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Evaluating the efficiency of cloud services using modified data envelopment analysis and modified super-efficiency data envelopment analysis

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Abstract

Several cloud services with comparable functionality are now available to customers at different prices and performance levels. Often, there may be trade-offs among different functional and non-functional requirements fulfilled by different cloud providers. Hence, it is difficult to evaluate the relative performances of the cloud services and their ranking based on various quality of service attributes. In this paper, we propose a modified data envelopment analysis and a modified super-efficiency data envelopment analysis for evaluating the cloud services and their efficiencies considering user preferences. We compare these methods of cloud service selection based on sensitivity analysis, adequacy to changes in DMUs, adequacy to support decision making and modeling of uncertainty. The comparison helps customers to choose a cloud service that is most suitable to their requirements and also creates a healthy competition among the cloud service providers.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Saurabh Kumar (IIT, Kanpur, India) and Akshay Jaiswal (IIT-BHU, Varanasi, India) for their help in implementing parts of DEA and SDEA (during their internships at IDRBT) in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India

    Chandrashekar Jatoth

  2. Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad, India

    Chandrashekar Jatoth & G. R. Gangadharan

  3. Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

    Ugo Fiore

Authors
  1. Chandrashekar Jatoth
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  2. G. R. Gangadharan
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  3. Ugo Fiore
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. R. Gangadharan.

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Chandrashekar Jatoth declares that he has no conflict of interest. G. R. Gangadharan declares that he has no conflict of interest. Ugo Fiore declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Communicated by V. Loia.

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Jatoth, C., Gangadharan, G.R. & Fiore, U. Evaluating the efficiency of cloud services using modified data envelopment analysis and modified super-efficiency data envelopment analysis. Soft Comput 21, 7221–7234 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-016-2267-y

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