Diploma in Fundamentals of Cloud Computing

Awarding Body:	Dublin Business School
Schedule:	1 evening per week, 6.15-9.30pm.
Intake:	October & February
Duration:	10 weeks part-time

 

View Autumn 2012 timetable here

 

This programme was developed to meet the growing demand from I.T. professionals and business people alike who wish to gain a deeper understanding of concept and application of Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing has the potential to increase most organisations agility and dramatically lower costs and thus understanding how the Cloud works is essential for business of all sizes and in all sectors.  Students undertaking this programme will learn to differentiate between the differing type of Clouds, the benefits and potential pitfalls of the Cloud and the fundamental economics of the Cloud.

Programme Aims & Objectives

This course will teach participants the potential strategic benefits of migrating your IT services to the Cloud. Students will learn about the evolution of the cloud and its ability to increase processing capacity in an elastic manner. Students will learn about the key Cloud stakeholders, technologies, products and services on offer in addition to the platforms and relevant applications that enable Cloud Computing. An evaluation of the benefits, challenges and risks of implementing a Cloud Computing platform, including standards and best practices will form a crucial component of this programme.

On successful completion of this programme students will be able to:

• Describe the differing Cloud technologies, platforms and services used by organisations and their applications to business operations, processes and activities.
• Demonstrate best practise in the use of Cloud Computing in the modern business environment.
• Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Computing in a variety of business contexts.
• Apply a variety of approaches to implement and deploy Cloud Computing to a selection of business cases.

Students are expected to have a familiarity of the Internet and its workings, some general business/ e-business models and a familiarity of Office applications.

Programme Content

Areas covered in this programme include:

• An overview of the business and technology drivers that are currently driving the growth of the Cloud
• Fundamental Cloud Computing concepts & terminology
• Characteristics of the Cloud and Virtualisation
• Introduction to the Cloud models of Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Types of cloud available to an organisation: Public / Private / Hybrid
• Understanding the elasticity, resiliency, on-demand and measured usage that Cloud Computing can provide to the business  
• Introduction to Cloud providers and their tools and applications, for example, Amazon Web Services, Google Apps, Microsoft Azure, etc…
• Measuring the business value and ROI of Cloud Computing
• Calculating and rating the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with your cloud provider
• Overall benefits, challenges and risks of transitioning to the cloud, for example, ownership, security, data protection, etc

Career Opportunities

This programme provides students with the knowledge needed to adapt to the cloud environment. By successfully completing this programme participants are showing employers a commitment to advancing their skills and taking on greater challenges in a technology driven business environment.

 

 

Student Profile

Typically, students participating on this programme come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from those with existing IT knowledge to those with a business background, both with the common aim of trying to gain a better understanding of this rapidly growing area of Cloud Computing and how it can be applied to their organisation.

 

 

Assessment

To be awarded the Diploma in the Fundamentals on Cloud Computing, a student will be required to complete course projects and reports.