October 2011 eSCHOOL NEWS • 29

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Publisher’s Report

Is cloud computing secure? That’s a questionmany ed-tech leaders have been asking as they’veconsidered moving applications to the cloud. Andthe answer many are finding is: Yes, it is.

Despite concerns about security, more K-12schools and districts have begun to move towardcloud computing solutions over the past fewyears. According to a 2011 Cloud ComputingTracking Poll by technology solution providerCDW-G, 83 percent of K-12 organizations alreadyhave used at least one cloud-based application,and 27 percent are currently implementing ormaintaining cloud computing.

Cloud computing—a model for enabling con-venient, on-demand access to a shared pool of

configurable computing resources, such as net-works, servers, storage, applications, and services,that are hosted by a third-party technologyprovider and delivered to users through the in-ternet—is an approach that is attractive for edu-cation, because it allows K-12 organizations toscale and grow without having to own the tech-nology, says Martin Capurro, senior director ofproduct management for cloud services atCenturyLink (formerly Qwest).

“Cloud computing is a pay-per-use service,”Capurro says. “It’s seen as an easier way to meetbudgets. The educational community has beenquick to adopt this technology.”

Bringing the Cloud Down to EarthDespite some concerns about security, more K-12 schools are turning

to cloud computing for their storage and application needs

Cloud, page 30

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By Jennifer Nastu

30 • eSCHOOL NEWS October 2011

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Benefits of tapping the cloudCloud computing can be seen as offering three

distinct services: Infrastructure-as-a- Service (IaaS),Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Schools can use any or all of the three,but using the cloud for hosted applications (SaaS) suchas messaging, eMail, and creating sites for sharing andother social environments is particularly relevant foreducation and is a natural starting point, according toCapurro.

“Say a teacher has a lesson plan or assignment.[With cloud computing], she could post assignmentsto a common site, use a calendar function to lay outwhat the assignments are, [and] use document shar-ing so kids can upload their homework,” Capurro ex-

plains. “In the business world, we live by our calen-dars. That technology now can be used by lessonplanners, by teachers, to better communicate their ex-pectations to a broader group of students, who can re-view it at home. That can be extended to parents, too,who can verify it [and] see exactly what the student issupposed to be doing. This helps utilize parents to dri-ve behavior from students.”

Using the cloud in this way also can allow stu-dents to partner with one another in an online envi-ronment so that, if they are unable to gather togetherin person to complete a task, they can work togetheronline using video chat, for example, in a way that al-lows for true collaboration.

Fifty-seven percent of K-12 organizations that areusing cloud computing use Google Docs, according tothe CDW-G poll, followed by 39 percent that useGmail and nine percent that use Microsoft Office LiveMeeting.

Apps like these are the quickest and easiest way tomake use of cloud computing, and those such as Gmailand Google Docs are free to use. “I can’t think why

you wouldn’t want to use them, and these are the firstthings schools think of,” says Rich Kaestner, a projectdirector for the Consortium for School Networking(CoSN). In fact, across all organizations that took theCDW-G poll, 73 percent of current cloud users im-plemented a single cloud application as their first step.

Then there’s the fact that with cloud computing,schools do not have the initial upfront cost of hardwareand the ongoing support expense. “There is still thenecessary expense of administrative support, but someof that second-level expertise for given applicationswill reside with the cloud vendor,” Kaestner says.

Because the education sector is seasonal and ex-periences peaks and valleys in terms of usage, it makessense from a budget standpoint not to have to ownsome of these technologies and therefore not to haveto pay for them 24 hours a day, seven days a week,says Capurro. Cloud computing also can save schoolsmoney because they only pay for those applicationsthey have deployed.

Schools also are looking at cloud computing as away to create economies of scale, points out DavidCottingham, senior director of managed services forCDW-G. Because schools typically don’t competeagainst each other, they can work together to bringdown costs on a large scale by using the cloud not justfor applications but for networks, servers, and storage,helping rid districts of rooms filled with server racksthat require costly cooling.

Schools in Illinois, for example, have banded to-gether to share technology systems at a fraction of theprice schools would pay on their own. IlliniCloud is anonprofit cloud-computing consortium for Illinoisschools that provides affordable access to virtualservers, online storage, and high-speed network con-nectivity across the state (see sidebar). Sharing datacenter resources and costs among schools allowsschools to focus more of their IT budgets on the useof technology in classrooms, for the direct benefit ofthe students.

“By working together to maintain technology in thecloud, organizations can spend less time in the data

center and more time delivering on their core mission,”explains Thomas E. Richards, president and chief op-erating officer of CDW-G.

Using the cloud also means schools can get an ap-plication up and running quickly and inexpensively.“You don’t have to worry about bringing it in, testingit … You’re just hooking onto it, so it saves upfrontplanning and time,” Kaestner says. “I don’t have togo out and buy a server to get this application run-ning. It’s running in the cloud. All I have to do is at-tach to it.”

Schools are considering cloud computing for thesame reasons businesses are; that is, they are trying tofind the most efficient way possible to spend their ITdollars. “And schools are saying, ‘For those applica-tions I have deployed, I am saving money,’” saysCottingham.

In fact, according to the CDW-G poll, 84 percentof all organizations using cloud computing say theyhave reduced their annual costs by moving applica-tions to the cloud.

Security still a concern, but that’s changing

Despite the obvious benefits of cloud computing,many school districts remain hesitant to move moreconfidently to the cloud because of fears of securitybreaches.

Across all organizations that took the CDW-G poll,security was the top roadblock in moving to the cloud,with three specific concerns being cited most often:“My organization’s management does not trust thecloud’s data security” (cited by 53 percent of respon-dents); “We (IT management) do not believe the cloudis as secure as our own facility” (40 percent); “My or-ganization’s users do not trust the cloud’s data securi-ty” (36 percent).

When technology is housed outside the walls ofschool buildings, people automatically begin to wor-ry. They think, “If I can get into the system, someoneelse can hack their way in,” says Kaestner.

“Security is the No. 1, first objection people raisewhen they look at cloud computing, especially whenlooking at the public cloud,” he says. “It is a legitimateconcern.” On the other hand, he says, the major ven-dors that offer services in the cloud understand that se-curity is a concern and have security provisions inplace. CenturyLink, for example, offers security bakedinto its cloud solutions.

CenturyLink has an advantage in this space becauseit already owns much of the network, says Capurro.“We approach cloud computing as nothing more thantaking computing and storage solutions and deliver-ing them over networks. We own a lot of the network,and now have taken the computing element and thestorage element and have integrated them,” he says.“Because we own and operate both cloud elements andthe network, we can ensure the cloud will work a cer-tain way, and that’s pretty compelling.”

All security applications, such as anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, are integrated directly into theCenturyLink service. This security happens in the back-ground and can be provided at a school level or on anad-hoc basis, Capurro adds.

Cloud computing is entirely about how organiza-tions choose to manage their risk. CenturyLink workswith organizations to decide what applications andtechnologies they want to operate in the cloud and whattechnologies they’d rather host on site, on their own

Publisher’s ReportCloud...continued from page 29

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October 2011 eSCHOOL NEWS • 31

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servers. Then, the company looks at the network andensures that compliance is taken care of. Security isdecided on a case-to-case basis, says Capurro. He addsthat CenturyLink works with partners such as equip-ment, software and service providers who are like-minded on security issues and who have added skillsets to bring to the table.

Capurro points out that the cloud is not uniform,and there are private, public and hybrid clouds. Thepublic cloud is delivered over the internet, but whatsome businesses have done to address the security is-sue is to bring the cloud into their own organizationand create a private cloud. CenturyLink also helps or-ganizations form what is known as a hybrid cloud,which combines the controls and security of a privatecloud with the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of thepublic cloud.

“We do that by attaching it to our network. Thehybrid cloud is a real linking of the data center to thepublic cloud and doing it in a secure manner,” saysCapurro.

While there is plenty of rhetoric around security,much of it is being driven by people simply becausethey can’t see, feel, or touch the cloud, he says, addingthat there really aren’t many issues that can’t be over-come.

One approach schools are taking is to have a sin-gle sign-on that is backed by identity management. Inorder to get to any application, students or faculty mem-bers must log into their account and arrive at a “por-tal page,” which then lets them access only the appli-cations that they are authorized to use—whether theseexist in the cloud or within the school, Kaestner says.

CDW-G’s Cottington adds that service providersunderstand the security concerns of schools. He urgesschool leaders to make sure their cloud providers’ se-curity expectations coincide with their own.

Some advocates for cloud computing argue that it’seven safer than the traditional model of having schoolshost their own software and services, owing to the cen-tralization of data and the fact that cloud providers areable to devote significant resources to security issueswhich, often, customers themselves cannot afford.

Steps that K-12 organizations can take to securedata in the cloud include:

• Encrypt transmitted data.• Manage access to cloud applications by staff.• Change passwords at least every 90 days.• Implement intrusion-detection technology.• Monitor and apply daily hardware/software patch

releases.• Certify all security measures taken by cloud ven-

dors.• Provide annual structured information security train-

ing for all employees.

How to make the shift toward cloud computing

For schools that are making limited use of cloudcomputing, or for those that haven’t tried cloud com-puting yet, but wish to begin doing so, there are a fewconsiderations to keep in mind.

After jumping into cloud computing with the mostbasic apps like Gmail or Google Docs, begin to con-sider what makes sense to run locally and what makessense to run in the cloud, suggests Kaestner. Ask your-

self: How do I pull it all together and provide it as aservice to users? A strong cloud vendor can help withthese decisions.

Another consideration, says Kaestner, is that, in or-der to access the cloud, you must have enough band-width between schools, so you have to look at yourcommunications network infrastructure to make sureit can handle the demand. “That’s one of the things thatwill maybe slow folks up,” Kaestner says.

Cottingham suggests that schools begin to movetoward cloud computing, but not without a written plan.“That applies to any IT project, and the cloud is no dif-ferent,” he says. “Identify economic benefits [and]security concerns. Identify a select application in a de-partment where you want to pilot something, do it ina thoughtful way with a service provider who can walkyou through it, then take it department-wide and thenorganization-wide. Make sure you see the cost savingsyou thought you’d see. It has to be done in a thought-ful way.”

Cottingham notes that, according to the CDW-Gsurvey, a high number of schools are testing somecloud-computing applications, a lower number are ac-tively using cloud computing and a fair amount—31percent—say they have a written plan for how theywill use cloud computing in the future. Others are inthe stages of discovery (37 percent), planning (28percent), implementing (18 percent), maintaining (ninepercent) and not considering (eight percent).

“Both the ‘implementers’and the ‘maintainers’havebeen able to identify some cost savings, so they dosee a significant portion of their IT budgets being spent

on cloud computing down the road,” he says.The CDW-G survey makes some suggestions for

organizations considering a move toward privateand/or public clouds.

For consideration of private clouds, remember that:• IT governance is mandatory, ensuring cloud effi-

ciency and stability.• Building your own cloud might be more time-con-

suming, heavy on scripting requirements and cost-lier than an automated, integrated, validated solu-tion.

• Building a private cloud is similar to becoming acloud hosting provider.For consideration of a public cloud:

• Get to know your provider. Ask: How secure is yourcloud, and can I audit it? Do I get a rebate if thecloud goes down? Will I have a services dashboard?Does my service have recovery built in? How willI connect to the service? Will my capacity scale formy needs? Will the solution be more cost-effectivethan what I have today?

• Remember: Independent software vendors willbring new features to market faster with cloud ap-plications.

• Understand your “cost to serve” per application todetermine your return on investment (ROI) for pub-lic cloud solutions.

Jennifer Nastu is a freelance writer from Coloradowho writes frequently about educational technology.

Publisher’s Report

The nation’s third largest telecommunications company has gained even more expertise in supplying cloud computing to schools and other customers, thanks to a recently completed merger.

The $2.5 billion merger of CenturyLink and Savvis Inc., which was completed July15, positions the combined company as a leader in meeting the demand for outsourced IT and cloud services, CenturyLink officials say.

“The combination of CenturyLink’s hosting and network assets with Savvis’ provensolutions in … managed hosting and cloud services substantially enhances CenturyLink’scapabilities and immediately provides the company with a solid platform for future growth,”said Glen F. Post, III, chief executive officer and president of CenturyLink, in a press release. “The transaction helps us meet the accelerating demand for cloud-based services through a robust hosting presence, including 48 data centers in North America,Europe, and Asia.”

Based in St. Louis, Mo., Savvis has approximately 2,450 employees in North America,Asia, and Europe. It provides cloud infrastructure and hosted IT services to nearly2,500 clients, including many Fortune 500 companies.

Later this year, CenturyLink plans to integrate its hosting business with Savvis’ managed hosting and cloud services to focus on increasing CenturyLink’s market sharein these areas. The integrated hosting business, which will operate under the Savvisbrand for the foreseeable future, will be based in St. Louis and led primarily by key members of the Savvis leadership team, including chief executive officer Jim Ousley,CenturyLink says.

The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal July 12, and Savvisshareholders approved it July 13.

Merger boosts CenturyLink’s status as aprovider of cloud services

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