Pub. 4 2013 Issue 2

www.wvbankers.org 14 SaaS is the hosting of business applications by the cloud provider. In the SaaS model, the business application (i.e. email, patch management, anti-virus, backup, word process- ing, spreadsheets, etc.) is hosted by the cloud provider and the customer typically pays for the service on a per user basis. The upfront costs are lowered and results in a reduction in capital expenditures. In addition, the user entity can implement a new solution in a shorter timeframe with less upfront costs (the user entity is not required to buy or install the business applica- tion). SaaS is also ideal for testing new software. There are several SaaS vendors including SalesForce.com, Intuit, Micro- soft 365 and Oracle. Considerations. On the surface, cloud computing appears to be a very attractive alternative for your IT needs. In many cases, cloud computing can provide you with a satisfactory solution. However, there are several items to consider while assessing cloud computing for your IT and business needs. What it is not. Cloud computing is not the right answer for all of your bank’s needs. Not all applications, services and pro- cesses are made for cloud computing. Cloud computing is also not a quick fix or a replacement for the traditional data center in every case. Costs. The costs for cloud computing is typically less. The cloud server provider is managing only a few applications as opposed to many. In addition, the hardware is homogeneous as opposed to a mixed set of hardware. The workloads are typically repetitive and provided to a large number of user enti- ties. However, services are not free and some setup costs will be incurred for data migration and other areas associated with implementing a new solution. Corporate Strategy. The user entity should ensure that the cloud computing solution fits in well with their overall strat- egy. Several items should be considered including: • Current complexities of the existing environment • Regulatory requirements • Control over data flow • Privacy, security and compliance issues • Value from existing data center operations • Short and long term strategic plans • Organizational readiness The above items are just a few of the strategic items that should be considered as it relates to overall corporate strategy. Governance. A bank cannot outsource governance. With cloud computing, a bank must govern their own infrastruc- ture and the infrastructure of the cloud provider. A cloud Q Cloud Computing — continued from page 10