Cloud storage : prospects and strategy for government adoption through scenario building / Raymundo M. Villegas Jr.

Year : 2012

Number of Pages : 72 leaves

Adviser : Prof. Glen A. Imbang

Executive Summary

To buy the new iPad 3 or just the slightly older iPad 2 - or maybe, choose another tablet which is Android powered?" This is one common question that one can be often heard as the technology industry releases more and more new products into the market. Just when a person thinks that he has a new gadget, little that person knows that a new, more sophisticated, and similar gadget has been available for purchase in the market. The same goes for products or services in the IT industry that is being sold to corporate or government organizations. Because technology is changing everything so fast, IT professionals get into a lot of discussions. One of these is on what particular technology should they stick to despite the continuous appearance of new technologies. In the case of cloud-based technologies, this technology provides users and implementers with a safe haven of not worrying which particular storage hardware or software product to choose even if new ones will occur. That is because cloud storage and other cloud-based technologies operate in a virtualized pool which means it isn't big of a deal what storage hardware or software one is using as long as those support the requirements of virtual storage pool. In this paper, this cloud storage technology will be the central figure of discussion because of its ability or characteristic to transcend the fast changes in the IT industry. This paper shows how cloud storage can be used by whom it many ways and applications. Through the use of the ten stages of scenario building, the paper is able to identify the focal issue of the fast changing IT industry, and analyze the current standing or situation of the Philippine ICT sector particularly in the public sector. The scenario building process was also able to identify which uncertainties will affect the cloud storage technology adoption as well as what will be the driving factors for it. Included also are the scenario areas where cloud storage is deemed to be very useful and could change the way the public sector handles its processes. Assessment of the scenarios about their pros and cons were discussed in this paper. There's also an analysis on how probable cloud storage technology could be implemented based from the SWOT analysis of the current ICT situation in the country. Last but not the least, since formulating strategies will be a very important part that will determine the success of cloud storage adoption and that the opportunities it could provide should not be undermined, there were good and generally accepted tools commonly used in the IT industry that were cited in this paper that the reader could consider. That is to help and give them ideas they can use someday when they decide to try and adopt cloud storage technology for their data storage needs.