Magister Artium - MA / Cloud computing, as a shifting paradigm, is expanding its “bandwagon effect” across industries worldwide. This is due to the several advantages of cloud computing that have been revealed by the public sectors (empirical setting of this study), including improved levels of flexibility and mobility, lower total cost of ownership, reduced energy savings and carbon missions. Most importantly, cloud computing can free government from building, maintaining and upgrading its infrastructures and technologies, and focus more on serving the citizens with optimised resources. Hence, this paper focuses on the readiness assessment of cloud-computing adoption within a Provincial Government of South Africa, which is in its cloud-computing embryonic phase. An extensive study of the literature on cloud-computing concepts, its characteristics, the possible non-technological readiness indicators for cloud-computing adoption, was conducted. This led to the identification of three main groups of readiness indicators: (i) Infrastructural indicators; (ii) organisational indicators; and (iii) environmental indicators. A conceptual model was then developed, according to these three main groups, with twelve sub-indicators. This model was subsequently tested in the empirical setting of the studied Provincial Government of South Africa by using the qualitative approach through the case-study methodology. The intended audience for this study are both academic and practitioners as it brings a conceptual model and the guidelines for assessing the government‟s readiness for the adoption of these cloud-computing technologies and services.

Cloud computing has gained popularity due to its ability to simplify IT infrastructure, reduce costs, and provide remote access. Among EU countries and company sizes, Sweden stands out with the highest rate of cloud computing adoption. However, there is a lack of concrete research in the literature focusing on the determinants of cloud computing adoption specifically by large companies in Sweden. Previous studies have examined cloud adoption from various perspectives, with a particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rather than large companies. Additionally, technology-related determinants have received more attention compared to those related to business, conceptualization, and application domains. To address this knowledge gap, this research aims to investigate the determinants of CC adoption in large companies in Sweden. The research question was formulated as follows: What are the determinants of cloud computing adoption in large companies in Sweden? Case study was selected as the research strategy, and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees working at a large company in Sweden, who have experience in the IT and cloud computing field. The TOE framework was used to categorize the determinants as sub-themes into three themes: technology context, organization context, and environment context. In Company X, 30 determinants were found, with 20 aligning with previous literature. These included factors such as security, compatibility, scalability, top management support, and competitive pressure. Additionally, 10 new determinants were identified, including robustness, perceived usefulness, innovativeness, knowledge and training, and geographical locations/data centers. The experience and lessons learned from Company X could assist other companies to have better preparation for cloud adoption by understanding the significance of various potential determinants and underlying problems.

MCom (Business Information Systems) / Department of Business Information Systems / Although technology is being progressively used in supporting student learning and enhancing business processes within tertiary institutions, certain aspects are hindering the decisions of cloud usage. Among many challenges of utilizing cloud computing, cybersecurity has become a primary concern for the adoption. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cloud cyber-security usage at rural based tertiary institutions in order to compare the usage with an urban-based institution and propose a cybersecurity framework for adoption of cloud computing cybersecurity. The research questions focused on determining the drivers for cloud cybersecurity usage; the current adoption issues; how cybersecurity challenges, benefits, and quality affects cloud usage; the adoption perceptions and awareness of key stakeholders and identifying a cloud cybersecurity adoption framework. A quantitative approach was applied with data collected from a simple random sample of students, lecturers, admin and IT staff within the tertiary institutions through structured questionnaires. The results suggested compliance with legal law as a critical driver for cloud cybersecurity adoption. The study also found a lack of physical control of data and harmful activities executed on the internet as challenges hampering the adoption. Prevention of identity fraud and cheaper security costs were identified as benefits of adoption. Respondents found cloud cybersecurity to be accurate and effective, although most of the students and employees have not used it. However, respondents were aware of the value of cybersecurity adoption and perceive for it to be useful and convenient, hence have shown the intention of adopting it. There were no significant elements identified to differentiate the perceptions of usage at rural and urban-based tertiary institutions. The results of the study are to be used for clarifying the cybersecurity aspects of cloud computing and forecasting the suitability cloud cybersecurity within the tertiary institutions. Recommendations were made on how tertiary institutions and management can promote cloud cybersecurity adoption and how students, lecturers, and staff can effectively use cloud cybersecurity. / NRF

Digitization has changed the conditions in which organizations can operate and conduct their business through digital workplaces. In order to meet the organizational requirements and technologies that digitalization entails, the digital workplace needs to be adaptable as well as strategically coordinated. Organizations also need to provide digital tools and systems to be able to work in the digital workplace. For that reason, the importance of the underlying technologies becomes crucial in the digital workplace. The purpose of this study is to achieve a deeper understanding of individual experiences in relation to the implementation and usage of a new IT platform. To answer the purpose of this study, we used a case study in which we conducted semi-structured interviews together with observations. This resulted in findings based on individual experiences that show both aspects of challenges and opportunities with the use of the IT platform. The conclusions that we established through this study are that learning and education in how the platform is expected to be used, as well as the platform's complexity, affect understanding and use of the IT platform. More businesses and organizations are going digital, and the conditions under which they operate and conduct business through digital workplaces are constantly changing. This study looks at how digital tools are used in one specific organization and how they might be made more efficient. Something that we believe can benefit both learning and development in other digital organizations' work.

From start-ups and small businesses to enterprises, cloud computing significantly impacts their operations. Many studies and research projects on cloud computing have been carried out to assess the impact of how organizations deliver IT services. This study has been conducted in organizations in Rwanda, one of the fastest-growing African countries in the ICT sector, which is turning the nation into a knowledge-based economy. Cloud computing provides several advantages to organizations, and the future also seems promising. However, organizations face several risks and challenges in using this technology. Therefore, they must be aware of challenges when migrating the workload to the cloud. This may alleviate not only the challenges but also create a graceful transition to the cloud. Therefore, this study will measure the perceptions of the challenges and benefits of using cloud computing technology in organizations in Rwanda. As the study shows, the major challenge organizations face is a shortage of cloud experts in the industry. The study revealed that migration is complex and risky, data security and privacy are concerns, and a high-speed internet connection is required and costly. The benefits include: minimizing IT costs with a pay-as-you-go model, better performance and speed, flexibility and scalability as the needs change, collaboration, and communication in the organization. It was concluded that, as cloud computing technology is a new concept to organizations, challenges in its implementation may occur. To help Rwanda's ICT sector grow, policymakers, organization managers, and executives should develop a comprehensive solution policy to address these challenges.

Cloud computing is one of the fastest expanding technologies and is being integrated into all sorts of industries worldwide. New cloud service updates occur multiple times per year compared to traditionally one, or less, times per year in on-premises solutions. The cloud allows for many benefits such as scalability and flexibility. Also, cloud computing is seen as an enabler for implementing other modern technologies. Despite its many benefits, organizations often struggle to adapt to the technology since it requires the business to make large adjustments to their previous ways of working. Failing to adapt the organization results in an underutilization of the technology’s benefits, which in turn can have negative effects on performance and cost effectiveness. To provide clarity to organizations in terms of how to make the changes needed and where to place focus, the aim of this study is therefore to identify Critical Success Factors for utilizing cloud computing. Succeeding within these factors intends to enhance the continuous maintenance of cloud computing. A qualitative approach was employed in this case study of a company which operates in the socially important agricultural industry. The primary data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with IT employees from the case company’s different divisions. Complementing the primary data, a previous pilot study report was also analyzed. By conducting a thematic data analysis, a discussion of the themes, with regards to the dimensions within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, resulted in four proposed Critical Success Factors: automated testing, Cloud Center of Excellence, cloud strategy, and trading partner support. The findings are expected to guide organizations to a successful utilization of cloud computing which enables them to further optimize their resources and thus better take advantage of the technology’s benefits. In an increasingly digital business landscape, the Critical Success Factors can aid in maintaining competitive advantage by increasing the organization’s adaptability. Lastly, this study also contributes to literature in the areas of Cloud Computing Adoption in large enterprises and extends previous research by adding a longer-term perspective beyond the initial adoption phase. / Molntjänster är en av de snabbast växande teknologierna och integreras i alla branscher världen över. Nya uppdateringar sker flera gånger per år jämfört med traditionellt sett en eller färre gånger per år när man använder fysiska lösningar (on-premises). Molntjänster möjliggör många fördelar såsom skalbarhet och flexibilitet. Det ses också som en möjliggörare för att implementera andra moderna teknologier. Trots dess många fördelar har organisationer ofta svårt att anpassa sig till teknologin eftersom det kräver att verksamheten anpassar sina tidigare sätt att arbeta på. Att misslyckas med att anpassa organisationen resulterar i ett underutnyttjande av teknikens fördelar, vilket i sin tur kan ha negativa effekter på prestanda och kostnadseffektivitet. För att ge organisationer klarhet i hur de ska genomföra de förändringar som behövs och var de ska lägga sitt fokus så är därför syftet med denna studie att identifiera kritiska framgångsfaktorer för att utnyttja molntjänster. Att lyckas inom dessa faktorer avser att förbättra det kontinuerliga underhållet av teknologin. Ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt användes i denna fallstudie av ett företag som är verksamt inom den samhällsviktiga jordbruksindustrin. Insamling av primärdata skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med IT-anställda från det studerade företagets olika divisioner. För att komplettera den primära datan analyserades även en förstudierapport. Genomförandet av en tematisk analys och den efterföljande diskussionen av identifierade teman, med avseende på ramverket Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), resulterade i fyra föreslagna kritiska framgångsfaktorer: automatiserad testning, Cloud Center of Excellence, molnstrategi samt stöd från handelspartners. Resultaten förväntas vägleda organisationer till ett framgångsrikt utnyttjande av molntjänster som gör det möjligt för dem att ytterligare optimera sina resurser och därmed bättre dra nytta av teknologins fördelar. I ett allt mer digitalt affärslandskap kan framgångsfaktorerna hjälpa till att upprätthålla konkurrensfördelar genom att öka organisationens anpassningsförmåga. Slutligen bidrar denna studie också till litteraturen inom områdena kring anskaffning av molntjänster i stora företag, genom att tillföra ett långsiktigt perspektiv bortom den initiala anskaffningsfasen.