Virtual enterprise model for enabling cloud computing for SMMEs

Although technology is a significant aspect for most businesses, it has also proven to increase productivity, reduce other costs and eventually improve a company's bottom line. Small, Medium and Micro enterprises (SMMEs) do not usually have adequate funds to acquire ICT infrastructure. They do not require the infrastructure on a daily basis. Therefore it is not economically viable for them to purchase their own infrastructure. It is for this reason that they have to take advantage of Cloud computing capabilities. Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable resources are provided as a virtualised service. The Cloud is an emerging concept derived from a service-centric view. All capabilities and resources of a Cloud are provided to users as a service to be accessed through the Internet without any knowledge, expertise, or control over the underlying technology infrastructure that supports them. Users are billed on a pay-per-use basis or through subscription. To provide on demand service, the Cloud adopts virtualisation, a service-oriented architecture, infrastructure scalability, the web and utility computing as the underlying concepts. This paper focuses on the implementation of virtual enterprises (VE), to enable SMMEs to respond quickly to customers' demands and market opportunities. The virtual enterprise model is based on the ability to create temporary co-operations and to realise the value of a short term business opportunity that the partners cannot (or can, but only to a lesser extent) capture on their own. The duration of the alliances vary depending on the actual goal. There are alliances made for a single business opportunity and which are dissolved at the end of such process, and long-term alliances that last for an indefinite number of business processes or for a specified time span. The model of virtual enterprise is made possible by means of virtualisation technology which is one of the building blocks of Cloud computing. To achieve a common goal, enterprises integrate resources, organisational models, and process models. Through a virtual business operating environment offered by Cloud computing, the SMMEs will be able to increase productivity and gain competitive advantage due to the cost benefit incurred. We propose a virtual enterprise enabled cloud enterprise architecture based on the concept of virtual enterprise at both business and technology levels. The business level comprises of organisational models, process models, skills, and competences while technology level comprises of IT resources.

虽然技术对大多数企业来说是一个重要方面，但它也已被证明可以提高生产率、降低其他成本并最终改善公司的盈利状况。中小微企业（SMMEs）通常没有足够的资金来购置信息通信技术（ICT）基础设施。它们并非每天都需要这些基础设施。因此，对它们来说购买自己的基础设施在经济上是不可行的。正是由于这个原因，它们必须利用云计算能力。云计算是一种计算方式，其中动态可扩展的资源作为一种虚拟化服务被提供。云是一个从以服务为中心的视角衍生出来的新兴概念。云的所有能力和资源都作为一种服务提供给用户，用户可通过互联网访问，而无需了解、精通或控制支持它们的底层技术基础设施。用户按使用付费或通过订阅付费。为了提供按需服务，云采用虚拟化、面向服务的架构、基础设施可扩展性、网络和效用计算作为底层概念。 本文重点关注虚拟企业（VE）的实施，以使中小微企业能够快速响应客户需求和市场机会。虚拟企业模式基于创建临时合作以及实现合作伙伴自身无法（或能够，但程度较小）把握的短期商业机会的价值的能力。联盟的持续时间因实际目标而异。有些联盟是为了单个商业机会而建立的，并在该过程结束时解散，还有一些长期联盟会持续无限数量的商业过程或特定的时间段。 虚拟企业模式通过虚拟化技术得以实现，虚拟化技术是云计算的基石之一。为了实现一个共同目标，企业整合资源、组织模式和流程模式。通过云计算提供的虚拟商业运营环境，中小微企业将能够提高生产率并由于所产生的成本效益而获得竞争优势。 我们基于商业和技术层面的虚拟企业概念，提出了一种支持虚拟企业的云企业架构。商业层面包括组织模式、流程模式、技能和能力，而技术层面包括信息技术资源。