Drivers and Barriers concerning Adoption of Cloud Computing : Focus on Strategic Decision Making

Abstract: Cloud computing is seen as the new IT paradigm and the biggest development of the decade in computing. The term was commercially formed in 2008 but the technology has been used earlier. Modern enterprises rely greatly on information technology and as it is changing, enterprises need to change with it. The view on ICT-strategy is evolving and becoming more incorporated with business strategy. Cloud computing has grown because of its many benefits, however there are drawbacks which hinders the technology from being widely adopted. This makes strategic decisions on whether to adopt cloud services or not difficult. This thesis provides aspects on drivers and barriers concerning adoption, with connection to ICT-strategy and how they affect medium-sized enterprises. As conditions regarding cloud computing are constantly changing this thesis aims to provide new insight on what drives enterprises to adopt cloud computing, as well as what hinders them. This qualitative study has used semi-structured interviews together with scientific articles and books to reach a conclusion of what enterprises face when constructing a successful ICT-strategy.