Cloud computing in simple terms is computing services that include storage, databases, software, networking, and analytics delivered over the internet which is also known as "the cloud" (Ranger, 2022). Cloud services are when organizations rent applications, storage, and other services from cloud service providers instead of having their own infrastructure and data centers. Cloud computing is quickly becoming the default option for applications and software vendors offer their products and services over the internet now instead of standalone products.

Consumer services such as Netflix runs its video-streaming service on cloud-computing services, and Gmail uses cloud backup of photos (Ranger, 2022). Cloud services have benefits such as an organization not having to buy or maintain their own infrastructure for computing and there are no servers to buy or update

operating systems and applications. Another benefit of cloud services is that it gives organizations the ability to move faster on projects and on cloud services they only need to pay for what they use. This could save costs for the organization. A popular benefit of cloud services is that when organizations take on more data, their cloud services can scale up fast to accommodate it. There are several types of cloud computing services, an organization must decide which is best for their business.

There are characteristics of cloud computing. Those characteristics are as follows (Techtarget, 2022):

• Resource pooling – cloud providers use multi-tenant architecture that accommodates many users at the same time.
• On-demand self-service – public cloud platforms have a vast amount of storage assets immediately available.
• Elasticity and scalability – cloud providers allow organizations to add or remove storage, compute, networking, and other assets as needed.
• Measured service and pay-per-use – cloud providers measure how much the organization uses and only charges them for what they use.
• Security – cloud providers employ some of the best cyber security professionals to ensure data security.
• Accessibility – users anywhere in the world can access data from the organization at any time.
• Resiliency – cloud providers offer many techniques to prevent downtown.

            The many characteristics of cloud computing have become popular with many organizations. All the characteristics offer positive uses.

Structured Query Language (SQL) Data Services in the Cloud Service Platform

 A database that is accessible from the internet or a local network and is not stored locally on attached storage or an individual computer is called an online database (Novoszáth, 2022). Online databases have the benefit of being hosted on websites and being accessed via web browsers. Two main types of cloud databases exist. Those are database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) and virtual machines (VM) on a cloud server. With the DBaaS option, the cloud service provider is responsible for operations and database management. With the VM on a cloud server option, the cloud service provider is responsible for the availability of hardware, maintenance, and the whole computational environment.

Cloud databases provide several benefits over traditional databases. Those benefits are as follows (Novoszáth, 2022):

• Scalability – users from all over the world can access cloud databases.
• Lower Cost – cloud databases do not need servers so there is no server purchasing, and operational load is less.
• Flexibility – cloud databases offer access to all databases in several locations, and any database resources can be reallocated when needed.
• Security and availability – professional security personnel work for cloud service providers and there is high availability because the security is good.

Organizations must choose the type of cloud database that is best for their business. Security professionals advise that a three-tier architecture is more secure for networks. How would an organization provide SQL data services in a cloud platform for their business?

In the next section of this post, a fictitious company will be made up to show how a SQL data service can be provided in a cloud service platform.

Example of an Organization Using SQL in a Cloud Platform

Lacey’s Maternity Fashion (fictitious business) is a woman’s fashion store that sells maternity clothing, shoes, and accessories. It has been in business since 2011. The business is a large store located in Atlanta, Georgia. The store offers lower cost maternity fashion as well as higher cost designer maternity fashion. The business owner, Shelby Parks, recently came into a huge amount of money from an inheritance, and because of this she has been planning to expand her business by opening two more stores soon. She is already in the planning stages of opening another store in Charleston, South Carolina which is a tourist destination. The present store is also located near a tourist destination in Atlanta. Over the past five years, she has had feedback from overseas tourists stating they would like to see the store offer purchases to be mailed internationally. Although the store was doing well, it still didn’t produce enough profit to open any more stores. Now that Mrs. Parks had money from the huge inheritance, she was able to open another store now, and another one in the future. Her planning to open another store in South Carolina made her become aware that she would need a new computer network that would allow anyone in the world to shop at her store, as well as support more than one store, so she decided to investigate an updated computer network.

She hired a professional to help her do a cost analysis in preparation for a new computer network. As she does not have an IT person in her business, she knew it would be cheaper to use a cloud database with a cloud service provider. The cloud service provider could manage the database and maintain it for her. IT professionals did a full IT audit on her network to see how a new network would fit. She was advised that Azure database for MySQL would be the best fit for her network. Microsoft Azure is known as a cloud computing platform that is owned and operated by Microsoft who provides management, access, and application development and services via data centers that are world-distributed (Microsoft, 2022).

Azure Database for MySQL           

Mrs. Parks has consulted with Microsoft Azure engineers and developers and a simple Azure architecture diagram was made of her planned new network. Microsoft Azure professionals will move data from the store’s present SQL server into the Azure database for MySQL for the cloud. The new system will consist of Azure application services for e-commerce solutions, which will be a good fit for Mrs. Parks’ business as it will be able to grow as her business grows. The Azure network and system will address present issues in her current system and will improve her business overall.

Issues the Azure System Will Address and Requirements Azure Meets

At this time, the present system is not designed to handle more than the present store. Going to the cloud will allow the business to easily expand. Mrs. Parks presently is only able to do backups of data locally. This is dangerous because if she lost the backup, or it was corrupted, she would lose years of customer data and system transactions. When Azure implements the new system, they can back up everything on the cloud. Mrs. Parks chose the PaaS (Platform as a Service) plan which will allow her to pay only for what is used in the network. The present system costs her more. Azure meets the requirements for the business because Azure is a known vendor owned by Microsoft and has been proven to be one of the best products and services, and is proven to be secure (Microsoft, 2022). Azure offers many products that will grow with the business. Mrs. Parks will be able to pick and choose from the many products offered that will upgrade the system any time it is needed. Azure is also able to easily integrate her present SQL database data into the new system as it is also a SQL database. Azure also meets the requirement of managing the complete network because there is no IT professional available in the business. The new system will also be easily accessible to her international customers. Mrs. Parks will then be able to hire employees to handle the shipping to these customers.

Implementation Issue Resolution

The new Azure system implementation will resolve issues of the present system by making the network more secure and scalable. The business will be able to easily expand and operate in different States. Azure offers her services that will update her system and provide maintenance at no extra cost. This will allow Mrs. Parks to spend more time marketing her new store and international selling. The implementation of the Azure system will provide Mrs. Parks will many applications in which to use to expand her business. This is far more than what her present system is offering. Azure gives her 24/7 monitoring of the system, which is better than the present system. The Azure implementation offers quick service and monitoring, and care and maintenance of the new system and the present system requires Mrs. Parks to call an IT professional to do any upgrades and repairs.

 Data Migration and Security Enforcement Strategies

 Azure has a database migration service which is a tool that helps guide, simplify, and automate database migration from SQL databases to Azure database for MySQL (Azure Microsoft, n.d.). Schema, data, and objects from several sources can be easily migrated into the cloud at scale. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages, agent jobs, and user accounts can be migrated at the same time which means almost zero down-time. Azure offers several migration tools that can automate the whole migration which makes it fast and easy. 

 Azure offers built-in security controls that are multilayers and unique and protect the network against threats (Azure Microsoft, n.d.). There are around 4,000 cybersecurity professionals that constantly work to safeguard data in Azure. The identity service in Azure Active Directory provides multifactor authentication and single sign-on to help protect against cyber threats (Microsoft, 2022). Azure has comprehensive data encryption built into its Transport Layer Security (TLS) network protocol that provides a solution for compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and this provides protection of customer’s payment data. Not only does Azure provide strong data security, but they also keep up to date on compliance and regulations, so businesses do not have to worry about it.

In conclusion, cloud services offer great benefits to businesses. That is evident in the example provided about Lacey’s Maternity Fashion. Mrs. Parks made a sound business decision to expand her business and to invest in a cloud environment that will grow with her business. Going with Azure will give her scalability and data security. She will be able to rely on Azure to backup the system daily and provide maintenance when needed.

References

Azure Microsoft. (n.d.). Azure database migration service. Azure Microsoft: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/database-migration

Microsoft. (2022, September 29). What is Azure database for MySQL? Microsoft: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/mysql/single-server/overview

Montalban, A. (2022, November 3). How Microsoft Azure is helping retailers navigate the future. Peopleactive: https://peoplactive.com/how-azure-is-helping-retail-and-retail-and-ecommerce/

Novoszáth, A. (2022, March 15). SQL and cloud databases are the perfect match!  Learnsql: https://learnsql.com/blog/sql-cloud-databases/

Ranger, S. (2022, February 25). What is cloud computing? Everything you need to know about the cloud explained. Zdnet: https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-cloud-computing-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cloud/

Techtarget. (2022, November 3). 8 key characteristics of cloud computing. Techtarget: https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/feature/7-key-characteristics-of-cloud-computing