Frequently Asked Questions
General Cloud Concepts
Q. What is a cloud service provider?
A cloud service provider (CSP) is a company that offers computing, storage, and networking resources over the internet, such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.
Q. What is a cloud solution?
A cloud solution is a service or tool delivered via the cloud, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS offerings like EC2, RDS, and CloudTrail.
Q. What is a Landing Zone
Is a pre-configured, secure, and scalable environment that provides a baseline setup for deploying workloads in the cloud. In different cloud providers, landing zones are structured as: AWS: Accounts, Azure: Subscriptions and Google Cloud: Projects.
Cloud Service Models
Q. What is infracture as a service (IaaS)?
IaaS provides virtualized computing resources like servers and storage, giving users control over software while the provider manages hardware.
Q. What is platform as a service (PaaS)?
PaaS offers a managed environment for app development and deployment, handling infrastructure so developers can focus on coding.
Q. What is software as a service (SaaS)?
SaaS delivers ready-to-use applications over the internet, managed by the provider and accessible via web browser, such as Outlook, Gmail, etc.
Q. What is the difference between private and public cloud?
Private cloud environments are dedicated to a single organization and typically offer more control over infrastructure and data. They’re often used when customization, compliance, or integration with existing systems is a priority.
Public cloud services are provided by external vendors and offer access to shared infrastructure. They’re designed to support scalability, flexibility, and a wide range of services that can be quickly deployed.
Q. Can I use both private and public cloud together?
Yes. This is known as a hybrid cloud approach. It allows organizations to combine the control and customization of private cloud with the scalability and flexibility of public cloud services. At the university we use a hybrid model to securely connect on-premises systems with cloud environments, supporting a wide range of departmental needs.
Governance, Compliance & Financial Operations
Q. What is the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) and what do they do?
The Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) is a small strategic team that helps university groups adopt and use cloud services effectively. Our role is to act as a neutral facilitator to bridge business, governance and technology together. The CCOE is not a technical operational or engineering team; instead, it guides cloud adoption, promotes secure usage, and supports digital transformation across campus.
Q. What are the three core pillars of the CCOE?
The CCoE is guided by three foundational pillars that shape how we support cloud adoption across the university
Governance: We establish policies, security controls, and compliance frameworks to ensure cloud usage is secure, value-driven, and aligned with university standards.
Brokerage: We streamline the process of selecting and procuring cloud services, helping departments choose the right solutions while optimizing resources and aligning with strategic goals.
Transformation: We help facilitate innovation and growth by promoting collaboration and professional development, enabling teams to confidently embrace cloud technologies.
Q. How do Chargeback and Showback work, and what sets them apart?
Chargeback in cloud computing is the process of attributing incurred cloud service costs to university groups based on their actual usage. Showback is the practice of reporting cloud usage and costs to the departments but not charging them.
Q. Is HIPAA compliance automatically included with cloud services?
No. While AWS, Azure, and GCP offer HIPAA-eligible services, compliance is not automatic. It requires proper configuration and adherence to security best practices. Our organization has Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) in place with our cloud providers and resellers. These agreements are essential because they ensure that the cloud providers and resellers are contractually obligated to safeguard Protected Health Information (PHI) in accordance with HIPAA regulations. However, HIPAA compliance is a shared responsibility, and it is essential that you configure and managed your deployed services in accordance with applicable regulations.
Q. Is the University’s cloud environment secure?
Yes, the university’s cloud environment has been designed from the beginning with security in mind. Many security concerns are centrally managed through the enterprise platform hub, which handles all ingress and egress traffic for all cloud services. This ensures strong security controls, centralized monitoring, and compliance with university policies. However, security is a shared responsibility, and it is essential that you build, configure and manage your deployed services accounting for security uniquely to your needs. The CCoE also establishes guardrails, governance frameworks, and supports secure cloud adoption across departments.
Training & Development
Q. Are there training resources?
Yes, while the CCOE does not provide training directly, there are curated training resources available for you.