A SYSTEMATIC MAPPING STUDY OF CLOUD COMPUTING MIDDLEWARE, STACKS, TOOLS, DELIVERY NETWORKS

Abstract

Cloud computing is presently playing a significant role in the provisioning of vital services in information technology. A unique aspect of cloud computing is the cloud middleware and other related entities which supports applications and networks. Determining a particular research area especially in terms of cloud middleware and services at all levels could be a cumbersome process for a researcher, hence the need for reviews and paper surveys that identify research gaps. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic mapping study of cloud computing middleware, stacks, tools and services at all layers. The focus was on three facets of studies, the research facet, topic facet and contribution facet. The results showed that there were more publications on tool in the contribution facet with tool, model, method and process having 18.10%, 13.79%, 6.03% and 8.62% respectively. In addition, evaluation and solution research had the largest number of articles in terms of tool with 14.17% and 26.77% respectively. A most striking aspect of the systematic map is that solution research has the highest frequencies of publication in relation to all aspects of the topics extracted for the study. This study clearly identified gaps in the field of cloud computing middleware, which should stimulate interest for further studies by both researchers and industry practitioners.