Skip to main content
Log in

Cloud computing in industrial SMEs: identification of the barriers to its adoption and effects of its application

Electronic Markets Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cloud computing is a new technological paradigm that may revolutionize how organizations use IT by facilitating delivery of all technology as a service. In the literature, the Cloud is treated mainly through a technological approach focused on the concept definition, service models, infrastructures for its development and security problems. However, there is an important lack of works which analyze this paradigm adoption in SMEs and its results, with a gap between the technological development and its adoption by organizations. This paper uses a qualitative technique methodology -group meetings with managers- and a quantitative one—survey- and identifies which factors act as barriers to Cloud adoption and which positive effects its application generates in 94 industrial SMEs. The conclusion is that the main barriers are of a cultural type and that the positive effects go well beyond reducing costs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ahmad, M. (2010). Security risks of cloud computing and its emergence as 5th utility service. Information Security and Assurance. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 76, 209–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A., Katz, R., & Konwinski, A.et al. (2009). Above the clouds: A Berkeley view of cloud computing. Retrieved 1 March, 2011, from http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2009/EECS-2009-28.pdf

  • Bayrak, E., Conley, J. P., & Wilkie, S. (2011). The economics of cloud computing, No 1118, Working Papers, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 1 March, 2012, from, http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:van:wpaper:1118

  • Betcher, T.J. (2010). Cloud computing: Key IT-related risks and mitigation strategies for consideration by IT security practitioners. Retrieved 9 December, 2010, from http://www.academicroom.com/dissertation/cloud-computing-key-it-related-risks-and-mitigation-strategies-consideration-it-securit?discipline=385837

  • Bhardwaj, S., Jain, L., & Jain, S. (2010). Cloud computing: A Study of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). International Journal of Engineering and Information Technology, 2(1), 60–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Böhm, M., Leimeister, S., Riedl, C., & Krcmar, H. (2010). Cloud computing and computing evolution. Retrieved 9 December, 2010, from http://www.joint-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/BoehmEtAl2009c.pdf

  • Brynjolfsson, E., & Hitt, L. M. (2003). Computing productivity: firm level evidence. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 85(4), 793–808.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buyya, R., Yeo, C.S. & Venugopal, S. (2008). Market-oriented cloud computing: Vision, Hype, and Reality for delivering IT services as computing utility. 10th IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications, Dalian. doi:10.1109/HPCC.2008.172

  • Cellary, W., & Strykowski, S. (2009). e-government based on cloud computing and service-oriented architecture, In (Eds), Proceedings of ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, Bogota, Colombia, ACM New York.

  • Chen, Y., Paxson, V., & Katz, R.H. (2010) Whats new about cloud computing security?. Tech. report UCB/EECS-2010-5, EECS Dept., Univ. of California, Berkeley.

  • Clemons, E., & Chen, Y. (2011). Making the decision to contract for cloud services: managing the risk of an extreme form of IT outsourcing, In Proceedings of 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Kauai. doi:10.1109/HICSS.2011.292

  • Cloud Security Alliance. (2009). Security guidance for critical areas of focus in cloud computing. Retrieved 11 December, 2010, from http://www.cloudsecurityalliance.org/guidance/csaguide.pdf

  • Colomo-Palacios, R., García-Crespo, Á., Soto-Acosta, P., Ruano-Mayoral, M., & Jiménez-López, D. (2010). A case analysis of semantic technologies for R&D intermediation information management. International Journal of Information Management, 30(5), 465–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, R., Patnaik, S., & Misro, A.K. (2011). Adoption of cloud computing in e-Governance. Paper in CCSIT 2011, Part III, CCIS, 161–172, Springer: Berlin Heidelberg.

  • Dewan, S., & Ren, F. (2011). Information technology and firm boundaries: impact on firm risk and return performance. Information Systems Research, 22(2), 369–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon, T., Wu, C. & Chang, E. (2010). Cloud computing: Issues and challenges, In Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Information Networking and Applications Perth, IEEE, 27–33.

  • Dumay, J. C. (2009). Intellectual capital measurement: a critical approach. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 10(2), 190–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ENISA. (2009). Cloud computing: benefits, risks and recommendations for information security. Retrieved 12 December, 2010, from http://www.enisa.europa.eu/act/rm/files/deliverables/cloud-computing-risk-assessment/at_download/fullReport

  • Erdogmus, H. (2009). Cloud computing: does nirvana hide behind the nebula? IEEE Software, 26(2), 4–6. Retrieved 10 December, 2010 from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.libproxy.uoregon.edu/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=04786942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etro, F. (2009). The economic impact of cloud computing on business creation, employment and output in the E.U. Review of Business and Economics, 54(2), 179–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etro, F. (2010) The economic consequences of the diffusion of cloud computing, in Dutta, S., & Mia, I. (2010). The Global Information Technology Report 20092010 ICT for Sustainability. Londres, Foro Económico Mundial-INSEAD.

  • European Commission. (2010) The future of cloud computing. Opportunities for European cloud computing beyond 2010. From http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/cloud-report-final.pdf

  • Geelan, J. (2009). Twenty-one experts define cloud computing. Virtualization Journal. Retrieved 4 December, 2010, from http://virtualization.sys-con.com/node/612375.

  • Hubbard, D. W. (2010). How to measure anything: finding the value of intangibles in business. 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons.

  • IDC. (2009). IDC’s new IT cloud services forecast: 2009–2013. Retrieved 5 May, 2011, from http://blogs.idc.com/ie/?p=543

  • International Data Corporation, IDC ( 2008). IT cloud services forecast-2008–2012: A key driver for growth. Retrieved 4 December, 2010, from http://blogs.idc.com/ie/?p = 224.

  • Kaufman, L. (2009). Data security in the world of cloud computing. Security & Privacy, 7(4), 61–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, W. (2009). Cloud computing: Today and Tomorrow. Journal of Object Technology, 8(1), 65–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasica, J. (2009). Identity in the age of cloud computing: The next-generation Internet’s impact on business, governance and social interaction. Washington, D.C: Aspen Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leavitt, N. (2009). Is cloud computing really ready for prime time? Computer, 42(1), 15–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. J.-Y. (2008). Complementary effects of information technology investment on firm profitability: the functional forms of the complementarities. Information Systems Management, 25(4), 364–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, S. (2012). A review on cloud computing development. Journal of Networks, 7(2), 305–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marston, S., Li, Z., Bandyopadhyay, S., Zhang, J., & Ghalsasi, A. (2011). Cloud computing: the business perspective. Decision Support Systems, 51(1), 176–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mell, P., Grance, T. (2011). The NIST definition of cloud computing. recommendations of the national institute of standards and technology. Special publication 800–145

  • Melville, N., Kraemer, K., & Gurbaxani, V. (2004). Information technology and organizational performance: an integrative model of it business value. MIS Quarterly, 28(2), 283–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD, (2009). The impact of the global crisis on SME and entrepreneurship financing and policy responses. Retrieved 9 December 2010, from: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/smesandentrepreneurship/43183090.pdf

  • OECD (2010): Information technology outlook 2010 highlights. OECD publications. Retrieved 7 February, 2011, from: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/60/21/46444955.pdf

  • Powell, T. C., & Dent-Micallef, A. (1997). Information technology as competitive advantage: the role of human, business, and technology resources. Strategic Management Journal, 18(5), 375–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramayah, T., Lee, W. C., & Boey, C. I. (2011). Network collaboration and performance in the tourism sector. Service Business, 5(4), 411–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rastogi, A. (2010). A model based approach to implement cloud computing in e-Governance. International Journal of Computer Applications, 9(7), 15–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rittinghouse, J., & Ransome, J. (2010). Cloud computing implementation, management and security. Boca Raton: Taylor and Francis.

  • Russ, M., Jones, J. G., & Jones, J. K. (2008). Knowledge-based strategies and systems: A systematic review. In M. Lytras, M. Russ, R. Maier, & A. Naeve (Eds.), Knowledge management strategies: A handbook of applied technologies (pp. 1–62). doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-603-7.

  • Sher, P., & Lee, V. (2004). Information technology as a facilitator for enhancing dynamic capabilities through knowledge management. Information Management, 41(8), 933–945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soto-Acosta, P., Loukis, E., Colomo-Palacios, R., & Lytras, M. D. (2010). An empirical research of the effect of internet-based innovation on business value. African Journal of Business Management, 4(18), 4096–4105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Takabi, H., Joshi, J.B.D., & Ahn, G.J. (2010). Securecloud: Towards a comprehensive security framework for cloud computing environments. Proc. 1st IEEE Int Workshop Emerging Applications for Cloud Computing (CloudApp 2010), IEEE CS Press, 2010, 393–398.

  • Tsaravas, C., & Themistocleous, M. (2011). Cloud computing and e-government: A literature review. European, Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems 2011,(EMCIS2011) May 30–31 2011, Athens.

  • Vaquero, L., Rodero-Merino, L., Caceres, J., & Lindner, M. (2009). A break in the clouds: towards a cloud definition. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 39(1), 50–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velte, A., Velte, T., & Elsenpeter, R. (2010). Cloud computing a practical approach. McGraw-Hill.

  • Youseff, L., Butrico, M., & Da Silva, D. (2008). Toward a unified ontology of cloud computing, In Proceedings of Grid Computing Environments Workshop, Austin. doi:10.1109/GCE.2008.4738443

  • Zissis, D., & Lekkas, D. (2012). Addressing cloud computing security issues. Future Generation Computer Systems, 28(3), 583–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Pérez-González.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Ricardo Colomo-Palacios

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Trigueros-Preciado, S., Pérez-González, D. & Solana-González, P. Cloud computing in industrial SMEs: identification of the barriers to its adoption and effects of its application. Electron Markets 23, 105–114 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-012-0120-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-012-0120-4

Keywords

Navigation