IS Success Model for Evaluating Cloud Computing for Small Business Benefit: A Quantitative Study

Information system (IS) success has been extensively researched to frame key attributes of an information system or technology to understand its benefit to business. One definition of IS success is the adoption and extensive use of an information system (Robey & Zeller, 1978). In the present era of cloud computing, as in former IS eras, successful implementation is critical for achieving business success in all enterprise types. IS success is also described as a lagging multifaceted measure of technology effectiveness for a business. Early adopters of a new technology are a rich resource to determine benefits for later adopters, and this is true for those businesses looking to implement cloud computing. This is critically important for small businesses. Cloud computing is characterized as a 21st century model of acquiring computational resources and services through convenient on-demand provisioning mechanisms via a shared network (Mell & Grance, 2010, p. 50). With the resource challenges of small businesses, the selection of a particular cloud computing model can result in business success or calamity. Many small businesses realize they need to make key investments in the latest technologies to advance their business, but many have one opportunity to make the best choice and to do it right. Small businesses typically operate with limited capital resources to invest in new IS technologies, as well as fund their ongoing upgrades, enhancements, and support. The intent of this research study is to define an IS framework that small businesses can use to determine the benefits of a particular cloud computing solution before adoption, based on the efforts of select small businesses that are early adopters of cloud computing. This research will determine the essential features and attributes that enable cloud computing success for small businesses in their targeted marketplaces. The primary success constructs of this study will focus on the overall cloud quality, experience, and benefit. The results of this research will lead to an enhanced IS success model that will enable small businesses to target specific cloud-based computing services that align with their business requirements to enable them to achieve business success

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p