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The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the factors that lead to successful cloud computing adoption ion Irish SMEs. The literature suggests that cloud computing is the latest technology trend that promises to redefine the delivery of technology in the hugely important. The model of operational expenditure, scalability and a global reach, th at is beyond the reach of most SMEs, are seen as disruptive but enab ling features of cloud computing. The internal and external competitive forces prevailing in the Irish market provide a suitable backdrop to the research and the Irish gove rnment has many initiatives ai med at job creation in the technology and SME sectors and developing export markets. To consult more Economic essay sample, please see at Bộ Luận Văn Thạc Sĩ Kinh tế
DUBLIN BUSINESS SCHOOL LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORE’S UNIVERSITY Factors that lead to Successful Cloud Computing Adoption in Irish Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises Douglas Black Student Number: 1717113 This Dissertation is presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Master of Business Administration in Cloud Computing at Dublin Business School in conjunction with Liverpool John Moore’s University May, 2013 Total words excluding quotes, bibliography and appendices: 19967 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Table of Figures 3 Acknowledgements 5 Abstract 6 Chapter 1: Introduction 7 1.1 Background 7 1.2 Research Objectives 10 1.3 Research Question 11 1.4 Scope and limitations of the research 11 1.5 The organisation of the dissertation 12 1.6 Contributions of the research 13 Chapter 2: Literature Review 15 2.2 Introduction 15 2.3 Small Medium Enterprises 16 2.3.1 Introduction 16 2.3.2 Identifying the SME 17 2.3.3 SMEs in Ireland 18 2.3.4 Competitive Advantage 21 2.4 Cloud Computing 22 2.4.1 Introduction 22 2.4.2 Inflection Point 23 2.4.3 Explaining the Cloud 24 2.4.4 Strategic Choices 27 2.4.5 Irish Perspective 29 2.5 Technology Adoption 32 2.5.1 Introduction 32 2.5.2 Lifecycle Choices 33 2.5.3 Value Proposition 36 2.5.4 Frameworks 38 2.5.5 Vendor Support 41 Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Methods 44 3.1 Introduction 44 3.2 Research Methodology 45 3.3 Research Philosophy 46 3.4 Research Approach 47 3.5 Research Strategy 48 3.6 Research Choice 50 3.7 Time Horizons 51 3.8 Sampling 52 3.9 Data Collection 56 3.10 Data Analysis 58 3.11 Reliability and Validity 60 3.12 Ethics 62 Chapter 4: Findings 64 4.1 Introduction 64 4.2 Data Collection 64 4.3 Data Analysis 65 4.4 Findings 67 4.4.1 Organisational Maturity 67 4.4.2 Decision Frameworks 69 4.4.3 Vendor Relationships 69 4.4.4 Technology Effect 70 4.4.5 Environmental Support 71 4.4.6 Ireland Effect 72 4.4.7 SME Focus 73 4.4.8 Strategic Viewpoint 75 4.4.9 Lifecycle Alignment 76 4.4.10 Clear Benefit 76 4.4.11 Commercial Opportunities 77 Chapter 5: Discussion 79 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Irish SME Advantage 79 5.3 Understanding Value 80 5.4 Government Support 82 5.5 Strategic Choice 83 5.6 Organisational Approach 84 5.7 Industry Influence 85 Chapter 6: Conclusions 87 6.1 Introduction 87 6.2 Irish Advantage 87 6.3 Understanding Value 88 6.4 Strategic Choice 88 6.5 Organisational Approach 89 6.6 Industry Influence 89 Chapter 7: Self Reflection 91 7.1 Introduction 91 7.2 Management Skills 92 7.3 Research Skills 93 7.4 Conclusion 95 Bibliography 97 Appendix 104 Appendix Respondent Contact 104 Appendix Interview Guide 105 Appendix Interview Consent Form 108 Appendix Findings Matrix 109 Appendix Personal SWOT Analysis 113 Table of Figures Figure SMEs in Ireland: Fact Sheet (SBA, 2010) 18 Figure Think Small First Principles (European Commission, 2008) 21 Figure Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing (Gartner, 2012) 23 Figure NIST Cloud Computing (NSAI, 2012) 26 Figure ICT Contribution to Employment and Value Added (Goodbody, 2011) 30 Figure Technology Adoption Lifecycle (Rogers, 2003) 33 Figure Four Strategic perspectives (Slack et al., 2010) 35 Figure Thee Factors in Successful Cloud Adoption (Techaisle, 2012) 43 Figure The Research Onion (Saunders, et al, 2009) 46 Figure 10 Research Choices (Saunders, et al, 2009) 50 Figure 11 Sampling Selection (Saunders et al., 2009) 52 Figure 12 Findings Reference Matrix 67 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge a number of people who have been part of the writing of this dissertation I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor from Brid Lane who gave me advice and encouragement and above all a clear guidance through the dissertation process I would like to thank those individuals who that took time away from the pressures of work to be interviewed And thanks to all of my extended family who directly or indirectly helped me to complete this dissertation, especially Anne and Mike, Michelle and of course Enya Thanks to my mother for putting up with me on my ‘sabbaticals’ away from the library Finally, I would also like to thank my wife, Angela for her encouragement, understanding and for ‘sharing’ the dissertation process with me Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the factors that lead to successful cloud computing adoption ion Irish SMEs The literature suggests that cloud computing is the latest technology trend that promises to redefine the delivery of technology in the hugely important The model of operational expenditure, scalability and a global reach, that is beyond the reach of most SMEs, are seen as disruptive but enabling features of cloud computing The internal and external competitive forces prevailing in the Irish market provide a suitable backdrop to the research and the Irish government has many initiatives aimed at job creation in the technology and SME sectors and developing export markets The Irish SME and technology sector are central focus for government initiatives and support, and Dublin is touted as the Cloud Computing capital of the world However, does the intention support the reality that faces Irish SMEs and can this be a factor in the success of adopting cloud computing The findings give a different perspective and SMEs are finding that factors affecting successful cloud computing adoption are in contrast to the literature This research concludes by identifying the factors that lead to the success of cloud computing adoption by Irish SMEs Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background The topic of this research is cloud computing adoption and specifically it explores the factors which have led Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s) to successfully adopt cloud computing The ubiquitous use of the internet and advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have become significant factors in the growth of businesses as well as defining new models of doing business Cloud computing is the latest innovation that affects all businesses and create new business models In particular, it allows businesses of all size and scale to access similar technologies SMEs are also the key growth sector in cloud computing with annual growth rates above 20% (European Commission, 2012a) In a recent report on the critical issue of Ireland’s competitiveness, it is clear that SMEs have the potential to be the catalyst for making a significant contribution to national economic recovery (Goodbody, 2011; Enterprise Network Europe, 2010; Microsoft, 2010) Research in the SME sector is also important due the SME’s large share of the market and their importance for employment and GDP and SMEs in Ireland represent 99.5% of all business enterprises (SBA, 2010) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Ireland represent a growth sector, and contribute over €10bn annually to the Exchequer, making an enormous contribution to the Irish economy (Enterprise Network Europe, 2010) Cloud Computing sales by Irish firms are predicted to contribute a further €9.5bn to the Irish economy by 2014 and the overall technology sector is vital to Irish economic recovery (New Morning IP, 2012) Ireland was home to almost a quarter of a million SMEs in 2010, and employing almost a million people (Enterprise Europe Network, 2010) In terms of economic value added to Ireland, SMEs contribute a disproportionate amount of value (56%) relative to their size (SBA, 2010) The Irish government has undertaken a number of steps to foster SME growth, with 15 different initiatives (ISME, 2012) In terms of access to finance, these initiatives include responses at the fiscal – tax incentives – level, as well as equity, non-equity investment funding, and bank-based credit schemes These schemes are overseen by cross-agency government groups, with the main inward investment focus being handled by the Irish Development Agency (IDA) and the small business and export-oriented supports coming mainly from Enterprise Ireland In addition, on January 2013, the National Pensions Reserve Fund announced a series of new funding measures for the SME sector, with a sum of €850 million being made available to provide equity, credit and restructuring and recovery investment for Irish small and medium-sized businesses and mid-sized corporations At EU level, the EU Small Business Act 2008 brought in a wide range of pro-enterprise measures designed to make life easier for small firms through the ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe (European Commission, 2008) This act, once transposed to into local legislation set out medium term SME policies aligning with the “Europe 2020” strategic direction (European Commission, 2012b) The overall theme of these initiatives includes promoting the uptake and effective use of Information and Communications Technologies by SMEs These measures are intended to stimulate competitiveness in the market and SMEs are best placed to take advantage, being more agile than larger enterprises The introduction of new technologies represents both risks and opportunities for businesses Cloud Computing is at the point of becoming a mainstream way to deliver information technology but has polarised the opinion of Information Technology Decision Makers (Chorafas, 2011) On one side, innovative organisations and industry are promoting the benefits of bringing cloud computing into their organisations, whilst on the other side concerns are being raised about security and data privacy (Babcock, 2010) In the current global financial crisis, Ireland, despite being in some economic turmoil, has a booming technology sector, making it an ideal context in which to study the successful use of cloud computing In 2012 two new cloud computing research facilities were launched (Enterprise Ireland, 2012b; DCU, 2012) Ireland is an ideal location for firms engaged in cloud computing, with a well-educated and motivated workforce and favourable financial conditions for technology investment Cloud computing is one of the growth industries in Ireland and is a catalyst for economic growth (Goodbody, 2011) In a broader context, Ireland is part of an international cloud computing business that is dominated by US firms (New Morning IP, 2012) Ireland has the dual roles of being a leader in both providing and consuming cloud computing services For businesses that are considering adopting or migrating to cloud computing, Ireland seems to be in a unique position to give SMEs access to the industry leaders, researchers and vendors, together with strong government support This encouraging perspective for Irish SMEs does not however, lead to automatic success Those SMEs who wish to join the cloud computing revolution are faced with information overload, hype and immature products, and are faced with decisions of technology choice, business strategy and the problem of understanding if adopting these technologies will benefit or destroy their business Harindranath, G Dyerson, G R (2008) ICT Adoption and Use in UK SMEs: a Failure of Initiatives? 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K May (2007) Insights Tips for Analysing Qualitative Data Available at: http://www.insites.org/CLIP_v1_site/downloads/PDFs/TipsAnalzQualData.5D.8-07.pdf (Accessed: 10th February 2013) Yang, H Tate, M (2012) A Descriptive Literature Review and Classification of Cloud Computing Research Communications of the Association for Information Systems 31 Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol31/iss1/2/ (Accessed: 1st November 2012) Yin, K (2003) Case Study Research Design and Methods 3rd edn London: Sage 102 Zhang, Y , & Wildemuth, B M (2009) Qualitative analysis of content In B Wildemuth (Ed.), Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science (pp.308-319) Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited 103 Appendix Appendix 1 Respondent Contact Dear _ I am a mature student with a background in engineering, education and IT and am currently conducting research for my thesis as part of a MBA in Cloud Computing at Dublin Business School My research is looking at the factors in successful cloud computing adoption by SME’s in Ireland I am looking for candidate companies that have cloud computing success stories and who would be willing to take part in an interview as part of this research Anonymity and privacy would be observed and the results would of the research would be available to the company and interviewee If this is something that your company might consider and/or recommend a similar company then I can send you further information Regards Douglas Black +353XXXXXXXXX http://www.linkedin.com/in/blackdouglas 104 Appendix 2 Interview Guide Dublin Business School 13/14 Aungier Street, Dublin 2, Ireland T: + 353 (0) 4177500 Interview Guide Introduction I appreciate the opportunity to interview you and for you taking the time to meet with me today The purpose of this interview is to gain an insight into success factors in SMEs adopting cloud computing and I am very interested in your companies journey to the cloud My background is engineering, education and information technology, my last job was as the IT manager for a CRO, and for the last year as a MBA student The interview should take an hour I will be taping the session because I don’t want to miss any of your comments Although I will be taking some notes during the session, I can’t possibly write fast enough to get it all down All responses will be kept confidential This means that your interview responses will not be shared, discussed or disclosed to anyone To analyse the transcript for this this research project I will obscure any information that could identify you or your business by coding This is a normal qualitative data analysis technique and allow me to analyse the transcript and produce data without bias I have a set of topics to guide the interview but I am interested in any direction the interview might take These follow a path from introduction to conclusion and I am interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of your experiences and insights If I don’t understand something I will ask you to explain Questions Code Topic Questions Prompts 01 What is your background? Experience? Skills? Philosophy? How did the business develop? Organically? Funding? Support? History? What is the structure of the business? Employee’s? Background and Experience Management? 105 Localities? Sectors? 02 Technology and Business How dependent is the business on Types? technology? Customers? What was the process that led to the Infrastructure? use of cloud computing? Technology? Business opportunity? Competitiveness? How did the employees contribute to Strategy? the project? Evangelist? Team? What is the business case for cloud Resistance? computing? Strategic? Diversity? 03 Possible Solutions How did you select the cloud Existing vendor? technology? Tender? Testing? External? What assistance did you have with this Technical? project? Business? 04 Selection To what extent did current and past SLA? technology experience influence the Experience? project? How did you plan the project? Expertise? Organic? Frameworks? Good Practice? 05 Realisation How did cloud computing change the Practices? business? Staffing? 106 Products? What were the factors that affected Services? the outcome of the project? Organisational? Experience? Chance? 06 Operationalize What was the contribution of internal Resistance? and external stakeholders to the Benefits? outcome of the project? Problems? 07 Evaluation What made the project a success? Leadership? Employee’s? Vendors? 08 Conclusion What have we missed out? New Insights? What are your comments about the Usefulness? interview? Conclusion Thank you for your time and insights I think it will be a very good contribution to the research If there is anything that I have missed or you think of later, my contact details on the consent form and feel free to contact me The research will be completed in the summer and I will send you on a copy of the findings Once again, thank you for your time and the contribution, it has been enlightening Contact Brid Lane for any issues 107 Appendix 3 Interview Consent Form Dublin Business School 13/14 Aungier Street, Dublin 2, Ireland T: + 353 (0) 4177500 brid.lane@dbs.ie Interview Consent Form Course: MBA Cloud Computing Student: Douglas Black Supervisor: Brid Lane Title: Factors that lead to Successful Cloud Computing adoption in Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Purpose: This research is an exploration of the lessons that can be learnt from SMEs that have successfully adopted cloud computing in the Irish context Over 98% of all businesses are SMEs and this is an important sector for research Cloud Computing is the next wave of technology and has been identified by the Irish Government as a key component to Ireland’s recovery from the economic crisis Ireland is therefore a contemporary and relevant context for research Interview: This interview is for the purpose of academic research and will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes The interview will be recorded, transcribed and coded to protect privacy, confidentiality and to obscure participants A copy of the transcribed interview will be sent to the interviewee Privacy: All interview material is protected under the Data Protection Act 2008 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 The student (Douglas Black) undertakes not to disclose or discuss any part of the interview with any other person The student and the interviewee are the only persons that have access to the interview material All interview material will be destroyed at the end of the research project and a notification of destruction sent to the interviewee Consent: I agree to take part in this interview I understand I can terminate the interview at any time Signature: Date: 108 Question Text SME Focus Commercial Opportunities Lifecycle Alignment Clear Value Decision Framework Strategic Viewpoint Ireland Effect Environmental Support Technology Effect Vendor Relationship Question Reference Organisational Maturity Appendix 4 Findings Matrix Could tell me something about your background Q0801 SME legislation from the EU is it Q0802 Microsoft did that looking for projects to demonstrate the cloud at the same time, a symbiotic partnership Q0803 What about data protection Q0804 There’s a safe harbour agreement in place Q0805 And Ireland is in a good position I take it because Microsoft is… Q0806 Did you straight away go with Microsoft or did you look at anything else? Q0807 10 Your project wouldn’t have been viable with the cloud 11 Q0808 In terms of your customers what was their reaction when they knew the technology 14 Q0809 12 13 If you were doing this now, if you were starting now would you anything differently 15 Q0810 How did you plan to sell that to customers 16 Q0811 Ireland support for SMEs in Ireland Q0812 18 17 Ireland are technology leaders with cloud computing, cloud computing champions of Europe with the technology hub of Europe 19 Q0813 State aiding success stories, through the IDA and Enterprise Ireland Do you think that has a big influence Q0814 20 22 21 My understanding is there is a huge effort by the banks to lend what your experience is but there’s a different reality to that Q0815 23 Is there anything you think I’ve missed out anything else Q0816 24 109 Okay, so could we talk about your background Q1201 How dependent is your business on current technology Q1202 What drives the technical strategy? Is this driven by customer demand or driven by your expertise within the company or your strategy? Q1203 So this gives your customers a particular comfort factor or know that you are following an industry standard Q1204 In general you see it as a threat to your business [open source] Q1205 You decided to move to the cloud what was the decision making process? Q1206 11 10 Looking at emerging markets? 12 Q1207 13 Is this something that couldn't be achieved with traditional technology 14 Q1208 16 17 15 18 How did you sell that to the business internally 19 Q1209 20 Did you look to other companies that have successfully come to this model 21 Q1210 22 Some good Irish success stories, Big Red Book, Paddy Power even 23 Q1211 But even within Microsoft Azure to try and understand the pricing 24 Q1212 Can you see there would be some sort of regulation? 26 Q1213 25 [Risks] Innovations Microsoft data centre Q1214 27 Q1215 30 28 29 It’s a great enabler and leveller European Data Protection Act does that concern you or your customers about where is the data 31 Q1216 Regional laws, implementations the regional 32 Q1217 Ireland is a context that’s a great positive 33 Q1218 They work on seven year blocks while small businesses might work in smaller blocks than seven years 34 Q1219 SME in Ireland, government initiatives, have you tapped into any of this as a company 35 Q1220 36 I counted fifteen different government initiatives at the moment and its central to the recovery of Ireland 37 Q1221 Q1222 39 40 38 Ireland being described as a 110 schizophrenic country at the moment government is pushing cloud computing, technology but they don’t seem to adopt it themselves 41 Q1223 What has made it a success for your company, the process? 44 Q1224 43 45 42 I think I would map content delivery network to an industry cloud 46 Q1225 Is there anything you think I’ve missed out, I might be interested to know 47 Q1226 Your background and about use of technology and their journey to the cloud Q1401 Understanding the pricing models Q1402 The company wouldn't exist without cloud computing 10 Q1403 Employees in the committed to this Q1404 company are 11 And your choice of technology 12 Q1405 Fifteen different Government initiatives to assist start-ups, incubators, small businesses 13 Q1406 Initiatives for the SME side of the business? Q1407 16 Q1408 19 15 17 14 Market entry strategy you have 18 21 20 Did it start off as a technology company and then looked to expand its sales or did it start off with the business idea 22 Q1409 And then looked to this technology as a way of globalizing 23 Q1410 Ireland is schizophrenic in its stage that it seems to be technology industry, there’s very little internal market for products at the moment 24 Q1411 Your market is mainly UK and Ireland at the moment 25 Q1412 What would you tell a small business starting up or what would you differently 26 Q1413 The current economic climate Q1414 27 28 And for the technology, for the company, the business idea did that all come from? 29 Q1415 31 30 Can you see in the future that the core business would change to becoming a more entrepreneur type company then? 32 Q1416 Q1417 33 34 Is there anything else I’ve missed out that you might want to suggest in this 111 current climate or Government initiatives or European initiatives Government cloud computing they know nothing about it themselves and in fact they are pretty much mandating them not to use it 35 Q1418 TOTALS 8 12 12 13 11 14 112 Appendix 5 Personal SWOT Analysis Douglas Black SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Worksheet • For instructions on using SWOT Analysis, visit www.mindtools.com/rs/SWOT • For personal career or life strategy, visit www.mindtools.com/rs/LifePlanWorkbook Strengths Weaknesses What you well? What could you improve? What unique resources can you draw on? Where you have fewer resources than others? What others see as your strengths? What are others likely to see as weaknesses? I have excellent problem solving technical and analytical skills I have little knowledge and understanding of the Cloud Computing industry I am results oriented, and I am highly focused on quality outputs My primary degree was not in a business discipline I draw on a broad range of technical experience and life skills I have no experience in writing for different audiences, for different purposes, outside of the technology field I can work autonomously I am self-motivated and conscientious My research skills are narrowly focused on technology only I can think and learn independently I can deliver Projects Opportunities Threats What opportunities are open to you? What threats could harm you? What trends could you take advantage of? What is your competition doing? How can you turn your strengths into opportunities? What threats your weaknesses expose you to? Ireland at the forefront Cloud Computing industry Current economic climate has resulted in a very competitive job market Shortage of skilled and experienced IT professionals IT skills may become more specialised and technically focused at particular products Network of Industry contacts Flood of new graduates and government interventions Flexible approach to career change 113 114 ... success of adopting cloud computing The findings give a different perspective and SMEs are finding that factors affecting successful cloud computing adoption are in contrast to the literature... following question: What are the factors associated with success in adopting cloud computing, and what lessons can be learnt from that lead to successful cloud computing adoption by SMEs in Ireland?... research is to investigate successful cloud computing adoption by Irish SMEs Through investigating the processes of successful cloud computing adoption, the researcher will identify the factors that