Barriers to adoption of cloud computing

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Barriers to adoption of cloud computing in SME’s” The study investigated the issues that face small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) considering the adoption of cloud computing technology as a business tool. Four re-occurring themes were identified as barriers from the qualitative analysis namely security, reliability, cost and lack of control. These were investigated in more detail in an online survey.

Two information technology professionals completed the qualitative study and twenty two respondents were recruited, mainly via the social media platform LinkedIn to participate in the quantitative online survey. 87% of the participants worked in SME’s and 55% were already using cloud computing technology in their organization. Security and lack of control were cited as the main barriers to adoption of cloud computing technology. Cost, lack of knowledge and reputational threats were also highlighted. As the sample cohort was small, the study did not produce statistically significant findings, therefore further investigation would be required to consolidate these results.

Cloud computing is a relatively new technology and there remains scepticism amongst SME’s about the true benefits of adopting this approach. Similar barriers to adoption were expressed in this research study as were identified from the published literature. However a more robust study needs to be conducted with a larger cohort of SME’s to conclusively prove the significance of the barriers to adoption.