help planning a cloud solution

[George.]

So at tech university we've been assigned to plan a cloud solution which would improve security and reliability of a rail-based transport system. The machines are old and not computerized so I'd have to introduce standalone hardware and software to make it all work. The effort and cost should be minimal. I'm thinking on a few possible ways this could work (e.g. a centralized server with limited access according to the rank of the staff members plus a cloud backup) however I'm not very much into cloud architecture so any tips on what must and mustn''t be done would be greatly appreciated! Also if you are familiar with any existing plans which I could base mine on, please share. 

P.S. It's a side assignment, not rewarding grades or credits.