Portfolio Project Assignment Choice #1: Cloud Computing Strategy

You are the IT director for XYZ Manufacturing. Your company is a B2B (business-to-business) organization that supplies auto parts to General Motors. There are 200 employees at XYZ Manufacturing with a headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, and field offices in Omaha, Nebraska; Austin, Texas; and Orlando, Florida. There are over 10,000 items in the inventory for XYZ Manufacturing and you receive raw material (i.e. steel, plastic, wiring, etc.) from China.

XYZ Manufacturing has been struggling for years with inadequate computer resources to track inventory and handle user requests from internal management, orders and invoices from General Motors, orders and invoices from your suppliers, and management reports. There is clearly an inability to store and retrieve complex “big data,” and recently there have been frequent security breaches. Your CIO is extremely frustrated with this situation and is looking for an alternative approach to providing IT services. She has asked you for input on this investigation.

Write a paper that describes the advantages and disadvantages that cloud computing offers to your organization. Include a sensible, detailed strategy to migrate to cloud computing, addressing the issues of performance, scalability, and economic factors.

Your paper should be 8 pages in length and conform to Writing and APA Requirements. Include at least five credible references.