing some of the above cost saving initiatives, redundancies can still become inevitable and this can pose significant challenges for an employer as many complex issues need to be addressed including legal, labour union, compensation, natural turnover of workers of the company and future economic changes of the region. The practical way to approach the current situation is to preparation of well designed profile of employees of organisation. It will help to identify employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information not directly related to on the job skills and performance. The overall profile of the workforce generated is a vital aid to management decision making on things like redundancy. It can highlight impending problems, such as the retirement of employees, and the need for fresh recruitment training and developments. And it will help to analyse the sort of workforce envisaged at the end of the exercise, the utility of retraining, redeployment and transfers, what the appropriate recruitment levels might be. Such an analysis can be presented to senior managers so that the cost benefit of various methods of reduction can be assessed, and the time taken to meet targets established. 4.2.0 Changes in Technology Past years of time, the technology changes are more rapid and pervasive than ever before in the context of the organisation and its interface with the environment. Such changes in technology make manpower planning redundant or obsolete and ineffective. For example, Speed house group of companies [http://www.speedhouse.com/about-us.htm] well reputed House Construction Company in UAE recently utilisation of advance computer base systems to design such as current and future programme needs, home schedule and budget constructions to give facility for their customers. Utilisation of advanced technology is generally accompanied by less demand for low skilled workers and more demand for knowledgeable workers. Computerisation programs for office work and modern machinery in construction sites may reduce demand in some job categories (eg. clerks, book keepers and who had less knowledge to operate the computer prgrammes) while increasing it in another like workers with sound knowledge to opera ting modern high-tech tools and computer base programms. High technology with all its attendant benefits may compel organisations to go lean and downsize workforce suddenly. Employment planning under such situations becomes complicated. Solution Rapid changes in technology are cause serious mismatches between the jobs that are available and the number of people with the necessary skills to fill those jobs. In addition, rising levels of education have brought with them rising expectations among employees at all level. Some jobs are held by individuals who have more advanced skills or training than is needed. Sometimes the task can be done by a lower-level worker, rather than, an example is university educated employee. The manager should bring this situation to the attention that has the authority to make the necessary changes and thus relieve what seems to be a skills shortage. In addition, redesign job will help to reducing boredom and monotony, and increasing comfort, often increases productivity. As a result, positions for which skills are in short supply may not require more personnel, as more productive and skilled individuals produce more. 4.3.0 Workforce in and out fluxes within the Organisation Demands of workers are influence the internal in and out fluxes of the employee through retirement, termination, resignation, leaves and absence etc. This factors are effect how much workers will be required given work of different type of employee and the expected volume of business activity. Solution Economy downturn is occurring less demanding labour market in the region. The company might have excess workforce but still labour turnover creates unnecessary expense and reduces efficiency to the firms. When a manager identifies high turnover in a specific department, the quality of training and supervision in that department should be looked into. As a part of the human resources function, the manager would contribute to the decision on what steps should be taken to remedy the turnover situation, such as training, pay and incentive improvements, and the like. Perhaps company may have shortage of skill workers in some departments. The best practical way to approach this situation if present is to look within the organisation among its workers first. Until and unless the opening is not related to immensely diversified field of which the existing workforce might not posse requisite skills and the cost of training may be working out to be high. It is easier to go in for an internal source for recruitment. Becourse it is cost saving in many ways to utilize what is already available to the organisation and for instance are there imbalances where transferring people would avoid redundancy problems and solve recruitment one. In addition moving people between regions becomes nearly impossible when individuals canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get new mortgages or sell their existing homes. Alternatives to consider include focusing on accommodation or other essential facilities what they need or new recruiting area to a reasonable commuting distance. 4.4.0 Organisational Decision and Planning Process Organisational decision and planning processes seek to address the implications that a change in one input can have on the corresponding output. The evaluation and process evaluation that comprises part of the change management approach seeks to measure and anticipate the effect strategic decisions will have on company resources and labour. For example, ready-mix concrete Supply Company in UAE expects higher demand for their products in next couple of years. Likewise, if they try to venture into other lucrative fields such as supplying precast concrete product. For instance, the effect of the economy downturn in UAE, whereby product demand in the short term were low, downsizing staffs of organisation structures were the trend. The sudden changes in market conditions will obviously affect the demand for labour in general or for particular skills. Even proposed expansion, contraction or diversifications of the organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s activities are complicating the man power pr ocess. Solution Manpower plan need to account the rest of the organisational plan, sales and production forecast and new venture to be more accurate. Estimating changes in product or service demand is basic forecasting concern, as it anticipating changes in national or regional economics. Furthermore, where plans are changed, the effect of the changes must be estimated. This may be estimated by market research, competitive analysis, trends in technological advances and so on. 5.0.0 Why should know Manpower Planning? The human resources are the most valuable asset of any organisation as they contribute to the realization of its business objectives. It is the human resources who contribute their time and expertise to the welfare of their organisation. Thus, the process of manpower planning and staffing is crucial to the business development of an organisation. The future Managers should know and follow the Manpower planning and it techniques to take the proper decision for their organisation. So then, it will ensure optimum use of available human resources and creates healthy atmosphere of encouragement and motivation in the organisation. The good manpower planning generates facilities to educate people in the organisation and opens possibility for workers for future promotions, thus providing incentive. If Manpower Planning techniques are ignored, decisions will still be taken, but without the benefit of understanding their implications. For example graduate recruitment numbers will be set in ignorance of demand, or management succession problems will develop unnoticed. It is surely better if decision makers follow this maxim in the way they make and execute resourcing plans. 6.0.0 Conclusion Employee resourcing is a wider issue than recruitment and selection. In this report is discussed the approaches to manpower planning process in construction oriented business with consist of series of activities such as determining current manpower or situation of the organisation, forecasting future demand and supply, Job analysis, Job evaluation recruitment and selection, training and development of employees in the organisation. In addition this report is explored the barriers that exist the proper manpower planning in the organisation with discussion of essential practical solutions. Discussion includes redundancy, employee training and development, proper movements of employee within the organisation that determine the extent of organisation performance, competence and ability to cope with dynamic forces of completion in business environment.

Different Sources of Finance for Businesses Essay -- Papers Business F

Different Sources of Finance for Businesses Introduction This assignment will look at the different sources of finance that are available to a small business or a big company. With each source of finance listed the report will assess the implications that can arise and along with this the report will look at the cost to the business to taking a curtain source of finance. All businesses need short-term finance from the very beginning to start up the business and to cover day-to-day running costs. This provides the business with working capital. However businesses also need long-term capital to help them to grow and expand, and this is paid back over a number of years. Without finance a business would find it difficult to accomplish anything, for example someone who decided to start up a shop would need finance at first to just buy the shop and the stock. Even a window cleaner would need finance to buy equipment such as ladders and buckets. But this can be taken onto a larger scale, as all businesses need finance at some point. Different sources of finance The report will now list the different sources of finance available, starting with sources available to small and new businesses to sources only obtainable to big companies. External Sources of Finance This source of finance comes from outside the business and involves the business owing money to an outside individual(s) or companies. Personal Savings This mainly applies to sole traders, partnerships and small private companies. Owners may use some of their own money as capital to invest in the business. Usually this option is used by the person(s) who will... ...business plan * Details of how much finance is needed and how it will be used * The most recent trading figures of the company, a balance sheet, a cash flow forecast and a profit forecast * Details of the management team, with evidence of a wide range of management skills * Details of major shareholders * Details of the company's current banking arrangements and any other sources of finance * Any sales literature or publicity material that the company has issued. A high percentage of requests for venture capital are rejected on an initial screening. Thus only a small percentage of all requests survive both this screening and further investigation and result in actual investments. Recent successes in this area if financing include the internet search engine 'Google'.

Cloud Computing Essay

ABSTRACT: This white paper is an introduction to the terms, characteristics, and services associated with internet-based computing, commonly referred to as cloud computing. Also introduced are the benefits and challenges associated with cloud computing, and for those seeking to use communications services in the cloud, briefly presented are different ways of determining the interfaces needed to use these communications services. Cloud computing is where software applications, processing power, data and potentially even artificial intelligence are accessed over the Internet. Many private individuals now regularly use an online email application such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail. The location of physical resources and devices being accessed are typically not known to the end user. It also provides facilities for users to develop, deploy and manage their applications ‘on the cloud’, which entails virtualization of resources that maintains and manages itself. 1. What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing provides the facility to access shared resources and common infrastructure, offering services n demand over the network to perform operations that meet changing business needs. Definitions: â€Å"Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet.† – Wikipedia â€Å"Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.†- Wikipedia Basically a cloud is a virtualization of Resources that manages and maintains itself. CCSIT, Junagadh tank.infotech@yahoo.com Page 1 2. Types of cloud Public Cloud: the services are delivered to the client via the Internet from a third party service provider. Example: Amazon, Yahoo, Google Example of Clouds 3. Architecture Cloud architecture,[15] the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over application programming interfaces, usually web services and 3-tier architecture. This resembles the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs each doing one thing well and working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts. Private Cloud: these services are managed and provided within the organization. There are less restriction on network bandwidth, fewer security exposures and other legal requirements compared to the public Cloud. Example: HP Data Centers Hybrid cloud: There is some confusion over the term â€Å"Hybrid† when applied to the cloud – a standard definition of the term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† has not yet emerged. The term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† has been used to mean either two separate clouds joined together (public, private, internal or external), or a combination of virtualized cloud server instances used together with real physical hardware. The most correct definition of the term â€Å"Hybrid Cloud† is probably the use of physical hardware and virtualized cloud server instances together to provide a single common service Architecture The two most significant components of cloud computing architecture are known as the front end and the back end. The front end is the part seen by the client, i.e. the computer user. Hybrid cloud CCSIT, Junagadh tank.infotech@yahoo.com Page 2 This includes the client’s network (or computer) and the applications used to access the cloud via a user interface such as a web browser. The back end of the cloud computing architecture is the ‘cloud’ itself, comprising various computers, servers and data storage devices collaboration. For more information on collaborative working using Google Docs, you can watch the now classic video Google Docs in Plain English. Taking collaboration further still, the outputs of some SaaS applications can be embedded in other web pages as web service gadgets. For example, a Google Docs or Zoho Sheet chart can be mashed into another website. There it will automatically update when the data in the online spreadsheet that is generating it is changed. SaaS applications are also constantly updated, which can free users of the â€Å"upgrade hell† of a major traditional software package revision. The disadvantage of SaaS is that it is basically a takeit-or-leave-it form of cloud computing. This means that businesses and individuals who require direct access to cloud computing hardware on which they can run their own applications cannot use SaaS. Rather, they need to cloud compute at the platform or infrastructure level using either platform as a service (PaaS) or infrastructure as a service (IaaS). 4. Services of Cloud Computing SaaS(Software as a Service) PaaS(Platform as a Service) IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service) Services Of Cloud computing PaaS(Platform as a Service) A platform is a software environment used to develop and run applications. For example, Microsoft Word is an application that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. When people choose to cloud compute using platform as a service or ‘PaaS’, they obtain access to an online platform provided by a cloud computing vendor. They can then use this platform to develop and deliver their own online (SaaS) applications. Applications developed using PaaS may be used privately by just one or a few users within a particular company. However, they can also be offered free or for-a-fee to anybody on the web. This means that if you have a great idea for a new online application then you can use PaaS to turn it into a reality! Several cloud suppliers now offer PaaS tools. Most notably these include Google App Engine, Microsoft Windows Azure, and Force.com. All such offerings effectively provide their customers with a box of cloud computing Lego. New applications are then constructed from the plastic bricks on offer. With Force.com, some applications can even be built using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Relatively nontechnical people can therefore create new online applications very quickly. SaaS (Software as a Service) Software as a service is where computer applications are accessed over the Internet rather than being installed on a local computing device or in a local data centre. So, for example, people may use an online word processor like Google Docs, an online database application like Zoho Creator, an online photo editor like Pixar, or an online invoicing application such as Zoho Invoice. Many SaaS applications are free to use, at least initially. You can find links to a great many in the Cloud Computing Directory. SaaS can provide its users with many benefits. These include the general cloud computing advantages of dynamic scalability and any device independence, as well as the benefit of being able to use an application without incurring fixed costs. Many SaaS applications are also collaborative. This allows multiple users to share documents and even to work on them at the same time.  For example, in the Google Docs spreadsheet different users can work on different cells simultaneously. The cells different users are working on are locked-off and highlighted in different colours. A real-time chat window can also be opened up alongside the spreadsheet to further enhance Indeed, Force.com claim that their â€Å"simplified programming model and cloud-based environment mean [customers] can build and run applications five times faster, at about half the cost of traditional software platforms†. Google App Engine and Force.com also allow an initial application to be created for free! Whilst PaaS is great in many situations, its users do need to be mindful of the involved flexibility verses power trade-off. What this means is that whilst PaaS makes it relatively easy to create new online applications, users are nevertheless constrained by the particular programming languages and tools provided by their PaaS supplier. In other words, PaaS vendors have total control over which Lego bricks they allow their customers to build with. Whilst this ensures that applications built using the tools on offer will always function correctly, it is nevertheless restrictive. It is for this reason that many companies and some individuals choose to cloud compute at t he infrastructure level. Dedicated physical servers and virtual server instances can perform exactly the same functions. However, there are some differences between them. For a start, virtual server instances are cheaper to supply as each does not require its own piece of physical hardware in a cloud data centre. On the other hand, virtual server instances are sometimes seen as less secure by those who do not want to share server hardware with other customers. For this reason, four categories of IaaS are available. These are most commonly known as â€Å"private clouds†, â€Å"dedicated hosting†, â€Å"hybrid hosting† and â€Å"cloud hosting†. 5. How cloud computing works? In traditional enterprise computing, IT departments forecast demand for applications and capacity and invest time and money to develop those resources inhouse or purchase them from others and operate them in-house. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Infrastructure as a service or â€Å"IaaS† is where a cloud supplier provides online infrastructure on which their customers can store data and develop and run whatever applications they please. IaaS therefore allows companies to move their existing programs and data into the cloud and to close down their own local servers and data centres. Whilst computing applications run on platforms, platforms in turn run on computing infrastructure. So, for example, whilst the Microsoft Word application runs on the Microsoft Windows platform, in turn the Microsoft Windows platform runs on the infrastructure of an IBM-compatible PC. How it works The fundamental building block of cloud computing infrastructure is the server. Cloud computing servers are basically computers on which online applications can be run and data can be stored. When provided by an IaaS vendor, cloud servers can also be real or virtual. Real or â€Å"dedicated† servers are individual circuit boards – known as blades – mounted within equipment racks in a data centre. In contrast virtual servers – also known as â€Å"virtual server instances† – are software-controlled slices of real, physical servers. Virtual servers are created by a process called virtualization that allows many users to share the processing power of one physical server. With cloud computing, institutions procure IT services from remote providers, and campus constituents access these resources over the Internet. E-mail, for example, long considered a staple of an institution’s IT operations, can be obtained from a range of sources, and a growing number of campuses contract with outside suppliers for this function. Software is hosted by the provider and does not need to be installed—or maintained—on individual computers around campus. In some cases, a large university or a consortium might become a provider of cloud services. Storage and processing needs can also be met by the cloud. Institutions pay only for the resources used, and users can access the applications and files they need from virtually any Internet- connected computer. In a mature cloud computing environment, institutions would be able to add new IT services or respond to changes in capacity on the fly, saving capital costs that can be redirected to programs of strategic value to the institution. Advantages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Reduced Hardware equipment for end users Improved Performance Lower Hardware and Software Maintenance Instant Software Updates Accessibility Less Expensive (Amazon example) Better Collaboration Pay for what you use Flexible 6. CHARACTERISTICS †¢ High scalability Cloud environments enable servicing of business requirements for larger audiences, through high scalability Disadvantages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Security Issues (#1 concern) Internet connection Too many platforms Location of Servers Time for Transition Speed †¢ Agility The cloud works in the ‘distributed mode’ environment. It shares resources among users and tasks, while improving efficiency and agility (responsiveness) †¢ High availability and reliability Availability of servers is high and more reliable as the chances of infrastructure failure are minimal †¢ Multi-sharing With the cloud working in a distributed and shared mode, multiple users and applications can work more efficiently with cost Reductions by sharing common infrastructure †¢ Services in pay-per-use mode SLAs between the provider and the user must be defined when offering services in pay per use mode. This may be based on the complexity of services offered Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) may be offered to the users so they can access services on the cloud by using these APIs 7. CONCLUSION After so many years, Cloud Computing today is the beginning of â€Å"network based computing† over Internet in force. It is the technology of the decade and is the enabling element of two totally new computing models, the Client-Cloud computing and the Terminal-Cloud computing. These new models would create whole generations of applications and business. Our prediction is that it is the beginning to the end of the dominance of desktop computing such as that with the Windows. It is also the beginning of a new Internet based service economy: the Internet centric, Web based, on demand, Cloud applications and computing economy