Analysing the enablers and barriers of cloud computing adoption for SMEs in Malta

Abstract

Cloud Computing is a disruptive technology that has developed a market in the IT industry. It has been proven to be extremely beneficial to Micro, Small and Medium businesses by moving their on premise computing resources on the network making them accessible from everywhere at any given time. This research analyses the enablers and barriers that SMEs registered in Malta are finding when adopting Cloud Computing. A critical literature was conducted to firstly define what Cloud Computing amounts to, and also to identify the available service models (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS), deployment models (Public, Private and hybrid Cloud), benefits of cloud computing and also the risks and worries of cloud computing. The research followed a qualitative analysis approach, where a number of face-to-face interviews were carried out on order to gather data from Cloud service providers in Malta. This data was then analysed and a number of enablers and barriers were indicated. The most prominent enablers that were outlined; Cost benefits, Flexibility, Security and reliability. A number of barriers were identified; infrastructure related issues, security and placement of data, lack of education, mixture of ownership and fear of the unknown. The study adds a number of recommendations and several research limitations were recognised. It was concluded that the market for Cloud Computing has recently developed and that the question is not if an SME should adopt cloud computing or not, but rather the questions has changed into how are we going to move the cloud and what are we going to move to such technologies.