An architecture based on SOA and virtual enterprise principles: OpenNebula for cloud deployment
Promise Mvelase, Nomusa Dlodlo, Ishmael Makitla, George Sibiya, Matthew Olusegun Adigun · 2012
Today enterprises have to survive in a dynamically changing business environment. Cloud computing presents a new business model where the Information Technology services supporting the business are provided by partners rather than in-house. The idea of cloud computing is on providing information technology resources over the Internet as-a-service to its consumers on demand. A research study conducted in the rural district of KwaNongoma, Zululand in South Africa proved that small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) did not grow in their businesses due to limited fund and they usually could not afford to purchase information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. For the first time, cloud computing offers SMMEs, the ability to use the most advanced business applications on an enterprise-class infrastructure without having to hire an IT team, build a computer room full of servers, and worry about patching, upgrading and maintenance. SMMEs in emerging markets are typically unburdened by established legacy infrastructures, thus reducing the complexity of deploying cloud solutions. We envision a cloud-based system built on service oriented architecture (SOA) principles and virtual enterprise (VE) principles as a solution to enhancing SMME competency. SOA is an approach to designing, implementing, and deploying information systems such that the system is created from components implementing discrete business functions. These