LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENABLE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY FOR CLOUD COMPUTING USED BY SOFTWARE PROVIDERS

Owing to high – capacity networks, low cost computers and storage devices there has been a growth in cloud computing. Cloud computing is being looked at as being one of the most often quoted trends expected to define I.T. in the future. Cloud computing has brought with it massive advantages – cost efficiency, near – unlimited storage, recovery ease, automatic software integration etc. The three fundamental models on which cloud computing providers are offering their services are – Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas), Platform as a Serve ice (PaaS), and Software as a service (Saas). There is a need to be extremely vigilant as well. Increased use of cloud computing has brought to light the issue of privacy. This paper makes an effort to understand what these issues are and how software providers are integrating cloud computing into their services. The social media angle looks at how the companies and the regulatory framework can both utilize social media including pure – networking, semi – networking and non – networking sites to both keep a check on cloud computing practices as well as improve efficiency. The paper evaluates the performance and extent of cloud computing integration of several companies. The final suggestion is that a regulatory framework is of utmost importance, and immediate changes need to be made to the I.T. Act. It is also concluded that social media in terms of forums and discussion boards can be used to improve intra – company and company – customer interaction and social networking can be used to gauge customer feedback and market feedback.