Exploring the factors influencing the adoption of Cloud computing and the challenges faced by the business

Abstract

The popularity of Cloud computing keeps growing and everyday more businesses are starting to use Cloud services for their applications, software or infrastructure. However, a successful adoption requires a good understanding of the benefits and challenges presented by the Cloud. This study aims to explore the factors that influence the adoption of Cloud computing and the challenges a business is likely to face.

A case study of a large multinational company is constructed using information gathered from interviews with four IT managers. Because of the qualitative method and the convenience sampling technique used, the findings can only be generalized to the population studied.

The TOE framework model is used to explore the technological, organisational and environmental factors that could influence the Cloud adoption. Relative advantage, redundancy and performance are identified as the key technological factors and complexity, compatibility and security are found to be the key technological challenges faced by the business. Top management support, firm size and technological readiness are recognised as important organisational factors while competitive and trading partner pressure are identified as key environmental factors.

The factors and challenges identified in the study could be valuable for the planning stage of the adoption process. They could provide guidance for organisations that are potential Cloud adopters.

Stanislav Nedev is currently completing his BSc in Business and ICT at Sheffield Hallam University. His research interests include Cloud computing, Internet Security and Mobile Platforms Development.  Nedev can be contacted at nedev@hotmail.co.uk or  uk.linkedin.com/in/snedev/