CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR CLOUD

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR CLOUD

Cloud, also referred to as cloud computing, is the delivery of on-demand computing resources, i.e., applications, data centers over the internet on a pay for use basis (Cloud computing: A complete guide, 2019).

A Continuous Improvement Plan is an ongoing process to improve the products, services, or processes of an entity (cloud) (Business, 2019). The results gained by the continuous improvement plan are small, specific, and cumulative..

The purpose of the plan is to try different ways to solve some of the challenges affecting the cloud in its day to day operations. To enhance the company’s cloud service, we shall use the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle strategy.

Step 1: Planning.

As a cloud service provider company, this phase involves gathering information from the users. Due to the availability of errors in cloud computing, the growth of technology daily, and the expansion of the cloud users, malfunctions in the service occur regularly; hence regular maintenance is highly recommended.

Feedback from the users will help the company identify and understand more about what problems the customers undergo or face daily.

Also, the use of reviews shall inform the company on what they need to enhance to achieve better performance.

To gain information, the following metrics will be used:

• Availability-By evaluating the downtime and the impact of the outage
• Performance: By evaluating the response time of command sent to the cloud system
• Capacity: By evaluating the disk utilization of cloud system nodes.

Limited features is the major challenge facing cloud users .i.e. Limited storage space and accessibility.

The storage space owned by a user is determined by the payments he/she makes. Storage spaces are sold according to the size; the larger the size, the high the amount.This poses a challenge to many as they can’t afford the high prices .for those who purchase the fewer sizes, it doesn’t help them much as all their information cannot be stored to the cloud.

In terms of accessibility, the term cloud simply means the internet; hence accessing the internet requires bills. This poses a very major challenge as one can only access information in the cloud, depending on his/her worth. In case the internet experiences failuresaccessing the cloud will be difficult, which might lead to delays and loss of data.

To curb these challenges, the company will need to develop an improvement plan that will be relatively affordable to the user.This plan shall increase the storage space to the average user at an affordable price.It shall also develop a method where a user can access the information in the cloud at instances where the internet shall be limited or none.

Step 2: Execution (Do)

I employ the company to use the DMAIC Roadmap during this process. By the end of the improvement plan, the company will be able to curb the problem of limited storage and accessibility affecting the cloud users. Dealing with this challenge will increase the number of users/customers in our cloud service due to the affordability of the service. This will allow the company to grow and expand hence support more large programs/databases. The company will need to outsource some professionals who will help analyze the data collected via the metrics and establish methods that can /will be used to equalize both the company’s and user’s profits and services hence achieve our main goal. By analyzing the information, the company will be able to identify the causes of the two challenges; hence solutions shall be recommended by the company’s management to improve the process; the solutions shall be tested and implemented. The company will then monitor the performance post improvements.

Step 3: Check

This process involves examining the cloud user’s feedback and adjusting the improvement plan.

This phase will allow the customers/users to send their feedback regarding the company’s improvements hence analyze the effects to determine the modificationsmade. Also, in case of any undesired results, preventative or corrective actions will be carried out to ensure the main objective of the plan is achieved.

Step 4: Act

This phase involves the company reviewing the changes made to the cloud and making decisions whether they should be made permanent or if more adjustments should be made. If both the company and the cloud users are comfortable and satisfied with the changes, the company shall make them permanent.

After full implementation of the changes or plans, the company begins strategizing for new goals to make improvements to.

The cycle will keep on moving; hence the cloud services offered to the users shall be of benefit to the users, and the company also Use of the continuous improvement plan doesn’t allow company’s stagnation.

References

Business, I. (2019, March). Continuous Business Improvement Strategy – A Quick Guide. ProjectManager.Com. https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/continuous-improvement-business-strategy-quick-guide

Cloud computing: A complete guide. (2019). Ibm.Com. https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/cloud-computing

Executing a Continuous Improvement Plan. (n.d.). Www.Reliableplant.Com. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29137/continuous-improvement-plan

Focusing on Continuous Improvement in the Workplace | Creative Safety Supply. (2000). Creativesafetysupply.Com. https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/articles/continuous-improvement/

How to apply the 7-Step Continual Service Improvement Process in a Cloud Computing Environment. (n.d.). Service  Engineering (ICCLab&SPLab). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://blog.zhaw.ch/icclab/how-to-apply-the-7-step-continual-service-improvement-process-in-a-cloud-computing-environment/

‌Organizational Success & the Continuous Improvement Process. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.thinkperform.com.au/continuousimprovement/#

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