UNIT: 1

1. INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

1.1. Ethical, Legal, Social, Environmental and Health Issues in the Use of Information Systems

Focus on this unit

 The use of new technologies including information systems has a significant impact on
human behavior and our daily activities including how we live, work, and learn.
 The knowledge and skills about raising issues and proper use of information systems help
students to become responsible members of society who can navigate a knowledge based
and technology-led economy.
 This sub unit will focus on the major issues in use of information systems.
1.1.1 Ethical and Legal Issues in Information System
 Ethics is all about the principles of making right or wrong decisions
 Ethics defined as, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally
right and wrong.
 Ethical principles needs to be respected and if not might result in legal consequences for
those cases that are against the applied laws.
 The role of ethics in information systems has become more crucial as a result of technology.
 The ethical and legal issues include privacy, security, information gathering and digital
ownership related concerns.
I. Privacy: digitized environment, information privacy relates to personal data stored on the
computer system, has become a prime concern for everybody.
 Most people have their data spread throughout the digital systems, and private
information should be accessed using personal passwords.
 Personal accounts such as email, social media, and private bank accounts, can be
accessed by unauthorized sources which create both ethical and legal concerns.
II. Digital Ownership: It is ability to access and/or use and protects data, information, and
knowledge about ourselves or things we own.
 The expansion of digital mediums has allowed information to flow more freely
than before which makes content easily copied and pasted online.
 This permission can promote sharing of knowledge and information, credits the
source and protect the consumer from false information.
III. Information Gathering: Many information system applications collect users’ data and
credentials as part of their operations. Such
 Information gathering trends can lead to many ethical and legal issues depending on
the purpose and level of information gathering approaches.
IV. Information Security and Liability: Growing amounts of personal and financial information
are being transferred and stored online as organizations and businesses depend more and more
on electronic data and computer networks to carry out their daily operations.
 Users also need to report any security breach incidents that happened on their systems and
tools to the concerned department/unit or expert in their organizations or the concerned
government body promptly.
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1.1.2 Social Issues in Information System

 social advantages including access to technology which fills the digital divide gaps within the
global citizens,
 use of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality in public
 Which changes how peoples act and react, and widespread use of digital platforms, social
Medias and computer games for business and entertainment activities?
A. Socializations Gaps: - Socializing within a family unit has always been important, as it
strengthens the bonds among family members or friends and ensures cohesion within the group.
B. Cyber Bullying: - It is a practice of sending, posting, or disseminating unfavorable, hurtful, or
malicious content about someone else online.
 It can also involve disclosing sensitive or private information about another individual
in a way that causes embarrassment or humiliation.
 Cyber bullying can happen online through social media, forums, or gaming where
users can interact with, or exchange content with others.
C. Social Media and Gaming Addiction:- According to addiction center definition social media
and gaming addiction is a behavioral addiction that is characterized as being overly concerned
about social media and computer games, driven by an uncontrollable urge to log on to or use
social media, and devoting
D. Plagiarism: – are known for their educational benefits, which are praised, but having access to
all knowledge have drawbacks of its own.
 Plagiarism is presenting work or ideas from another source as your own, with or
without consent of the original author, by incorporating it into your work without full
acknowledgement
 The act of plagiarism has grown to be a significant issue because students can easily
copy and paste entire passages of material from Internet resources without giving
credit to the author
E. Cybercrime: - Computers have contributed positively to the development of both individual
actions and large-scale global movements.
 The other side of the coin is organized cybercrime which is use of a computer as an
instrument to further illegal ends, such as committing fraud, stealing identities, or
violating privacy and intellectual property rights
 Interested and skilled students can also start the journey of being skilled cyber
warrior who is a well-trained, skilled professional in the information technology or
 Information security industry that manages computer networks and system
operations.

F. Job Opportunities and Challenges: - The current trends in automation and emerging
technologies like artificial intelligent machines help to automate routine tasks which lead to
improved quality of service.
 Expansion of automated systems leads to loss of jobs because some types of jobs like cashiers,
data entry clerks, and factory workers can be managed by automated systems

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 1.1.3 Environmental issues caused by Information Systems
 Technologies consume lots of resources and power which creates additional impacts on our
environmental ecosystem.
 Most electronic devices contain non-biodegradable materials, heavy metals, and toxic materials
like cadmium, lead, and mercury.
 Negative impact of information systems on the environment have also led to the development of
new environmentally friendly technology solutions aiming
 To help solve some of the biggest environmental concerns that we face as a society through a
shift towards a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
 Technological solutions also allow electronic systems and paperless communication like email
and online portals and applications to reduce cutting down of trees for paper for a better
environmental protection and management
1.1.4 Health Issues caused by information systems
 The rapid generation of high-quality data that will be used to inform all relevant stakeholders for
program planning, review, and monitoring as well as generally ensuring and enhancing the
quality of all components of the health system
 At the same time, the current widely used mobile devices to access health information systems
and other online services also creating computer related health problems that needs a serious
attention by all users.

1.2. Intellectual Property

 A range of intangible rights of ownership of an asset such as a software program or designed
information system.
 Intellectual property rights provide different methods for protecting these rights of ownership
based on their type.
 As stated by Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office Establishment Proclamation, Proclamation
No. 320/2003 “Intellectual property” means a legal right over a creative work of the human
intellect and includes patent, trademark, registration certificate and copyright”.

Four types of intellectual property rights

trade secrets ,
patents,
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 copyrights, and
trademarks.

Trade secrets: “Trade secrets are Intellectual Property rights on confidential information which
may be sold or licensed. The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret information
in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by others is regarded as an unfair practice and
a violation of the trade secret protection”.

Example:- include customer lists, source code, recipes for certain food items and beverages
including (Pepsi, CocaCola, and Sprite), software processes.

Patent: “A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. a patent provides the patent
owner with the right to decide how - or whether - the invention can be used by others. In exchange
for this right, the patent owner makes technical information about the invention publicly available
in the published patent document’’

Example of patented products include software programs like Airbnb, Amazon, One-click, the
page rank algorithm of Google, and other inventions including the light bulb, telephones,
Bluetooth, and more. All software products can have a patent.

Copyrights: Copyrights and patents are not the same although people are often confused.
 A copyright is a type of intellectual property protection that protects original works of
authorship, which might include literary works, music, art, and more.
 Copyrights also protect computer software and architecture. Copyright protections are
automatic; once you create something, it is yours.
 However, if your rights under copyright protections are infringed, and you wish to file a
lawsuit, then registration of your copyright will be necessary.
 Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) can also be registered for copyright.

Trademarks: “A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one

enterprise from those of other enterprises”.

1.3. Digital Identity Management

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  Is a collection of information about a person that exists online” .
 This data can be used to create a digital image of a person when it is collected.
 A digital identity is all of information about an individual, organization, or electronic device
that exists online.
 Management of a digital identity involves limiting the data that a person gives out,
 avoiding excessive use of storage,
 checking what data is stored about each individual,
 making corrections to incorrect personal data,
 avoiding redundant data, etc.

Digital identification can be verified in a variety of ways, including through

 database checks, document and identity verification,

 Biometric verification and identity verification.
e.g :- National ID Card

1.4. Collaboration through Digital Technologies

What is digital collaboration and how it can change the way we learn?

 Digital collaboration means working with other individuals or teams and getting things done
using digital devices and technology.
 It can include different tools, apps, software, procedures and processes.
 Digital collaboration uses technology to improve workplace collaboration, communication,
document management, content management, and information flow across the organization
which in turn leads to improved employee productivity and efficiency.
 Digital collaboration has become important and is relevant to most organizations, groups,
communities, schools and creative groups and current digital world.
 Internet and Internet-based applications is an important part of digital collaboration as
they helps employees collaborate in real-time, even beyond time zones and geographical
boundaries.

1.4.1 Components of Digital Collaboration

1. People: People are at the heart of collaboration.

Developing workflows and established practices ensure they can stay in touch, especially
when working remotely due to work schedule preferences or pandemic restrictions like
COVID 19.
Proper arrangement and communications is required while working on similar projects and
assignments
To remove unnecessary work or duplication of efforts in collaborative working
environments.

2. Collaborative tools: There are many tools and systems available that foster collaboration, but
not every solution will be a good fit due to its features, prices, usage polices and eases of use.
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 The choice of technology, along with how well employees use it will determine effectiveness of
the collaboration.

Digital Collaboration tools types including the following with their examples:

a. Communication tools: Communication tools include options for integrated messaging, co-
working services, Privacy and access settings, Conference calling, Video chats with screen
sharing etc. o Examples- Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Meet, Zoom, Cisco Webex, Slack,
Microsoft Yammer, and more •
b. Documentation and file sharing tools: This tools includes features like Support for different
file types, Comments, and notes attached to files, track changes and versioning, editing
permissions and access control, folder sharing , and more. o Examples- Google Drive, Google
Docs, Dropbox, MS SharePoint, Media Fire, and more.
c. Project Management tools: It has underlying project and task management capabilities at their
core. o Examples- Trello, Asena, ClickUp, and more. •
d. Data Visualization tools: These tools should support a range of visual styles, be easy and quick
to use, and be able to handle a significant amount of data. o Examples- Google Charts, Tableau,
Power BI, Grafana, Chartist, FusionCharts, Datawrapper, Infogram and more. •
e. Note taking tools: These tools help to quickly capture and organize your notes, ideas, web page
content and more. o Examples- Evernote, Microsoft OneNote and Google Keep and more.
3. Device: Devices are also key players. Devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops are often
an afterthought, but they are important components of digital collaboration.
1.5. Engaging in Citizenship through Digital Technologies
How can you apply digital technologies to develop citizenship engagement?
Digital citizenship refers to the responsible use of technology by anyone who uses computers,
the Internet, and digital devices to engage with society on any level.
The ability to engage positively, critically, and competently in the digital environment to practice
forms of social participation that are respectful of human rights and dignity through responsible
use of technology.
Young people citizenship needs to be supported to participate safely, effectively, critically, and
responsibly in a world, which is filled with social media and digital technologies.
Good digital citizenship teaches peoples how to use digital tools to communicate with one
another, empathize with one another, and build long-lasting connections. On the other hand,
poor digital citizenship includes things like online bullying, careless social media use, and a
general ignorance of Internet safety.

Digital citizenship do’s include:

o Using technology to make their community better.

o Engaging respectfully online with people who have different beliefs.
o Using technology to make their voice heard by public leaders and the global community.
o Determining the validity of online sources of information.
o Digital citizenship goes beyond conversations about personal responsibility.
o It is about being active citizens who see possibilities instead of problems, and

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o Opportunities instead of risks as they curate a positive and effective digital footprint.
e.g In 2021 G.C Ethiopians united for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD),

Unit Summary In this unit, you have learnt about:

• Ethical and legal issues in information systems
• Issues related to the social implications of information systems.
• Issues related to environmental and health implications of Information systems.
• Intellectual property rights and types of intellectual property rights.
• Digital identity management
• How to facilitate collaboration through digital technologies
• How digital collaboration tools can be applied in our daily lives
• How you can engage in citizenship through digital technologies

Key Terms
 Copyright - A copyright is a type of intellectual property protection that protects original
works of authorship, which might include literary works, music, art, and more
 Digital citizenship- refers to the responsible use of technology by anyone who uses
computers, the Internet, and digital devices to engage with society on any level.
 Digital collaboration - means working together and accomplishing goals while using digital
tools and technology. It may consist of anything, such as devices, programs, software, steps, or
an entirely new technique.
 Digital identity is an online or networked identity adopted or claimed in cyberspace by an
individual, organization, or electronic device.
 Intellectual property right - refers to a range of intangible rights of ownership as an asset
such as a software program or designed information system
 Information Systems – are interrelated components working together to collect, process,
store, and disseminate information to support decision making.

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  Information Technology (IT) - is the use of any computers, storage, networking, and other
physical devices, infrastructure, and processes to create, process, store, secure, and exchange
all forms of electronic data
 Patent - a patent is a type of limited-duration protection that can be used to protect
inventions (or discoveries) that are new, non-obvious, and useful, such as a new process,
machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter.
 Trade secret- refers to specific, private information that is important to a business because it
gives the business a competitive advantage in its marketplace
 Trademarks refer to phrases, words, or symbols that distinguish the source of a product or
service of one party from another.
 Social media addiction is a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive concern for social
media, an insatiable want to access or use social media, and a commitment of so much time
and energy to social media that it interferes with other crucial facets of life.

Review Questions
Part I: Write True if the statement is correct and False if it is incorrect.

1) The concern and questions of ethics and legality are essential in many industries including
education.
2) Most people have their data spread throughout the digital world which can be accessed by
unintended sources.
3) Since information technology becomes increasingly influential, ethical and legal
considerations are non-relevant and less important.
4) In the current digital world, security issues have been resolved by locking a door only.
5) To fulfill the objectives of environmental management, technological advancements require
systems that can make proper and ethical of information systems and telecommunication
infrastructures.
6) Most people have complex online lives, and they may not even realized how their personal
information is being collected and used.

Part II: Choose the correct answer from the given alternatives.

1) Which one of the following is NOT among four pressing ethical and legal issues confronting
the industry today? A. Data Creation B. Privacy C. Data gathering D. Digital ownership
2) What types of data can be collected from customers’ purchase behavior by companies even
without their consent in some cases? A. Purchasing patterns, B. Personal preferences,
C. Professional/social affiliations D. None
3) Which type of information system structure is seen in the environment in which people
collaborate to deal with environmental problems? A. Environmental Information systems
B. Health Information System C. Agricultural Information System D. Enterprise Resource
Planning System
4) Health-related negative effects of information system include all except___________.
A. Adaptability to use technology B. Loss of attention and stress C. Sleeping disorders

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 D. Internet addiction
5) Which one used to protecting inventions, discoveries, expressions of ideas, and creations,
like art and writing? A. Patent B. Trademark C. Trade secret D. Copyright
Part III: Discussion Questions.
1. What will be the possible legal consequences of violating ethical issues in our information
systems use?
2. Discuss the emerging health issues associated with the current digital devices use and
systems applications in our day-to-day life
3. What are the 3 common components of a digital collaboration? Discuses each component
meaning and roles for effective digital collaboration engagements.
4. What is the role of technology in enhancing digital citizenship?

UNIT 2:-EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Learning Outcomes:-At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

 Describe the meaning and use of Big data „

 Explain cloud computing and fog computing „
 Apply cloud computing services „
 Explain the Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications

Emerging Technology is a term that is commonly used to describe a new technology, but it can also
refer to the evolution of existing technology.

 Emerging technology concepts including data science, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality,
and augmented reality in your grade 11 Information technology (IT) course.
 This unit addresses some additional selected emerging technologies including Big data, cloud
computing, fog computing, and internet of things (IoT).
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 2.1. Introduction to Big data
What is Big data? What makes it different from data?
 Big data refers to a collection of data sources that are so massive and complex that they become
challenging to process using typical data processing software or readily available database
management tools.


 Big data starts with the exponential explosion in the amount of data we have generated since the
dawn of the digital age.
 This is largely due to the rise of computers, the Internet, and technology capable of capturing
information from the real and physical world we live in, and converting it to digital data that can
benefit businesses and organizations.

 Big data collection, the range of organizational sources generating data needs to be identified.
 These sources include business firms producing transactional data such as point-of-sale
software, endpoint devices within IoT ecosystems and marketing firms, Social media posts from
existing and prospective customers, multiple additional sources like smartphone locational data,
surveys that directly ask customers for information are also some of the sources of Big data.
Example – Global companies like Google use Big data to understand what users want from it
based on several parameters such as search history, locations, trends, and many more.
2.1.1 Characteristics of Big data

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 Big data is characterized by 5V, namely Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, and Value as stated
by tectarget.com.
 It should also be noted that characteristics of Bigdata are subjected to additional features as
scientific research and trend continues in Bigdata analytics.
A. Variety:
Variety of Bigdata refers to the nature of data i.e whether it is structured, unstructured, and
semi-structured data.
In the past, data could only be collected from spreadsheets and database. Today, data comes in
an array of forms such as emails, PDFs, photos, videos, audio, social media posts, and others.

B. Velocity: Velocity refers to the speed at which data is being created in real time.
C. Volume: Volume indicates huge ‘volumes’ of data that are being generated daily from various
sources, like social media platforms, business processes, machines, networks, human
interactions, and others.
D. Value: Value is the other major issue that we need to concentrate on. It is not just the amount of
data that we store or process. It is the amount of valuable, reliable, and trustworthy data that
needs to be stored, processed, and analyzed to find insights.
E. Veracity: Veracity means the degree of reliability that the data has to offer. Big data focuses to
find an alternatives way to filter the huge unstructured data to use in business developments.
2.1.2 Benefits of Big data
Some institutions taking the initiative to use Bigdata to maximize customer services and
properly segment customers data and among the initiatives Ethiopian Airlines, Ethio Telecom,
Artificial Intelligence Center, and some banks started leverage its benefits.
Customer acquisition and retention: Consumer data can help the marketing efforts of
companies, which can act on trends to increase customer satisfaction. For example,
personalization engines for Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify can provide improved customer
experiences and create customer loyalty.
Targeted advertisements (Ads): Personalization data from sources such as past purchases,
interaction patterns, and product page viewing histories can help generate compelling targeted
advertising campaigns for users both on the individual level and on a larger scale.

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 Product development: it allows you to update existing products/services while innovating new
ones..
Price optimization: This minimizes the manual work and reduces the possibility of any man-
made errors.
Risk management: Big data analytics can identify new risks from data patterns for effective risk
management strategies.
Improved decision-making: Insights of business users that are extracted from relevant data
can help organizations make quicker and better decisions.

2.1.3 Application of Big data

some examples of sectors in which Bigdata can contribute by generating value:

I. Healthcare –
Healthcare analysts use Bigdata to inform health prevention, intervention, and
management using a variety of data analytic technologies and approaches.
These efforts can improve the patient experience, care efficiency, and quality, and reduce
healthcare costs.
Patient medical and hospital records, medical exam findings, and information acquired by
healthcare testing machines are all examples of Bigdata sources in health care.

II. Education –
Bigdata can also be utilized to improve education by providing students with a balanced
learning plan.
Educators can tailor programs for learners based on their grades and attention spans.
Students may also be offered blended learning, which combines offline and online
learning possibilities.
Bigdata is being used by educational institutions to evaluate applications and determine
who will be a good fit for the institution and who will not.
Bigdata can improve student experience, academic programming, more effective
evidence-based decision-making, and a strategic reaction to shifting global trends.

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III. Banking –
Bigdata solutions can detect fraudulent behaviors in real-time, such as credit/debit card
usage, inspection track archiving, and more.
Bigdata analysis also helps banks in their compliance verification, auditing, and reporting
processes.
Nowadays, people provide comments on a financial institution’s work by phone or on the
website, and they share their thoughts on social media

IV. Agriculture –
Smart farming and precision agriculture practices help farmers to save costs and open
new business opportunities.
Granular information on rainfall patterns, water cycles, fertilizer needs, and other topics
is made available to farmers through big data.
Use this information to make wise choices about when to harvest and what crops to grow
for maximum profit. Making the proper choices ultimately increases agricultural outputs.

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 V. Manufacturing -,Bigdata helps create a transparent infrastructure, predicting uncertainties and
incompetence that can affect the business adversely.

VI. Retail –
Bigdata has changed the way traditional retail industry. works. Over the years, retailers have
collected a vast amount of data from local demographic surveys, Point of Sale (PoS), scanners,
customer cards, and store inventory.
They have started to use this data to create personalized customer experiences, boost
sales, increase revenue, and deliver improved customer service.

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VII. Transportation –
Transportation business can also benefit greatly from Bigdata analytics.
Both companies and government-run transportation corporations employ Bigdata
technologies to optimize route planning, control traffic, manage road congestion, and improve
services in countries all over the world.

2.1.4 Challenges of Big data

 Data quality, storage, a shortage of data science experts, validating data, and gathering data
from various sources.
 Emerging technologies will change over time due to the dynamic and frequent advancement
of those technologies

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A. Managing Bigdata Growth
 How to properly store these large amounts of data.
 Data centers and databases used by businesses are constantly storing more data.
 Big data sets grow quickly over time, making management of them more difficult
B. Lack of data professionals
 Companies demand skilled data specialists to manage Big data solutions.
 Experts consist of data scientists, data analysts, and data engineers who are skilled at using
the tools to manage huge data sets.
Example:- Students who are passionate about data science disciplines can think of studying
and practicing concepts related to data science and Bigdata analytics as part of their career
plan.
C. Securing Data –
 Keeping these enormous sets of data secure.
 Companies frequently put data security to later phases because they are so busy in
understanding, storing, and analyzing their data sets.
 Attentions are required to protect data repositories unless it serves as a haven for intruders.
D. Integrating data from a variety of sources-
 Data is obtained from different sources in a business and operations.
This includes: -
social media pages,
companywide software products,
customer log files,
financial transaction data,
email communications, presentations, and
Reports by employees.
 It requires determining which data is most relevant and focusing on that to save organization
time and money.

2.2. Cloud Computing

Why do you think the name’ cloud’ is used for cloud computing?
 It is defined as storing and accessing data and computing services over the Internet.
 It does not store any data on your personal computer.
 Computing services like servers, data storage, networking, databases, etc. are all available
on-demand.
Main advantage of cloud computing
 It gives access to many users from single data center which allows users to store and access
their data over the internet without any limitations.
 goal of cloud computing is to provide easy and flexible access to computing resources and
 Information technology services, various which hardware and software components are
required for the proper use of a cloud computing model.

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  Peoples are using different types of cloud-based services for their email communications,
document management, entertainment and ecommerce services.
 Examples of cloud-based services includes but not limited to: Gmail, Google Maps, Amazon,
Netflix, PayPal, Spotify, Adobe Creative Cloud, Kindle, etc.
2.2.2 Benefits of Cloud Computing
A. Accessibility and mobility-
 Users may access their tools from anywhere, at any time, and from any type of devices as long
as they are connected to the Internet, which is one of the most significant benefits of the
Cloud.
 Ease of access to data in the cloud enables users to rapidly store and retrieve resources from
distant servers, work from any location with an internet connection, and communicate with
peers without being physically present in the same space.
 Users do not lose any data their services fail because the Cloud service provider backs up
their data.
 Cloud based services support to include inclusive technologies like voice recognition, mind
mapping, word prediction, text to speech for editing etc
B. Flexibility
 Services become entirely adaptable and can be changed at any time to meet users’ needs and
commercial requirements.
 User can restrict or enhance the available resources while paying only for what is used.
 Resources can be shared, allowing users to collaborate in real-time on the same content in all
domain and work environments.

C. Updating and scalability

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  The service provider, as well as taking care of maintenance, takes care of all service updates,
which allow users to focus more effectively on our work and responsibilities while increasing
our efficiency.
D. Optimized security
 When compared to traditional and internal infrastructures, Cloud Computing provides
enhanced security. Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to effectively secure their
own IT systems due to a lack of time, expertise, and budget.

E. Controlled costs
 Cloud Computing allows for greater control of costs IT infrastructure. We can adjust the
resources allocated to its infrastructure depending on its needs by increasing or decreasing
the resources available.
 Subscribing to Cloud Computing services, users or companies pay only for what they used
(Pay as you go model). This helps users to no longer deal with costs relating to maintenance
and renew computer equipment (servers, computers, etc.) Companies and
 users can reduce their IT investments and optimize their operational and business costs

2.2.3 Limitations of Cloud Computing

I. Server downtime
 No cloud provider can guarantee that you will not have service interruptions, which will
prevent you from accessing your data or files.
 Cloud computing is dependent on an Internet connection, if it goes down, so will your
cloud services.

II. Security and privacy issues

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  When it comes to handling sensitive data, companies are always concerned about how
safe and private it is.
 There is still a risk of intruders, even though a cloud provider would have security
processes in place to ensure that your data is maintained and protected properly.
 Intruders are constantly attempting to find new ways to break into cloud providers’
systems in today’s digital world.
III. Data ownership and transparency
 Lack of transparency concerning data ownership.
 Does data that is uploaded to a cloud computing system become the cloud provider’s
property? Another concern is lack of data openness.
IV. Inflexibility
 Some cloud computing providers may take a corporation off guard by requiring the usage of
their applications and formats. For example, they can limit that a corporation can only
upload data developed in a specific application program.
V. Lack of support
 Cloud-based services, in comparison to other hosting services and providers, provide
minimal to no customer assistance.
VI. Cost
 Cloud hosting eliminates the need for on-site infrastructure, it is often necessary to ensure
that you are paying for all of the features.
2.2.4 Types of Cloud Computing
Four types of cloud computing available currently,
1. Public cloud
2. Private cloud
3. Hybrid cloud
4. Community cloud
1. Public cloud–
 It is a standard cloud computing model where a service provider’s resources are shared
across different clients.
 For example, if you rent 10GB of public cloud storage, you will get the requested capacity of
a disk from a bigger chunk of a single storage device that is logically divided into small parts
and distributed to multiple users isolated to make it private across different clients.

2. Private cloud

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  It gives complete control over data security and privacy.
 The private cloud provides an additional layer of protection to process sensitive and
confidential information

3. Hybrid cloud
 It is the combination of public cloud and private cloud. You can host your public service
in the public cloud, and confidential and data-related services in the private cloud. It
offers a very flexible and comprehensive benefit.

4. Community cloud
 It is a collaborative, multi-tenant platform used by several distinct organizations to share
the same applications.

 Community cloud is a private cloud that functions much like a public cloud. The platform
itself is managed privately, either in a data center or on-premises.
 Governmental institutions, healthcare facilities, financial services companies, and other
professional communities frequently use this solutions.

2.2.5 Cloud Computing Services

Grade 12 ICT Short not/2016E.C/ 20
Three major cloud computing services are: -
 Software as a Service (SaaS)
 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

A. Software as a Service (SaaS) –

SaaS is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or
service provider and made available to customers over a network or the Internet.
SaaS is becoming an increasingly prevalent delivery model as underlying technologies
supports of web services.
SaaS is compatible with all Internet-enabled devices. Many important tasks like
accounting, sales, invoicing, and planning can be performed using SaaS.
Examples of SaaS - are Google Workspace, Dropbox, Microsoft Office 365, Slack, Cisco
WebEx, Concur, GoToMeeting.
B. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Provides a platform and environment to allow developers to build applications and
services.
It is hosted in the cloud and accessed by the users via the Internet. To understand this, let
us compare it with painting a picture, paint colors, different painting brushes, and paper
by your school teacher, and you just have to draw a beautiful picture using those tools.
It includes software support and management services, storage, networking, deploying,
testing, collaborating, hosting, and maintaining applications.
Examples of PaaS – are Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache
Stratos, OpenShift.
C. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS is one of the fundamental service models of cloud computing, alongside PaaS.
It provides access to computing resources in a virtualized environment- “the cloud”- on
the Internet.
IaaS is a complete package for computing. For small-scale businesses that are looking for
cutting costs on IT infrastructure, IaaS is one of the solutions.
Examples of IaaS are - Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metapod, Microsoft Azure,
Google Compute Engine (GCE).

Grade 12 ICT Short not/2016E.C/ 21