The frame work examines issues relating to capacity building and content development,

research and development, gender and other marginalized groups. Financial and material
resource issues are also brought to the forefront with the realization that these areas need to
be addressed by Government together with the concerted efforts of other players.
Participation by players from all sectors of the economy is encouraged in the implementation
of this policy framework. The status of the existing regulatory framework coupled with the
institutional mechanisms is also herein reviewed. Various players are identified and their
respective roles proffered and it is hoped that if these roles are executed conscientiously,
Zimbabwe will achieve its enunciated vision of emerging as a united, strong, democratic,
prosperous and egalitarian nation with a high quality of life for all by the year 2020. The
overall objectives of the policy framework are:
Transformation - Facilitate delivery of Zim-ASSET and other National Developmental goals.
Growth – Enable and foster access to and increased use of telecommunications/ICT in all
spheres of life (such as e-Government, e-Commerce, e-Employment, ICT in education, ICT
in health, ICT in science and ICT in agriculture)
Inclusiveness –Bridge the digital divide and provide broadband for all
Sustainability – Manage challenges resulting from the telecommunication/ICT development.
Innovation and partnership – Lead, improve and adapt to the changing
telecommunication/ICT environment.
The following have been incorporated in this policy to achieve the above objectives:
Institutional Framework

- Legal and Regulatory framework

- Universal access and service to ICTs

- National Broadband Plan

- Management of National Resources (i.e., Spectrum, Satellite Orbits, Numbering and

Naming)

- Broad-based entrepreneurship and innovation (local content development)

- Empowerment and indigenization for service providers and vendors

- Incentives to attract foreign investors

- ICT Sector competitiveness and viability

- Infrastructure sharing

- Human resource skills, capacity building and research

b) Improvents of the ICT policy for 2021-2025 will help improve education and industry. The
National ICT policy that was adopted in 2016-2020 makes significant references to the
promotion of ICTs in education including their pedagogical use in educational institutions
(Isaacs, 2007, p. 2). President’ office also launched a campaign to provide most schools with
computer related equipment. This resulted in most schools (including schools in the remote
areas of the country) and universities benefitting and thus enable them to utilize ICTs in the
teaching and learning process, although an audit still needs to be carried out to ascertain how
far the equipment has been put to good use. However, this campaign created a mismatch in
the provision of IT resources. It is the extreme ends of the education sector that were
capacitated leaving middle but essential departments, particularly Teacher Education
Colleges, as well as Polytechnic Colleges not catered for. Teacher Education Colleges were
the worst hit, since they are essentially a service sector that also cannot raise any extra
income to help themselves survive. It is precisely for this reason that a nongovernmental
organisation, VVOB5 (Vlaamse Vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en
Technische Bijstand), carried out a needs analysis survey and identified a gap in the use of
ICTs in teaching and learning at Teacher Education Colleges and Polytechnics in Zimbabwe
.The new 2021-2025 can be improved by developing ICT infrastructure, ICT Support
and Staff Development.
Developing ICT Infrastructure
Establishment of an IT unit at each college whose role was to coordinate all IT activities at
the
Institution. Establishment of student computer laboratories at colleges where these are not
available. Networking the various college buildings and departments into a college area
network. Linking all the participating colleges in to a wide area network and the World Wide
Web through broadband connection.
ICT Support
Capacity building in IT unit members by training them in hardware and software repair and
maintenance can be initiated. IT unit members can also be helped in formulating IT policies
and end user policies for the respective colleges.
Staff Development
This phase focuses on the use of ICTs in teaching and learning. To this end, the programme
sets up server computers for local mail, sharing files online and for e-learning platform. IT
unit members for each college conducted staff development workshops for college lecturers
on sharing network resources, using local mail, designing and running e-learning courses.
The changing in ICT laws will help improve the industry by ensuring competitive and un
interrupted internet services by lowering the tariffs for the services providers allowing for
new competitors to enter the market. Internet services is constrained.
Mobile operators do not require high capacity backbone networks to carry voice traffic and
have developed their own using wireless technologies. Cross border backbone connections
into Zimbabwe include the Mozambique connection up to the border near Mutare, the Harare
to Plumtree connection operated by Econet, which is fully functional, and the Harare to
Zambia connection. The latter has a very low capacity and cannot be used to carry
simultaneously voice and data traffic. An upgrade will be needed for this connection if
Zimbabwe desires to have a
high capacity backbone into the country. Zimbabwe has introduced some degree of
infrastructure competition in the telecommunications sector, but the domestic market has not
been liberalized to the extent required to create effective competition among backbone
network operators. In the absence of further liberalization, investment in high capacity
networks will very likely be constrained.
.

Question 2a

E-business (electronic business) is the conduction of business processes on the internet.

These e-business processes include buying and selling goods and services, servicing
customers, processing payments, managing production control, collaborating with business
partners, sharing information, running automated employee services, recruiting; and more. E-
business can comprise of a range of functions and services. They range from the development
of intranets and extranets to the provision of e-services over the internet by application
service providers. Today, as corporations continuously rethink their businesses in terms of the
internet specifically, the internet's availability, reach and ever-changing capabilities -- they
are conducting e-business to buy parts and supplies from other companies, collaborate on
sales promotions, and conduct joint research. Business and digital authorities still frequently
classify e-business as B2B, B2C, C2C and C2B. Some offer additional classes of e-business,
such as business-to-government and business-to-employee.
b)
E-Business is in its nascent stage and is evolving at a fast pace, the importance of
developing business models on sound frameworks is important especially if its an E-Business
for a mining firm. As in physical markets only those will survive who have a strong
fundamental framework based on sound business and market understanding. The framework
needs to encompass the basic and supportive infrastructure and business applications as well
as issues that are needed for developing the new business model.
Activities and Functions to be supported by the E-Business Framework are shown below:
 Advertising and Shopping
The activities are searching and browsing electronic directories and catalogs on a network,
sellers advertising their products and services, and electronically navigating network-
accessible services. A major problem associated with the advertising and shopping activity is
the cost and time expended in developing, maintaining, and finding relevant information,
products, and services, given the plenitude of available information.
 Negotiating
Buyers of ZCDC diamonds may elect to negotiate the terms of a transaction that is, the terms
of exchange and payment. These terms may cover delivery, refund policies, arranging for
credit, installment payments, copyright or license agreements, usage rights, distribution
rights, etc. These terms can be standardized for routine commodity use, or customized to suit
more unique individual situations. Often, in the case of two parties with a well-established
business relationship, the terms of exchange are pre-negotiated as standing contractual terms
for all their future exchanges. This process will frequently also include authentication of the
two parties.
 Ordering
The diamond buyers eventually issue a contractual agreement of the terms of exchange and
payment. This contractual agreement is generally issued as an order that sets forth the
quantity, price, and other terms (type of diamonds whether industrials or gems) of the
transaction. The order may be verbal, in writing, or electronic. It usually includes an
acknowledgment of agreement by the various parties to help prevent any future repudiation.
This agreement can be confirmed in a secure way, electronically safeguarded by
cryptographic techniques such as digital signatures.
 Payment and Settlement
The diamond buyer, or some financial intermediary, eventually sends some form of electronic
payment. This could be some form of contract or obligation, such as authenticated payment
instructions or digital cash, usually along with some remittance information to the seller. This
payment may be sent for a single item, on a usage basis, or for multiple items or usage.
Settlement occurs when the payment and remittance information are analyzed by the seller or
the seller's agent and accepted as valid.
The business infrastructure for E-Business consists of six main elements which are shown
below:
 Security
Major concern for doing business on the Internet is that the ZCDC businesses feels
vulnerable to attacks. Encryption is used to help secure data. HTTPS (HTTP with SSL) is
used to encrypt data to ensure its integrity and safety.
 Authentication
Authentication is the security process of verifying that a user is who he or she says they are.
ZCDC will use passwords as means of authentication.
 Encryption
Encryption systems translate data into a secret code (many types of encryption used). The
two main encryption techniques now in use are Symmetric encryption in which both sender
and
receiver use the same key and Asymmetric or public key encryption, which uses
two separate keys, called public and private keys.
 Electronic Payments
A number of payment methods are used by businesses to make and receive payments on the
Internet. These methods are basically the equivalent of off-line payment methods. ZCDC will
use any one of the following virtual terminals, transaction processors, internet checking and
electronic funds transfer.
 Search Engines
Search engines are used to index the contents of the Internet so that information about a
specific topic can be located. Managers should pay attention to search engines for two
reasons which are they provide useful and extensive access to information and they can
provide the visibility that becoming listed with them provides.
  Web Services & Personalization
A web service is a standardized way of integrating web-based applications. Organizations can
share data transparently. Web services are the basic building blocks of the SOA (Service
Oriented Architecture). They are excellent for integrating systems across organizational
boundaries.
Messaging and Information Distribution Infrastructure
This is the second building block of supporting framework for E-commerce. Includes email,
instant messaging, Voice over IP (VoIP), point-to-point file transfers (FTP), and groupware.
E-mail is still largest use in this area. ISP (Internet Service Provider) connects the user to the
Internet. Content Development & Publishing is the third building block. Third building block
of supporting framework for ecommerce. Includes standards for various multimedia file
types. Examples of materials transported in this way include video, audio and graphics &
photos. Deployment & Distribution Infrastructure is the fourth building block of supporting
framework for ecommerce includes data communications circuits over which information
travels. Includes packet-switched networking (telephony is circuit-switched), packets contain
overhead information including addressing and newer internet access technologies include
wireless access, cable access and DSL.
Key Enablers of Ecommerce
Public policy is one of two key enablers for developing the EBusiness framework. Public
policy issues include universal access, privacy, information pricing and information access.
Privacy issues include what information is private and/or who should have the right to
use/sell information about internet users. Standardization is the second supporting pillar for e-
Commerce. Standards are critical for electronic interaction.
Considerations for developing the Framework are shown below:
 Interoperability
E-Business framework must be based on a common set of services and standards that
ensure interoperability.
 Flexibility and Forward integration
E-Business is in its nascent stage and is constantly improving. New services and
business application areas will constantly emerge. Any framework developed for EBusiness
should be able to accommodate future enhancements and trends in the
infrastructure, industry and applications.
 Information-intensive products
An important class of products are those that are pure information. These products are
actually enabled by information technology and not just distributed more efficiently by it.
Information products include electronic publications, catalogs, videos, and the like, as well as
interactive video games, software programs, electronic tokens, customized design
specifications, and
even electronic keys to hotel rooms, cars, storage compartments, and airport
boarding gates. Many of these products are not offered by a vendor they are designed or
tailored by a customer.
 New revenue collection methods
The E-Business framework shall have to support advanced types of revenue
collection in addition to traditional methods for example, an information product
service provider could distribute its product widely and charge on a usage basis. One
innovative approach that permits usage accounting and payment is called
Meter ware. Meter ware, electronic cash and checks that don't need an online
payment processor, and other advanced revenue collection ideas create
opportunities for reaching new customers and for distributing products and services.
E-Business Implementation
Proper implementation requires deliberate attention to seven stages of technology life cycle.
These are Awareness Training, Business Analysis, Requirements Analysis, Design,
Implementation, Integration and Maintenance. Awareness Training provides an
understanding of what the technology is, a general sense of what it can do for a
business, and how to begin implementation. Business Analysis helps to assure maximum
value from ECommerce, there must be a thorough understanding of how the new technology
can help the business. Requirements Analysis yields an understanding of what kind of
Ecommerce functionality is needed to meet business requirements. Design sets out specifics,
for example who are my potential vendors, by when do I need different parts of the
system up and running and what will the system cost. In implementation the system becomes
real. New technology comes in the door. Integration makes sure the system performs as per
its specifications. Maintenance keeps the system running, deals with unforeseen
circumstances, and plans for improvement.
Critical Success factors for E-Business
Identifying the Critical success Factors allows an organization to achieve its EBusiness
Initiative. The first critical factor is to Identify a suitable E-Business Vision for the
organization. The Vision is important as it provides everyone in the organization with
direction on where to go. Critical Success factor 2 states that must have an E-Business
champion who will help make this Vision a reality. This person must be a strong leader who
owns the E-Business process at the organization. Critical Success Factor 3 states creation of
healthy company culture to energize all employees to take active part in the initiative. Critical
Success Factor 4 states development of a plan to achieve the transformation. The plan must
be documented and include milestones and metrics that describe the transformation journey.
Critical Success Factor 5 states rigorous communication strategy must be implemented. This
will allow the organization to receive feedback from the constituents. Critical Success Factor
6 states ability to create flexible E-Business solution. This will allow the organization to grow
in future as well as have personalized approach to the various customers and suppliers.
Conclusion
With rapid advances in technology, novel ways of business process redesign, which include
entering the e-business marketplace have emerged. Organizations today frequently redesign
their processes in ways that provide competitive advantage. However, gaining competitive
advantage requires building on the proven principles of effective strategy. Key success
factors include maintaining distinctive strategic positioning, using e-business technology to
improve efficiency and competitive advantage, maintaining support from top management,
putting emphasis on the quality of e-business operations, and maintaining good system
security.
Question 3

A threat, in the context of computer security, refers to anything that has the potential to cause
serious harm to a computer system. A threat is something that may or may not happen, but
has the potential to cause serious damage. Threats can lead to attacks on computer systems,
networks and more. Threats are potentials for vulnerabilities to turn into attacks on computer
systems, networks, and more. They can put individuals’ computer systems and business
computers at risk, so vulnerabilities have to be fixed so that attackers cannot infiltrate the
system and cause damage. Threats can include everything from viruses, Trojans, back doors
to outright attacks from hackers. Often, the term-blended threat is more accurate, as the
majority of threats involve multiple exploits. To safeguard our computer data, it is important
to know the types of computer threats of the modern age and the better way to resolve the
network attacks. These Security Threats are the dangers that could easily affect the smooth
functioning of the PC instantly. These kinds of security attacks could be a Trojan malware, a
piece of adware, or any others that could totally destroy the information on the device without
any hassle. With the going digital, there are many numbers of computer security threats we
could see. Threats to computer security and mitigation measures are explained below:
 Vulnerabilities
How they attack: Vulnerabilities are flaws in computer software that create weaknesses in
your computer or network’s overall security. Vulnerabilities can also be created by improper
computer or security configurations. Threats exploit the weaknesses of vulnerabilities,
resulting in potential damage to the computer or its data. How do you know? Companies
announce vulnerabilities as they are discovered and quickly work to fix them with software
and security "patches."
What to Do
 Keep software and security patches up to date.
 Configure security settings for your operating system, Internet browser and security
software.
 Companies should develop personal security policies for online behavior, and
individuals should be sure to adopt their own policies to promote online safety.
 Install a proactive security solution like Norton Internet Security to block threats
targeting vulnerabilities.
 Spyware
How it attacks: Spyware can be downloaded from Web sites, email messages, instant
messages and direct file-sharing connections. Additionally, a user may unknowingly receive
spyware by accepting an End User License Agreement from a software program. How do you
know? Spyware frequently attempts to remain unnoticed, either by actively hiding or simply
not making its presence on a system known to the user.
What to Do
 Use a reputable Internet security program to proactively protect from spyware
and other security risks.
 Configure the firewall in the reputable Internet security program to block
unsolicited requests for outbound communication.
 Do not accept or open suspicious error dialogs from within the browser.
 Spyware may come as part of a "free deal" offer -- do not accept free deals.
 Always carefully read the End User License agreement at Install time and
cancel if other “programs” are being installed as part of the desired program.
 Keep software and security patches up to date.
 Spam
How it attacks: Email spam is the electronic version of junk mail. It involves sending
unwanted messages, often unsolicited advertising, to a large number of recipients. Spam is a
serious security concern, as it can be used to deliver email that could contain Trojan horses,
viruses, worms, spyware and targeted attacks aimed at obtaining sensitive, personal
identification information. How do you know? Messages that do not include your email
address in the TO or CC fields are common forms of spam. Some spam can contain offensive
language or links to Web sites with inappropriate content. Also, some spam may include
hidden text that only becomes visible if you highlight the content a common trick spammer
uses to get their email to pass through spam filters without detection.
What to Do
 install Spam filtering/blocking software.
 If you suspect an email is spam, do not respond -- just delete it.
 Consider disabling your email’s preview pane and reading emails in plain text.
 Reject all Instant Messages from people who are not on your Buddy list.
 Do not click on URL links within IM unless they are from a known source and
expected.
 Keep software and security patches up to date.
 Malware
How it attacks: Malware is a category of malicious code that includes viruses, worms and
Trojan horses. Destructive malware will use popular communication tools to spread,
including worms sent through email and instant messages, Trojan horses dropped from Web
sites and virus-infected files downloaded from peer-to-peer connections. Malware will also
seek to exploit existing vulnerabilities on systems making their entry quiet and easy. How do
you know? Malware works to remain unnoticed, either by actively hiding or by simply not
making its presence on a system known to the user. You might notice your system is
processing at a slower rate than what you are used to.
What to Do
 Only open email or IM attachments that come from trusted sources and are expected.
 Have email attachments scanned by a reputable Internet security program prior to
opening.
 Delete all unwanted messages without opening.
 Do not click on Web links sent by someone you do not know.
 If a person on your Buddy list is sending strange messages, files or Web site links,
terminate your IM session.
  Scan all files with a reputable Internet security program before transferring them to
your system.
 Only transfer files from well-known sources.
 Use a reputable Internet security program to block all unsolicited outbound
communication.
 Keep security patches up to date.
 Phishing
How it attacks: Phishing is essentially an online con game, and phishers are nothing more
than tech-savvy con artists and identity thieves. They use spam, malicious Web sites, email
messages and instant messages to trick people into divulging sensitive information, such as
bank and credit card information or access to personal accounts. How do you know? Here are
four ways to identify phishing scams:
 Phishers, pretending to be legitimate companies, may use email to request personal
information and instruct recipients to respond through malicious Web sites. They may
also claim that an urgent action is needed to lure recipients into downloading
malicious programs onto their computers.
 Phishers tend to use emotional language like scare tactics or urgent requests to entice
recipients to respond.
 Phish sites can look remarkably like legitimate sites, because the criminals tend to use
the copyrighted images from genuine sites.
 Requests for confidential information via email or Instant Message tend to not be
legitimate.
After you open and run an infected program or attachment, you might not notice the impacts
to your computer right away. Here are a few indicators that might indicate your computer has
been infected:
 Your computer runs more slowly than normal.
 Your computer stops responding or locks up often.
 Your computer crashes and restarts every few minutes.
 Your computer restarts on its own and then fails to run normally.
 You see unusual error messages.
 You see distorted menus and dialog boxes
If you believe you received a phishing email, were lured to click on the link or download a
program and if you are concerned you may have some type of malicious program installed on
your computer, here are some things you may want to check:
  is your virus scan running?
 Are your virus definitions up to date (less than a week old)?
 Did you perform full disk/memory virus scan?
 Are you running anti-spyware programs such as Adaware and/or Spybots?
 Once you run your scans and have positive results or remove programs, ensure your
online accounts are secure -- modify your account passwords.
 Make sure that you have enabled your Phishing Filter, a feature of Windows Internet
Explorer 7.
 Contact your anti-spyware/virus vendor to find out other steps you can take.
Conclusion
Computer Security plays an essential role in any manufacturing organization’s success, it
takes a huge part in information technology but nowadays improving the security of the
website is also considered as the biggest challenge. There are plenty of security solutions
available but choosing the right one is important to protect your computer to get peace of
mind you need to focus on challenges faced by computer security.
Question 4

a) Social media (SM) is the use of information technology to support the sharing of content
among networks of user’s Social media enables people to form communities, tribes, or hives,
all of which are synonyms that refer to a group of people related by a common interest. A
social media information system (SMIS) is an information system that supports the sharing of
content among networks of users. The three roles that SMIS takes on are user communities,
social media sponsors, and social media application providers. Social media sponsors are
companies and other organizations that choose to support a presence on one or more SM
sites. Social media application providers are the companies that operate the SM sites.
b) SMIS Advance Organizational Strategy in that it allows defenders of certain organizational
beliefs (among them truth seekers) to come together and form a hive. Seekers of the truth
share a common desire to learn something, solve a problem, or make something happen.
Social CRM is a dynamic, SM-based CRM process. The relationships between organizations
and customers emerge in a process as both parties create and process content. Crowdsourcing
is the dynamic social media process of employing users to participate in product design
Enterprise 2.0 is the application of social media to facilitate the cooperative work of people
inside organizations. A folksonomy is content structure that has emerged from the processing
of many user tags.
c) So many of us use social media for so much, whether it’s a repository of knowledge, an
outlet for expression, or simply an idle activity to pass the time. With almost two billion
social media users throughout the world, instantaneous connection and sharing of ideas
abound. Social media brings value to business in a variety of ways as shown below:
 Connection
Just as social media connects one friend to another or a celebrity to a fan base, it can also
connect a business to a consumer audience. If your company has a storefront and if you have
done enough advertising customers will connect with you by walking in through the door.
But if you have a Twitter or Facebook account, you can connect with thousands of people
through the internet, and they can connect to you. You’re able to transmit ideas, logos,
products, and messages to your followers.
 Relatability
The moment your company gains momentum on social media is the moment that your
customers trust you. When a potential client perceives you as a fellow user of social media,
he or she will be much more likely to buy your products or use your services. The beauty of
social media is that it places everybody on the same level. A large business like Herbal
Essences can post messages, photos, or videos just as your 13-year-old nephew can. And best
of all, your company brand will gain more and more recognition as users peruse your
accounts.
 Brand Promotion
Social media has popularized the term “hashtag” in the last five or six years—so much so that
it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014. When users create a hashtag, they tag
a word or phrase that links to other content with the same tag. As trendy as they might be,
your company could benefit greatly from using hashtags on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
 Immediate Feedback
If your company is about to launch a new initiative or unveil some new product, you hope
your target audience will approve, support, or be willing to buy it. Social media is a great
medium through which to gauge users’ anticipation. Send some subtle tweets that something
exciting is coming. Or, tease your business’s next big project with a sneak peek photograph
on Instagram.
 More Website Traffic
Think of a social media account as an ever-updating billboard for your company. It’s
accessible, it’s user-friendly, and in most cases, it draws your target audience into the
conversion funnel. When people begin to notice your business while they swipe at their
phone or tablet screens, they’ll begin to visit your website for more information.
d) Organizations need to understand and mitigate risks that come from the following sources:
 The public.
The public may interact among one another or provide feedback or comments that can
negatively impact the organization’s brand and image.
 Employees
Employees can disseminate proprietary information that harms the reputation of the
organizations.
 Organizations
Each organization should manage its social media presence to avoid public relations
disasters.
 Decreased employee productivity
Organizations may decide to block social media sites based on research that employees’
productivity decreases when they use social media during work hours. However, some
employees need social media for their jobs and others also have access to the sites on their
mobile devices.
 Social engineering attacks
Identity validation questions used to authenticate the organizations’ Web applications are
often based on personal information of the users that they tend to also use on their personal
social network pages. An attack on an employee’s social media account may provide
attackers with information to breach an organization’s security.
Mitigation measures taken by the organizations are shown below:
 Engage a multidisciplinary team
Social media risks can affect more areas than a company’s IT department. Therefore, the
company needs to bring together a team comprising of senior members from various
departments to mitigate the risks.
 Document intended social media use
Each department in the organizations should articulate its intended use of social media and
make sure these uses align with the company’s objectives.
 Perform a risk assessment
The company should do a risk assessment of inherent risks to pinpoint the likelihood and
potential impact of the risks. After that, the company should consider the controls
necessary to mitigate the risks.
  Expand current policy to encompass social media and implement safeguards
. The company’s current policy should be evaluated to include safeguards against social
media risks. The policies should address areas such as employee use of social media at work,
social media use during employee hiring or termination, and vendor management policies.
 Monitor social media channels
The company’s social media mitigation strategy would be incomplete without the company
actively monitoring potential social media activities that may expose it to risks. The
organization can keep track of social media issues related to it using social customer
relationship management (CRM) tools.
Question 5

a) Cloud Computing is an emerging technology that almost every company is being switched
to from its on-premise technologies. Whether it is public, private, or hybrid, Cloud
Computing has become an essential factor for companies to rise up to the competition. The
advantages of cloud computing are shown below:
 Cost efficiency
The biggest reason behind companies shifting to Cloud Computing is that it takes
considerably lesser cost than any on-premise technology. Now, companies need not store data
in disks anymore as the cloud offers enormous storage space, saving money and resources.
 High speed
Cloud Computing lets us deploy the service quickly in fewer clicks. This quick deployment
lets us get the resources required for our system within minutes.
 Excellent accessibility
Storing information in the cloud allows us to access it anywhere and anytime regardless of
the machine making it a highly accessible and flexible technology of the present times.
 Back-up and restore data
Once data is stored in the cloud, it is easier to get its back-up and recovery, which is quite a
time-consuming process in on-premise technology.
 Manageability
Cloud Computing eliminates the need for IT infrastructure updates and maintenance since the
service provider ensures timely, guaranteed, and seamless delivery of our services and also
takes care of all the maintenance and management of our IT services according to the service-
level agreement.
 Sporadic batch processing
Cloud Computing lets us add or subtract resources and services according to our needs. So, if
the workload is not 24/7, we need not worry about the resources and services getting wasted
and we won’t end up stuck with unused services.
 Strategic edge
Cloud Computing provides a company with a competitive edge over its competitors when it
comes to accessing the latest and mission-critical applications that it needs without having to
invest its time and money on their installations. It lets the company focus on keeping up with
the business competition by offering access to the most trending and in-demand applications
and doing all the manual work of installing and maintaining the applications for the company
Every technology has both positive and negative aspects that are highly important to be
discussed before implementing it disadvantages of Cloud Computing are shown below
 Vulnerability to attacks
Storing data in the cloud may pose serious challenges of information theft since in the cloud
every data of a company is online. Security breach is something that even the best
organizations have suffered from and it’s a potential risk in the cloud as well. Although
advanced security measures are deployed on the cloud, still storing confidential data in the
cloud can be a risky affair.
 Network connectivity dependency
Cloud Computing is entirely dependent on the Internet. This direct tie-up with the Internet
means that a company needs to have reliable and consistent Internet service as well as a fast
connection and bandwidth to reap the benefits of Cloud Computing.
 Downtime
Downtime is considered as one of the biggest potential downsides of using Cloud Computing.
The cloud providers may sometimes face technical outages that can happen due to various
reasons, such as loss of power, low Internet connectivity and data centers going out of service
for maintenance, this can lead to a temporary downtime in the cloud service.
 Vendor lock-in
When in need to migrate from one cloud platform to another, a company might face some
serious challenges because of the differences between vendor platforms. Hosting and running
the applications of the current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support
issues, configuration complexities, and additional expenses. The company data might also be
left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during
migrations.
 Limited control
Cloud customers may face limited control over their deployments. Cloud services run on
remote servers that are completely owned and managed by service providers, which makes it
hard for the companies to have the level of control that they would want over their back-end
infrastructure.
They are three layers of cloud computing which is Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as
a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). SaaS is the layer of the cloud that is
familiar to most people. If you go to a web page and login in order to access a tool or service,
you are using SaaS. Some SaaS offerings are free, or at least free for a baseline set of
services. Businesses utilize SaaS on a subscription basis for multiple functions from HR,
accounting and payroll, to sales, marketing and project management. PaaS PaaS simply
means that this is the place where software is developed. IaaS is the physical components of
your infrastructure – hardware, software, storage and network workings – are housed
remotely and accessed via the internet when you utilize IaaS.
b) The ZCDC mining organization is in third industrial revolution phase. The third revolution
has been with us for some time. Advances in computing have, without doubt, played a useful
role in improving mine planning, truck scheduling, maintenance efficiency, process control,
cost monitoring and project assessment amongst other things, while developments in
communications technologies have facilitated management oversight, helped improve safety
and assisted with procurement and sales. However, it would be hard to maintain that there
was anything truly transformational about these changes. They would appear to have made a
useful contribution to the ongoing incremental improvement in productivity which the
industry experienced through the 1980s and 1990s but they do not appear to have had
sufficient force to prevent the subsequent decline in productivity. The third revolution seems
to have been more about the optimization of existing technologies than about technological
breakthrough in the diamond mining sector. There is currently much hope vested in the
possible impacts on mining industry productivity of the fourth industrial revolution. As an
industry we have achieved incredible things through scaling and ever refining known
technologies. The Tech 4.0 digital disruption is now starting to manifest in a significant way
upon our industry. From cloud computing, to new sensors, to drones, to ever more
automation and now the rise of machine learning and AI. This is all being fused together
through data science to generate new insights
They are various technologies that are expected to change the ZCDC mining operation from
third industrial revolution to the industry 4.0 . The biggest contributions to increased
performance on the production side of the business is expected to come from the application
of high powered computing and big data a shift to ‘intelligent mining’. The key here is the
generation of real-time information on every conceivable aspect of mining operation and the
use of these data to bring about lean, factory-style production, reducing downtime, saving
energy, increasing safety and boosting output.
A second cluster of technologies—the Internet of Things and operating technology-
information technology (OT-IT) integration—is focused on linking all aspects of a business
together into a seamless whole, collaborative IT as it is sometimes called. Unlike factories,
conditions in a mine are shaped by nature and are constantly changing, so information and
management systems have to be continuously adapting. Better integrated, real-time systems
are seen as potentially unlocking large productivity gains by improving maintenance, mine
planning and asset utilization. interestingly, some of the more visible technologies, including
automation and remote mining, appear further down the list, as do such physical technologies
as pre-concentration, in-pit crushing and conveying systems, and improved blasting
techniques.
Collectively, these technologies hold considerable promise and some of them are already
being operationalized bringing a change from third to fourth industrial revolution.
Autonomous trucks and driverless trains are already a reality in the industry.