Exploring the adoption of cloud computing as a business : a Bulawayo Small to Medium Enterprises (SMSs) Study

Abstract

Technology has removed all political boundaries, and has significantly transformed the way business is conducted in the modern age. The world has become a global village in which, by the mere click of a mouse button, anyone can reach any market in any part of the world. This however, has introduced stiff competition among businesses worldwide for markets, where the most affected are SMEs in developing countries. Research has shown these SMEs lack capital to invest in IT in order to improve their competitive advantage. Cloud computing is an emerging computing paradigm, which has been touted as the panacea to help SMEs in developing countries become competitive. For SMEs to be globally competitive, they need to transform and adopt ICT, and use it effectively. A great deal of research has been carried out on the benefits and barriers to ICT adoption by SMEs in both developing and developed countries. The findings obtained from studies from a single country cannot be considered „one size fits all‟ and thus, cannot be applied to all countries, due to the difference in geopolitical and economic development trajectories. Zimbabwe is a developing country, and by virtue of its unique history cannot be compared to any other country in the world. This means that no research conducted outside the borders of Zimbabwe can truly be generalised to SMEs in the country. This study explored the readiness of SMEs in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) to adopt cloud computing as a business strategy. The study used the NOIIE (which stands for National e-readiness, Organisational preparedness, Industrial relationships, Internal resistance and External influence) conceptual framework to assess the readiness of SMEs in Bulawayo in embracing cloud computing. The study undertook a positivist philosophy, underpinned by quantitative methodology. Questionnaires were sent to systematically sampled SMEs in order to answer the research questions. The data was then collected and analysed by SPSS. The findings revealed that most SMEs are notably young and small, and therefore not mature enough to have foundation for execution. The findings also revealed that top management in SMEs is either not willing to commit or do not have the resources to put in necessary infrastructure to migrate to cloud computing. This indicates a possible lack of awareness of the benefits of the cloud to SMEs. The government has not done enough to promote the use of cloud by SMEs. Power cuts and expensive Internet access exacerbate the plight of the SMEs to move to the cloud. Lack of visible cloud service providers makes the situation even worse.