Biocloud: A Systemic Review and Classification

Nowadays, numerous journals have published papers related to biocloud – cloud computing techniques for biological applications (e.g., genome analysis, systems biology, infection disease), indicating many researchers’ interest. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review the works that were published in journals from 2006 to 2013, suggest a classification framework of cloud computing techniques and related issues for biological applications, and explore each feature of classification framework. The literature review is conducted by using an abstract and topic search. The classification framework is developed based on cloud computing architecture and IT service management, which consists of the following six layers: concept and research layer, SaaS layer, PaaS layer, IaaS layer, DaaS layer and service management layer. Current problems and future research direction of biocloud are discussed at the end this paper.