CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES ADOPTION IN AUSTRALIAN SMES: A FIRM-LEVEL INVESTIGATION

Cloud computing services can boost the competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and leverage countries’ economies. In the Australian context, there is an emerging trend that SMEs begin to embrace cloud technology in their traditional business activities. However, prior studies did not pay much attention to investigating the factors that influence the cloud computing adoption among Australian SMEs. To fill the research gap, this paper investigates the influential factors that affect the decision on adopting cloud computing services for Australian SMEs. Protocol data collected from fifteen firm-level semi-structured interviews with practitioners are presented and discussed. The protocol analysis indicates that various factors are important to the adoption of cloud computing services for Australian SMEs, such as security concerns, cost savings, and privacy due to geo-restrictions. Furthermore, this study confirms the insignificance of complexity and competitive pressure factors in the adoption of cloud computing among Australian SMEs. These findings have imperative implications to scholars and practitioners alike in the cloud computing research and applications areas

CLOUD COMPUTING ADOPTION DETERMINANTS: AN ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIAN SMES

In Australia, there is an emerging tendency among SMEs towards the adoption of cloud computing. However, there are limited studies investigating the factors that influence cloud computing adoption within Australian SMEs. To fill the research vacuum, we developed a research model based on the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, and our prior exploratory study to investigate the determinants that influence the adoption of cloud computing. An organizational-level survey was conducted across Australia to collect data from technology decision makers in SMEs. Data collected from 203 firms are used to test the related hypotheses. This study contributes a statistically validated model of the influential determinants of cloud computing adoption. Data analysis indicates that Technological Factors (cost savings, relative advantages, compatibility, and trialability), Organizational Factors (firm size, top management support, innovativeness of the firm, and IS knowledge), and Environmental Factors (market scope and external computing support) were found to be determinants of the adoption of cloud computing services. Benefits of the findings are twofold. First, they provide knowledge about cloud computing determinants in the Australian marketplace. Second, they provide policy planners and SMEs’ decision makers with insights and directions for successful adoption of cloud computing technology

Clearing the ‘Cloud’ Hanging Over the Adoption of Cloud Computing in Australian SMEs

In Australia, cloud computing is increasingly becoming important especially with the new accessibility provided by the development of the National Broadband Network (NBN). This will give small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) opportunities of affordable access to computing resources. Academic studies in investigating the socio- technical issues that might be the reason in influencing the adoption of cloud computing are scant with the consideration of Australian SMEs. To fill the void, a research model was developed based on the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), the technology- organization-environment (TOE) framework, and unfolding the relevant literature review. Data was collected using mixed methods. The first study was an exploratory study and data was collected from eleven Australian SMEs and four cloud service providers. The second study was a national wide empirical study with 203 Australian SMEs across the country. The findings have two important contributions. First, they extend the existing knowledge of cloud computing adoption by Australian SMEs. Second, they provide SMEs, cloud service providers and policy makers with insights about the determinants of cloud computing adoption useful for planning and making decisions in the adoption of cloud computing. This research followed an exploratory approach in its nature

African Societal Challenges Transformation through IoT

Very limited trials have been conducted either industrially or academically in trying to uncover the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) in leveraging the societal problems in Africa. Based on the review of the current status of IoT implementation in Africa, we highlighted the potential opportunities to be taken into consideration by different stakeholders to leverage the living standards in the African nations. The study also identified some of the impending challenges that need to be addressed for a successful implementation of IoT solutions. The study proposes a framework that includes the relevant stakeholders, who need to cooperate harmoniously to alleviate the African countries’ challenges in areas such as agriculture and healthcare. This paper also proposes a multi-perspective research framework and aims to test it empirically to understand the views of IoT among users and practitioners in Africa