The perceived benefits of cloud computing technology for regional municipal governments and barriers to adoption

The perceived benefits of cloud computing technology for regional municipal governments and barriers to adoption

Cloud computing is becoming increasingly important in Information Technology (IT) as an enabler for improved productivity, efficiency and cost reduction. It is expected to offer benefits for public sector organisations and government agencies. Cloud computing has the potential to improve the reliability and scalability of IT systems, which in turn allows organisations such as regional municipal governments to focus on their core business and strategy development and implementation. Research about the use of cloud computing in the public sector in general is limited. There is a lack of exploratory studies that provide an in-depth and holistic investigation of the factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing. To date there is a lack of empirical studies about the factors that influence the adoption of cloud computing in Australia.

This research explores the potential for value creation that can be derived from cloud computing through its use by Australian regional municipal governments; to identify factors that are likely to influence its adoption including factors that need to be considered when planning to adopt cloud computing, current policy settings for cloud computing adoption, the anticipated benefits of cloud computing adoption, and the challenges and issues that the adoption of cloud creates. The research model was based on a combination of two theories derived from the literature: the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory.

This research aims to improve understanding of the factors that influence cloud computing adoption decision making by regional municipal governments. This research has employed a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative). In-depth interviews with Australian local government councils’ IT managers were conducted with the aim of providing insights into the factors that were perceived to be those likely to influence their adoption of cloud computing; including factors that need to be considered when planning to adopt cloud computing, current policy settings that affect cloud computing adoption, the anticipated benefits of cloud computing adoption, and the challenges and issues that are faced by those seeking to adopt cloud computing. Survey data from 480 IT staff across 47 local government councils were collected to confirm the findings of the exploratory stage.

The factors that were examined included: compatibility, complexity, cost, security concern, organisation size, and anticipated benefit which were found to have a positive and significant influence on intention to adopt cloud computing in Australian regional municipal governments. The findings of this research can be used to assist decision-making about investment in adopting cloud computing.