Cloud Providers Viability: How to Address it from an IT and Legal Perspective?

A major part of the commercial Internet is moving toward the cloud paradigm. This phenomenon has a drastic impact onthe organizational structures of enterprizes and introduces new challenges that must be properly addressed to avoid majorsetbacks. One such challenge is that of cloud provider viability, that is, the reasonable certainty that the Cloud ServiceProvider (CSP) will not go out of business, either by filing for bankruptcy or by simply shutting down operations, thusleaving its customers stranded without an infrastructure and, depending on the type of cloud service used, even withouttheir applications or data. This article attempts to address the issue of cloud provider viability, defining a possible way ofmodeling viability as a non-functional requirement and proposing some approaches that can be used to mitigate the problem,both from a technical and from a legal perspective. By introducing a structured perspective into the topic of cloud viability,describing the risks, factors and possible mitigators, the contribution of this work is twofold: it gives the customer a betterunderstanding to determine when it can rely on the cloud infrastructure on the long term and what precautions it should takein any case, and provides the CSP with means to address some of the viability issues and thus increase its customers’ trust

A Metrics Suite of Cloud Computing Adoption Readiness

First online: 06 February 2016</p

The design, development and evaluation of a holistic cloud migration decision framework

No keywords provided in dissertationCloud Computing has gained traction since its emergence and client organisations that want to benefit from the Cloud are looking for ways to migrate their on-premise applications to the Cloud. To assist client organisations with migration projects, researchers and practitioners have proposed various Cloud migration approaches. However, these approaches differ in applicability depending on the type of application being migrated and the Cloud Service Provider where the application is being migrated to. The various approaches to Cloud migration create complexity in Cloud migration decisions as client organisations have to consider various approaches depending on the migration project. The purpose of this dissertation is to create a universal Cloud migration approach that can be applied to every Cloud migration project. In this dissertation, a cloud migration decision framework is proposed; namely, A Holistic Cloud Migration Decision Framework (HCMDF). The research strategy that was followed is Design Science Research (DSR) and was selected since the output of the research is going to be an Information Technology (IT) research artefact. By applying the DSR strategy, the HCMDF was successfully developed and evaluated in the real world using an adaptive case study. The analysis of the results indicated that the HCMDF solves Cloud migration problem and that it can be applied to every Cloud migration project. Throughout the evaluation, areas of improvement were identified and these will be considered in future research.School of ComputingM. Tech (Information Technology

Holistic Approach Framework for Cloud Computing Strategic Decision-Making in the Healthcare Sector (HAF-CCS)

Cloud Computing is an evolving information technology paradigm that impacts many sectors in many countries. Cloud Computing offers IT services anytime, anywhere via any device and is applicable to healthcare organisations, offering a potential cost saving of 15% to 37%. This research investigates Cloud Computing as a facilitating technology to solve some of the challenges experienced by healthcare organisations such as the high cost of implementing IT solutions. The purpose of this research is to develop and apply an Holistic Approach Framework for Cloud Computing Strategic Decision-Making in the Healthcare Sector (HAF-CCS) to provide a systematic approach to the adoption of Cloud Computing that considers different perspectives. Although, Cloud Computing is becoming widely used, there is limited evidence in the literature concerning its application in the Saudi healthcare sector. In the thesis, current cloud adoption decision-making frameworks are analysed and the need to develop a strategic framework for Cloud Computing decision-making processes which emphasises a multidisciplinary holistic approach is identified. Understanding the different strategic aspects of Cloud Computing is important and could encourage organisations to adopt this model of computing since the decision regarding whether to adopt Cloud Computing is potentially a complex process; there are many perspectives to be considered, and studying this process requires a multiple perspective framework. The framework developed in this thesis aims to support decision-makers in healthcare organisations by covering five perspectives of Cloud Computing adoption: Organisation, Technology, Environment, Human and Business. The framework integrates the TOE (Technology-Organisation-Environment) framework with the Information Systems Strategy Triangle (IS Triangle) and the HOT-fit (Human- Organisation-Technology) model to support an holistic evaluation of the determinants of Cloud Computing adoption in healthcare organisations. The factors that will affect Cloud Computing adoption in healthcare organisations in Saudi Arabia have been identified using quantitative and qualitative methods, and a case study approach was implemented to validate the framework. The results of the validation showed that the framework can support decision-makers in understanding an organisation’s position regarding Cloud Computing and identifying any gaps that may hinder Cloud Computing adoption. The framework can also provide healthcare organisations with a strategic assessment tool to help in gaining the advantages of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing adoption by SMEs in Australia.

This study aims to examine the important factors that influence SMEs&rsquo; adoption of cloud computing technology. The results showing that SMEs were influenced by factors related to advantaging their organizational capability rather than risk-related factors. The findings are useful to SMEs owners, Cloud service providers and government in establishing Cloud computing adoption strategies for SMEs

A Knowledge Management Based Cloud Computing Adoption Decision Making Framework

Cloud computing represents a paradigm shift in the way that IT services are delivered within enterprises. There are numerous challenges for enterprises planning to migrate to cloud computing environment as cloud computing impacts multiple different aspects of an organisation and cloud computing adoption issues vary between organisations. A literature review identified that a number of models and frameworks have been developed to support cloud adoption. However, existing models and frameworks have been devised for technologically developed environments and there has been very little examination to determine whether the factors that affect cloud adoption in technologically developing countries are different. The primary research carried out for this thesis included an investigation of the factors that influence cloud adoption in Saudi Arabia, which is regarded as a technologically developing country. This thesis presents an holistic Knowledge Management Based Cloud Adoption Decision Making Framework which has been developed to support decision makers at all stages of the cloud adoption decision making process. The theoretical underpinnings for the research come from Knowledge Management, including the literature on decision making, organisational learning and technology adoption and technology diffusion theories. The framework includes supporting models and tools, combining the Analytical Hierarchical Process and Case Based Reasoning to support decision making at Strategic and Tactical levels and the Pugh Decision Matrix at the Operational level. The Framework was developed based on secondary and primary research and was validated with expert users. The Framework is customisable, allowing decision makers to set their own weightings and add or remove decision making criteria. The results of validation show that the framework enhances Cloud Adoption decision making and provides support for decision makers at all levels of the decision making process