FRAMEWORK TOWARDS CLOUD COMPUTING ADOPTION BY SMES IN UGANDA (original) (raw)
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— Cloud Computing may be viewed as a utility-based service, similar to the use of (e.g.) electricity. The setting up of the service, management thereof, support and subsequent upgrades are performed by the CSP (Cloud Service Provider) on behalf of the user. The user subscribes to the service and pays for the computing resources that were used during the specified period. Service subscription may be across the whole technology stack from Applications, Infrastructure and Platform; and with options of how it should be deployed i.e. Privately (in-house), Community (for limited number of users), Public (consumed via internet with no dedicated firewalls) or hybrid (with both in-house and public deployments). In this paper the researchers argue that Cloud Computing can alleviate the negative impact of poor management, lack of skill, lack of funding, etc. on the success of a small or medium business. Following a literature survey on the challenges experienced by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), with specific focus on the most recent South African SBP, SME Growth index, 2013, we suggest how Cloud Computing may facilitate SME business growth.
Ghana operate with limited information technology knowledge in record keeping, information processing and marketing. The adoption of cloud computing by SMEs in Ghana would help facilitate efficiency, reliability, cost reduction and enterprise collaboration. However, the rate of adoption of cloud computing among SMEs is slow and discouraging due to a number of barriers. The study adopted a mixed method approach where quantitative data was collected using questionnaires while qualitative data was collected using interview guide. Probability sampling technique specifically stratified and simple random sampling was used. Data was collected from various districts of Brong Ahafo. The study found out that, awareness level of cloud computing services among SMEs in the region is very low. This turns out to be the greatest barrier to the adoption of cloud computing by SMEs in the region. Other barriers include unreliability and high cost of internet services, security and privacy issues, lack of standardization, delay incurred in transferring data and compatibility issues. Based on the findings, the study recommended that, awareness of cloud computing should be created by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) through their training programs. Government should also work on the cost of internet services by reviewing tax incentives on communication, as cost incurred by Internet Service Providers (ISP) is relayed to the final consumer. ISP should also make internet more accessible and reliable by expanding their infrastructure.
For Small and Medium Scale Enterprises located in Cylanpinar District of Şanlıurfa, which is expected to join the digital world due to financial and sociological deficiencies, the Cloud Computing System is considered as a digital salvation proposal. Because the SMEs, where access to finance is identified as the main problem, must continue to exist in the competitive market. This situation requires SMEs' commitment to digital platforms; The financial and sociological deficiencies of Ceylanpınar SMEs make the needs of the Cloud Informatics clear. At this stage, Cylanpinar is proposing the Cloud Computing Systems which are thought to be compatible with the SME budget financially and easily understandable to SMEs in the digital sense. In this context, Cloud Computing Systems are included in the research in terms of security. The presented research study is directed towards SMEs in the general sense, whereas it is directed to Cylanpinar SMEs in the context of the sample. In addition, a model criterion was established in the study of document analysis. Öz Finansal ve sosyolojik yetersizlikler nedeniyle dijital dünyaya dâhil olması henüz beklentiler dâhilinde olan Şanlıurfa'nın Ceylanpınar İlçesi'nde yer alan Küçük ve Orta Ölçekli İşletmeler için, Bulut Bilişim Sistemi, dijital bir kurtuluş önerisi olarak düşünülmektedir. Finansmana erişimin temel sorun olarak belirlendiği Kobi'lerin rekabet piyasasında varlığını sürdürmesi, dijital platformlara bağlılığını gerektirdiğinden; Ceylanpınar Kobi'lerinin finansal ve sosyolojik yetersizlikleri, Bulut Bilişime olan ihtiyacını belirginleştirmektedir. Ceylanpınar Kobi'lerine bu aşamada dijital anlamda; hem kolay anlaşabilir hem de finansal anlamda Kobi bütçesine uygunluğu düşünülen Bulut Bilişim Sistemleri, güvenlik açısından da araştırma dâhilindedir. Araştırma çalışması; evreninde Kobi'lere, örnekleminde Ceylanpınar Kobi'lerine yönelik bir doküman analizi yoluyla neticelendirilerek, önerilerde bulunmaktadır.
Cloud Computing as Digital Technology - Definition, Models and Use in Enterprises
DIGITALIZATION. Society and Markets, Business and Public Administration
Cloud computing (CC) is a digital technology of Industry 4.0 and, together with digitalization, they digitally transform business entities. CC consists of many physical computers connected via the Internet, or is a distributed computing technology over a network, and enables the provision of information technology resources such as servers, databases, storage, applications, and others. The technological model of CC includes models of providing services over the Internet (Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, and Platform as a Service) and models of various deployment methods (public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, community cloud, distributed cloud, and multicloud). The scientific article contains: a theoretical definition of CC technology and a comparison of its use and adoption in enterprises, pointing out expenses, providers, and advantages of CC.
IT has changed us profoundly. It has changed our culture, it has changed our language, and it has even changed the way we think. Cloud computing is the most significant development for IT since the invention of the PC. Moreover, "cloud media" is an extension of the cloud computing. It is based on the idea that media applications and IT-based services that previously required some sort of local application or storage device are now moving off of local PCs and onto data center servers. Today, there are a variety of services that bring functionality to business and consumers via Web-based applications that were previously PCcentric and/or local server applications. Software as a Service (SaaS) applications such as Google Apps and CRM software from Salesforce or Amdocs are great examples of this. These services are not only focused on people but on businesses as well, thus enabling cloud media to affect not only IT itself but more importantly IT's relationship with the business. One could say that cloud media is potentially the game-changing paradigm that will rewrite the way companies view, use and pay for technology. In this paper we will study the ways in which cloud media can change the way business is done, not only in terms of organization, but also the complete organizational behavior of a company.
Cloud computing in the business environment of developing countries: Prospects and challenges
A revolution is taking place in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) world; it is termed cloud computing, and it is already having a tremendous impact on how worldwide businesses run. This paper reviews the impact of this phenomenon on how businesses are conducted and was organized under these subtitles: meaning of cloud computing, emergence of cloud computing, the critical characteristics and models of cloud computing, benefits to developing countries, the interplay of the relatively sudden emergence of cloud computing challenges, including security, legal, implementation, and compliance implications. As we head into the next industrial era, businesses that plan to remain relevant in the increasingly competitive, global marketplace, for the long haul, will do well to realign their ICT requirements with what the fifth utility can offer. Similarly, start-ups should, as part of the normal capital investment, engage the services of an efficient, reliable cloud-computing provider.
Cloud services characterize all variety of IT capability that is offered by the cloud service hosting to cloud service consumers. Cloud Computing networks access to a shared pool of configurable networks, servers, storage, applications, services, and other computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with least management effort or service provider interaction. In modern era of Information Technology, the accesses to all information related to a business activity in large scale manufacturing units can be made available at threshold, by certain checks and balances. The maximum population of Indian manufacturing not only comes from small and medium scale industry but also such companies contributes maximum share to Indian GDP. Large scale industries and O.E.Ms are in a position to spend as well are spending the required budget on IT(Information Technology) and control various costs and inventories on day–to-day basis by incorporating latest system software (For example ERP's ,SAP, Sales Force)etc. The small and medium scale industries lacks in using such software because it's of high fixed, operating costs and its privacy. Cloud computing is an emerging technology where serve is maintained by parent software company and domains are to be shared. In case parent host company charges reasonably affordable cost and encrypts the confidential data and stores it such that only authenticated users can access the data and ensures the security, safety and confidentiality of data, it can revolutionize the Medium and small scale industry users in enhancing the overall business performance. This research paper has been aimed at exploring the possibilities for implementing the cloud computing technology for improving the overall business performance for medium and small scale industries in India.
Cloud computing (СС) is a recent and significant trend in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage paradigm. The research attempts to evaluate the current situation of CC deployment in Latvia and investigate how CС services can improve business performance of Latvian Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) in various industries. The aim of the research is to identify the main factors motivating and influencing the adoption of CC services in Latvian SME, understanding the concept, benefits, and challenges of CC, its' impact on business performance and future perspective. This exploratory research paper tries to answer the following research questions: to what extent CC services are familiar to Latvian SMEs and how are they using CC services; what is the impact of CC usage on business performance and what is the potential and future foreseen of cloud computing services at Latvian SMEs in various industries. To attain the goal and objectives of the research the theoretical literature review is made and exploratory, descriptive mixed approach is applied for further research. The research was made during period 2016 April-June. This study provides insights and recommendations to SME, ICT vendors, service providers, government agencies, researchers and students.
The research was conducted to evaluate cloud computing in Ghana; Benefits and contribution to organisational performance in the Techiman Municipality. distributed to Fiagya Rural Bank and Aspet 'A' Company limited. random sampling and probability sampling techniques to ensure that participants were accessible throughout the period of stud Descriptive analysis factors like frequency tables, mean scores and percentages were generated, and their interpretations thoroughly explained and interpreted. T of cloud computing were improved collaboration between employers and customers, cost savings, extensive technical support from cloud providers, business continuity through disaster recovery, unlimited storage and safety in data storage. was among the factors that prevented SMEs for reaching their potential. The study also revealed that the awareness level of SMEs on the availability and accessibility of cloud services is low. Securit the cloud is among the greatest challenges that confront service providers and users. It is therefore evidently clear that the issue of security within the cloud cannot be over emphasised due to threats from within and outside of cloud environments. relationship between adoption of cloud computing a indication that, as SMEs tend to adopt Cloud computing, the organisational performance of that organisation ten recommended that Cloud computing should be incorporated into a holistic national ICT policy or framework for development. This will shape the development of viable strategies by po and agencies in technology that can increase the adoption and use of cloud services amongst SMEs. Copyright©2016, Batola David et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Att distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.