Education in the clouds: How colleges and universities are leveraging cloud computing

Abstract

Cloud computing has been touted as a revolutionary concept in computing. In this article, we introduce the cloud computing concept, and then discus the implications for the use of the cloud model in higher education. Due to budget constraints and the power of computing "on-demand," many believe that colleges and universities will be at the forefront of the shift to using cloud-based resources. We examine the impact of cloud computing on both research and university computing operations. We see that globally, this shift is already making a difference in how universities procure and use IT resources. In conclusion, we advance a six-stage Cloud Migration Strategy for introducing and implementing cloud computing in institutions. We also discuss the necessary changes in policies and procurement, as well as security and reliability concerns for institutions implementing cloud computing. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.