Master of Business Administration
(IIM Amritsar)
Course Design Document
Introduction to Cloud Computing
(ICC)
June 2023
Confidential - IIM Amritsar
SYNOPSIS
Cloud computing is becoming more and more important for businesses in today’s environment
whether it is well established or the new age startup. The flexibility it provides is fast becoming a
necessity for innovative and growing organizations.
Compared with traditional, pre-cloud scenario, cloud computing brings efficiency and agility that
empowers organizations to minimize their capital expenses and increment business
adaptability. For businesses, cloud computing offers a very cost-effective solution, and it is
perfect for smaller businesses without the resources or money to invest in secure systems in-
house.
This beginner’s course is designed to understand basic cloud computing concepts. This course
will help participants to use cloud computing infrastructure for advanced analytical courses and
enhance their knowledge on cloud based analytical tools. This course covers the fundamentals
of cloud computing, advantages and disadvantages, underlying technology, and commonly
used cloud applications. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been identified as the primary cloud
service provider for this course based on the preference of participants. However, key
differences between different cloud service providers will also be covered briefly in the course.
After the completion of course, participants will be able to start using cloud-based services from
cloud service providers for their future course work and analytical projects.
RECOMMENDED PRE-REQUISITES
Since this is an introductory course on cloud computing, there are no strict pre-requisites for this
course, but some understanding of the following concepts is required.
Basic Computer Architecture
Computer Networking
Understanding of Database concepts
Structured Query Language (SQL) Programming or Python Programming
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, participants would:
Gain an understanding of cloud computing service models, deployment models,
architecture with cloud service providers and the business aspects of adapting cloud into
organization
Understand the various reasons behind cloud application deployment considerations,
cloud economics and ROI with case studies
Acquire knowledge on virtualization, identity management, cloud testing, cloud
monitoring and management
Understand cloud security and privacy issues
Learn how to use a cloud platform and cloud services to build an enterprise application
Learn how to leverage cloud computing and cloud-based tools for data analytics
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METHODOLOGY
To achieve the objectives of the course, the format of it would be based on lectures, class
discussions and hands-on practice.
1. Lecture/Discussion - During theoretical lessons, instructor will introduce the basic
concepts for each of the topics. These sessions are devoted to presentation and
discussion of frameworks, concepts, and theories
2. Hands-on Sessions - Practice sessions will be introduced in the second half of the
course. AWS would be used extensively to practices the concepts taught in the theory
sessions. Every participant would have to register with AWS using their cards, however,
only the free AWS cloud service would be used for practice sessions.
ASSESSMENT PLAN
Below are the detailed criteria for the assessment of the participants during the course.
Assessment Category Weight Type Mode
Class Quiz (3) 15% Written (MCQ) Individual
Case Study 10% Presentation/Written Group
Presentation/Assignment
Class Participation 20% Subjective Individual
Final Project Presentation 20% Presentation Group
Final Exam 35% Written Individual
Class Quiz: Three different class quizzes will be conducted throughout the course. These will
be short quizzes covering the concepts in the previous lectures.
Case Study Presentation/Assignment: Case study assignments would be provided and
evaluated as part of the course. Few selected case studies would also be presented by the
participants during the course.
Class participation: Participants will be expected to actively participate in class. Grading class
participation is necessarily subjective.
Group project: A group project will evaluate participant's ability to apply the learning from this
course to a real-life problem. Participants will work in groups to identify examples of real cloud
architectures and understand the different elements and processes involved. They will be asked
to present a written report of their findings, as well as to present them to the class during the last
day of the course.
Final Exam: The Final exam will be mix of multiple-choice questions and subjective analysis of
problems which participants need to provide solutions based on the knowledge gained in the
classroom sessions. More information about the final exam will be made available as the course
progresses.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Schedule Topic Mode
Session 1 Introduction and Course Overview Classroom
Course Overview
Introduction to Cloud Computing
History and Evolution
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Key Cloud Providers
Cloud Adoption
Session 2 Overview of Cloud Service Models Classroom
Type of Cloud Services IAAS/PAAS/SAAS
Types of Clouds – Public/Private/Hybrid
Virtualization
Containers
Different storage types on Cloud
Session 3 Case Study Discussion: Fintech: Choosing a Cloud Classroom
Services Provider/In the Cloud
Session 4 Emerging Trends in Industry Classroom
Hybrid Multi Cloud
Microservices
Serverless Architecture
Cloud Native applications
Dev Ops on Cloud
Session 5 Comparison between Different cloud service providers Classroom
Case Study: Cloud Wars Go Global: How Amazon,
Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba Compete in Web
Services
Introduction to Amazon Web Services Lab Sessions
Overview
Identity Access Management (IAM)
Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
Amazon VPC Routing and Security
Session 6 Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Lab Sessions
Compute as a Service on AWS
Container Services on AWS
Serverless Architecture
Introduction to AWS Lambda
Session 7 Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Lab Sessions
Database Services
Different storage type on AWS
How to choose right storage services
Database services on Amazon
How to choose right database storage service
Launch Amazon RDS service
Session 8 Navigate the AWS Management Console Classroom
Monitoring on AWS
Load Balancing
Auto Scaling of AWS
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Securing the Cloud deployments
Security solutions on Amazon
Encryption techniques
Network isolation
End Point Security
Auditing
Introduction to Data Analysis solutions on AWS
5V’s of Analytical solutions
Session 9 Introduction to Amazon SageMaker Lab Session
SageMaker Features
ML with SageMaker
Session 10 Final Project Presentation Online
Course Summarization
TEXTBOOKS AND LEARNING MATERIALS
This section lists out the textbooks, reading materials, cases, and other resources to
supplement and support the learning process.
Reference Book(s): Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture By - Thomas Erl,
Zaigham Mahmood, and Ricardo Puttini
Lab Session: Lab Notes would be provided for hands-on sessions.
Additional Reading(s): Case Studies to be provided before the relevant sessions.
Technology and Software: Amazon Web Services and Learning material
Other Resources (Journals, Internet Websites) (if any)
Schedule Suggested Readings
Session 1 https://hbr.org/2021/03/what-ceos-need-to-know-about-the-cloud-in-2021
Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture – Chapter 3 & 4
Session 2 Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture – Chapter 5, 14
Session 3 Case: Fintech: Choosing a Cloud Services Provider
Internet Research
Case: In the Cloud
Session 4 https://www.contino.io/insights/what-is-cloud-native-architecture-and-why-is-
it-so-important
https://hbr.org/2018/02/how-cloud-computing-is-changing-management
Session 5 Case Study: Cloud Wars Go Global: How Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and
Alibaba Compete in Web Services
Internet Research
AWS Reference Material - https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-
computing/?nc2=h_ql_le_int_cc
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Session 6 AWS Reference Material - https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-
computing/?nc2=h_ql_le_int_cc
Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture – Chapter 7
Session 7 AWS Reference Material - https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-
computing/?nc2=h_ql_le_int_cc
Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture – Chapter 7
Session 8 Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture – Chapter 6, 9 & 10
Session 9 AWS Reference Material - https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-
computing/?nc2=h_ql_le_int_cc
Session 10 Participants will present their final project work to fellow participants and
course instructor.
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