Towards a cloud migration decision support system for Small and Medium enterprises in Tamil Nadu

Cloud computing is a promising computing paradigm which has the potential to speed up Information Technology adoption among SMEs in developing economies like India. The user friendly, pay per use cloud computing model offers SMEs access to highly scalable and reliable cloud infrastructure without having to invest on buying and maintaining expensive Information Technology resources. However, moving data and application to a cloud infrastructure is not straightforward and can be very challenging as decision makers need to consider numerous aspects before deciding to adopt cloud infrastructure. A review of the literature reveals that there are frameworks available to support cloud migration. However, there are no frameworks, models or tools available to support the whole cloud migration process. This research aims to fill that gap by proposing a conceptual framework for cloud migration decision support system targeted for SMEs in Tamil Nadu

Towards a Framework for Smart Manufacturing adoption in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Smart Manufacturing (SM) paradigm adoption can scale production with demand without compromising on the time for order fulfillment. A smart manufacturing system (SMS) is vertically and horizontally connected, and thus it can minimize the chances of miscommunication. Employees in an SME are aware of the operational requirements and their responsibilities. The machine schedules are prepared based on the tasks a machine must perform. Predictive maintenance reduces the downtime of machines. Design software optimizes the product design. Production feasibility is checked with the help of simulation. The concepts of product life cycle management are considered for waste reduction. Employee safety, and ergonomics, identifying new business opportunities and markets, focus on employee education and skill enhancement are some of the other advantages of SM paradigm adoption. This dissertation develops an SM paradigm adoption framework for manufacturing SMEs by employing the instrumental research approach. The first step in the framework identified the technical aspects of SM, and this step was followed by identifying the research gaps in the suggested methods (in literature) and managerial aspects for adopting SM paradigm. The technical and the managerial aspects were integrated into a toolkit for manufacturing SMEs. This toolkit contains seven modular toolboxes that can be installed in five levels, depending on an SME’s readiness towards SM. The framework proposed in this dissertation focuses on how an SME’s readiness can be assessed and based on its present readiness what tools and practices the SMEs need to have to realize their tailored vision of SM. The framework was validated with the help of two SMEs cases that have recently adopted SM practices

Technology organization environment framework in cloud computing

Cloud Computing is a rapidly emerging technology over the last few years, that has abolished the burden of purchasing heavy hardware and software. Cloud computing has been advantageous to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), though many SMEs have not adopted to delve into its appealing benefits. To increase the cloud adoption rate in these Enterprises, the most important thing is to understand the aspects which influence the cloud adoption. The article focuses on these factors, which influence the use of cloud services by establishing the three layer hierarchical framework based on the grounded on the Technology Oriented Environmental (TOE) framework through systematic literature review. Because cloud-based solutions offer numerous benefits for companies, they have precious cloud determinants. This paper therefore took into account the Technology Organization Environment TOE model for Cloud Computing adoption. In addition, the questionaries designed at the end also indicate the significant connection in the decision of adoption between three context of TOE. Moreover, the designed questionaries has been used for the analysis of cloud computing adoption in Bangladeshi SMEs

Industry 4.0 for SMEs

This open access book explores the concept of Industry 4.0, which presents a considerable challenge for the production and service sectors. While digitization initiatives are usually integrated into the central corporate strategy of larger companies, smaller firms often have problems putting Industry 4.0 paradigms into practice. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) possess neither the human nor financial resources to systematically investigate the potential and risks of introducing Industry 4.0. Addressing this obstacle, the international team of authors focuses on the development of smart manufacturing concepts, logistics solutions and managerial models specifically for SMEs. Aiming to provide methodological frameworks and pilot solutions for SMEs during their digital transformation, this innovative and timely book will be of great use to scholars researching technology management, digitization and small business, as well as practitioners within manufacturing companies

The Investigation of E-Marketplace Adoption by Small Medium Enterprises Using Individual-Technology- Organization-Environment (ITOE) Framework: A Case Study in Yogyakarta Province Indonesia

Background: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia have been encouraged by the Indonesian government to adopt e-marketplace platforms. However, the rate of e-marketplace adoption is shown to be low. In an effort to address the underlying issues this paper reports on the application of a modified form of the Technology-Environment-Organization framework that includes attributes of individual SME owner-managers. The application of the Individual- Technology-Organization-Environment (ITOE) framework is considered necessary given the overwhelming number of micro-SMEs that have one owner-manager and employ less than ten employees. The study takes a case study approach by studying e-marketplace adoption of SMEs in the province of Yogyakarta, a major city of Indonesia. Method: Using a survey instrument, data were collected using randomized sampling from SMEs in Yogyakarta and analyzed using the partial least squares method. Results: The results confirm the validity of the ITOE framework to this study context. The results also indicate that the Individual construct positively affects the organization construct in predicting e-marketplace adoption. The suitability of the ITOE framework for further application to other locations in Indonesia when investigating e-marketplace adoption by SMEs is validated. Conclusion: This study validates use of the ITOE framework in investigating e- marketplace adoption by SMEs in Indonesia. The ITOE framework can be operationalized for e-marketplace adoption, particularly when the research context has relevant factors to the individual context namely, where a predominance of micro-SMEs exists. Future research is to conduct a full-scale study of e- marketplace adoption in Indonesia

Business Intelligence and Analytics in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This thesis presents a study of Business Intelligence and Analytics (BI&A) adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the importance of BI&A is widely accepted, empirical research shows SMEs still lag in BI&A proliferation. Thus, it is crucial to understand the phenomenon of BI&A adoption in SMEs. This thesis will investigate and explore BI&A adoption in SMEs, addressing the main research question: How can we understand the phenomenon of BI&A adoption in SMEs? The adoption term in this thesis refers to all the IS adoption stages, including investment, implementation, utilization, and value creation. This research uses a combination of a literature review, a qualitive exploratory approach, and a ranking-type Delphi study with a grounded Delphi approach. The empirical part includes interviews with 38 experts and Delphi surveys with 39 experts from various Norwegian industries. The research strategy investigates the factors influencing BI&A adoption in SMEs. The study examined the investment, implementation, utilization, and value creation of BI&A technologies in SMEs. A thematic analysis was adopted to collate the qualitative expert interview data and search for potential themes. The Delphi survey findings were further examined using the grounded Delphi method. To better understand the study’s findings, three theoretical perspectives were applied: resource-based view theory, dynamic capabilities, and IS value process models. The thesis’ research findings are presented in five articles published in international conference proceedings and journals. This thesis summary will coherently integrate and discuss these results.publishedVersio

Proposal and validation of an industry 4.0 maturity model for SMEs

Purpose: This paper seeks to establish an Industry 4.0 maturity model for manufacturing SMEs. Thisresearch presents the characteristics of the proposed model, which takes the elements and the scope of thefourth industrial revolution, as well as the dimensions and assessment scales of some maturity modelsalready applied. Likewise, this document shows the modelling process and the model’s validation in SMEsin the city of Bogotá-Colombia.Design/methodology/approach: To determine the criteria of the maturity model, 6 major stages havebeen established: Literature Review, Development of the model; Validation of the model; Application ofthe model; Data analysis; and Conclusion and Recommendations. Findings: Considering the validation of some maturity models shown in the literature review, and alignedwith the purpose of this article, 8 dimensions have been established to measure the maturity level ofSMEs: Service; Operations; Quality; Products; Documented information- Big Data; Leadership andstrategy; Communication; and Culture and people. A model has been generated that allows evaluating thedegree of compliance in each dimension for manufacturing SMEs. The model can be applicable tocompanies in any industry. Also, it can determine the degree of implementation compliance of companiesin the same sector.Research limitations/implications: According to the literature reviewed, SMEs, especially those in LatinAmerica, still do not have a culture of applying the elements of Industry 4.0. Therefore, in the research, itwas not easy to understand the intrinsic variables of Industry 4.0 that SMEs have applied in different areas,which does not allow us to have the current context of SMEs and from that perspective to have a bettersimulation of the business model maturity.Practical implications: The model presented in this document serves as a basis for SMEs in LatinAmerica to establish a baseline measurement in relation to the application of Industry 4.0 elements incompanies.Social implications: What is intended with this work is to frame a baseline so that companies canunderstand their current maturity level in the terms that industry 4.0 could cover. Likewise, they cangenerate actions for the appropriation of new technologies that allow them to be more competitive. Thisdocument can be taken and applied by those entrepreneurs companies who wish to measure theiroperations.Originality/value: The essential point for the generation of the maturity level measurement model isfocused on determining the necessary dimensions on which the evaluation is based. In the literature found,most models focus their dimensions on measuring the digital in their processes and tangentially evaluate the organizational structure and the relationship between them. Additionally, the authors who address theorganization as a whole do not reveal the details for SMEs to self-evaluate. The models found have onlybeen implemented to evaluate one company along or individually. This model presents the coredimensions holistically and explicitly, taking important criteria such as quality, service, communication, andthe culture of all employees. Additionally, it shows in detail the model that allows to SMEs of themanufacturing sector to self-assess themselves in each dimension and in turn the degree of the businesssector in which they are or belongPeer Reviewe

Industry 4.0 for SMEs

This open access book explores the concept of Industry 4.0, which presents a considerable challenge for the production and service sectors. While digitization initiatives are usually integrated into the central corporate strategy of larger companies, smaller firms often have problems putting Industry 4.0 paradigms into practice. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) possess neither the human nor financial resources to systematically investigate the potential and risks of introducing Industry 4.0. Addressing this obstacle, the international team of authors focuses on the development of smart manufacturing concepts, logistics solutions and managerial models specifically for SMEs. Aiming to provide methodological frameworks and pilot solutions for SMEs during their digital transformation, this innovative and timely book will be of great use to scholars researching technology management, digitization and small business, as well as practitioners within manufacturing companies

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history