International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 Volume 6 Issue 11, November 2017 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY A Technical Feasibility for Adoption of Cloud Computing in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia Wajih Izzat Abu Ghazaleh 1 , Dr. Waqar Ahmad 2 1 Servers Management Manager, Masters Student, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah 2 Associate Professor, King Abdulaziz University Jeddah Abstract: The current study focuses on how cloud computing, private cloud in particular, is influencing educational institutions worldwide. Although commercial enterprises are in the process of using cloud computing yet most of the educational organizations are still running the traditional client server model. This model caused many problems to different educational institutions. After studying the literature, the author discovers that the technical feasibility for private cloud adoption in an educational institution has not been comprehensively conducted in previous studies. The current study tries to narrow this gap via carrying out six steps before the adoption of cloud computing and three steps after the adoption. The results attained before the adoption show a significant underutilization of compute resources in client server model and poor average availability, performance and response time for the PMS application hosted at that model. However, the outcomes accomplished after the adoption indicate a substantial boost in several areas of private cloud assessment. These outcomes are measured by systems’ outstanding availability, performance and response time in Aziz Admissions Portal assessment. Also some top users were interviewed to measure the performance and satisfaction level. Finally, it can be concluded that private cloud computing helped KAU to overcome difficulties faced in the previous model and helped to improve the performance tremendously. Keywords: Cloud Computing, Client Server Model, Private Cloud Model, Technical Feasibility 1. Introduction Cloud computing is commonly everything one does with his or her computer, like saving files or using office word or excel online over the Internet. The visible form of data in the cloud sailing out through the Internet and maybe reached via whatever computing machine linked to the World Wide Web is the actual driver to form cloud computing phrase. Yet, one would ask: why care about cloud if our PCs at home and work can cater such services? Cloud computing is made for tomorrow, when everyone would operate many types of compute machines, like personal and portable computers, smartphone, or pad. The goal is to allow access to the data and services one needs from everywhere via any machine linked to the World Wide Web. Moreover, cloud computing is inexpensive for enterprises. A company does not need to procure a central storage hardware, for instance, or hire computer professional to maintain it if storage as a service is leased from one of the cloud service providers. Indeed, there are some disadvantages for cloud computing; for example, private data might be exposed when put into the cloud which includes a lot of concern about privacy and trust. The case is still debatable when it comes to cloud computing drawbacks. In addition, cloud services are still at early phase in comparison to counterparts on a personal computer or portable device. On the other hand, everyone will adopt cloud computing sooner or later. Cloud computing has recently achieved broad recognition and acceptance from Information Technology (IT) firms and academic communities. It is an improved computing pattern catering instant computing resources from a combined pool of assets; it does also support the payment plan known as pay-as you-go. Cloud customers can rent compute resources, like processing power, desk spaces, memory, network or even an application as they demand. They are, moreover, able to lower or elevate their usage of rented resources; hence, they only pay for what they utilize [1] [2]. In fact, cloud computing is very much like the power links which grant electricity as a service that is charged to consumers based on the quantity spent and provided in several abstraction tiers [6]. Several explanations do exist for cloud computing which differ from author to author; for example, Gartner et al. [3] has clarified cloud computing as: “A style of computing in which scalable and elastic IT- enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to external customers using Internet technologies”. The illustration indicates the flexible and expandable nature of cloud computing.The phrase elastic implies that computing assets, given to users, could be increased and decreased based on the necessities of the workload in cloud computing. The afterward definition was given by Forrester Research [4] as “A standardized IT capability (services, software, or infrastructure) delivered via Internet technologies in a pay- per-use, self-service way.” The Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) explains cloud computing as “a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” [2]; such definition is literally catching further recognition within Information Technology industry nowadays. A third description, which includes all cloud computing unique qualities, is: “Clouds are a large pool of easily usable and accessible virtualized resources (such as hardware, development platforms and/or services). These resources can be dynamically re- configured to adjust to a variable load (scale), allow- ing also for an optimum resource