A comparative study and future research directions in cloud service discovery

Cloud computing technology is a new paradigm which provides Information Technology (IT) resources via the Internet. This new shift in the way that IT re-sources are offered to the user brings new challenges, such as cloud service discovery. Nowadays, cloud users are faced with a dilemma as they have an abundant choice of cloud services. Moreover, many cloud providers offer a range of services which deliver similar functionality. Locating the best and most appropriate cloud service with a suitable and capable provider is a primary concern for any consumer. In order to clearly comprehend the scope of this problem, a thorough analysis of the limitations of cloud service discovery approaches is required which, in turn, will empower researchers to deliver better solutions for consumers to make an informed decision and choose the right service. This paper presents an overview of the current cloud service discovery trends and challenges in recent studies. Additionally, the reviewed approaches are classified according to service discovery architecture and techniques. Furthermore, these approaches are compared and analysed from several perspectives including approach model/architecture, service type, ontology representation (domain, language, and reasoning), dynamic discovery model, evaluation model, user's preferences techniques, data updates, and public repositories.