The Ontology-based Software Co-Evolution of Cloud and Mobile Computing Literature review

The Ontology-based Software Co-Evolution of Cloud and Mobile Computing - Literature review Example Lanois (2010, p. 29) explains cloud computing from a socio-technological perspective in the following words: â€Å"As consumers are spending an increasing amount of time online and demanding convenient, instant access to more content, cloud computing is becoming a rapidly growing technology and the industry’s new buzzword. In a nutshell, the idea behind cloud computing is that instead of having the software and data stored locally on a user’s own computer, they can all be stored on Internet servers, or â€Å"in the clouds,† and accessed as a service on the Internet.† According to the works of Shang et al (2010), the concept stack of cloud computing has four major components. These are the computing resources, the operating system & grid middleware, the cloud middleware and the application layers. Shang et al (2010) have taken a layered approach and the computing resources have been assigned as the baseline layer of this stack structure. Above this layer is the layer of grid middleware & operating system. Its role is to harness cluster computing facilities and virtualisation from the pool of computing resources. Next is the cloud middleware layer where the computing facilities are synchronically modified, organised and distributed. Finally, at the top of the stack model, there is the application layer where the real requirements of end users are addressed though a service oriented architecture or SOA. (Shang et al, 2010, pp. 150-151) Mobile computing, on the other hand, is a technology that has given rise to scalable networks with the help of different handheld and portable computing devices available to the end users. It emerged relatively earlier than cloud computing, and primarily used Internet based telephony and communication techniques. As early as the 1990s, experts defined adaptability to be the most critical feature of mobile computing, since it involves a diverse range of software and hardware platforms that must work togeth er and interact seamlessly (Satyanarayanan, 1995). The research team led by de Oliveira (2010) have presented a detailed cloud computing taxonomy which can be utilised in an ontological approach (please refer to Figure - 1). In taxonomical construct of cloud computing, mobile devices are categorized under the sub-taxonomy of access. Along with the thin clients, mobile is the type of access to clouds apart from the desktop with handheld devices or mobile phones. Mobile computing can facilitate access to the cloud computing resources with the help of phones instead of the static workstations and desktops. (de Oliveira et al, p. 56) With the lapse of time, end users are becoming increasingly mobile. On the go, they not only need portable devices but also demand powerful computing facilities. This has given rise to the concept of â€Å"mobile workforce† (Liu, 2010, p. 4). In order to support such a mobile workforce at the business model sub-taxonomical cohort of cloud computing t echniques (please see Figure - 1), organisations are looking forward to mobile cloud applications. These applications would be highly adaptable at the programming side, synchronising various kinds of hardware and software platforms ranging from similar to disparate configurations. Figure – 1: Taxonomy of cloud computing. Please note the position of mobile technology in the sub-taxonomy of â€Å"Access† located at the lower left-hand side corner of the illustration. Source: de Oliveira et al (2010, p. 52) 2. Migrating Existing Software to Mobile Cloud Application