Barriers to Government Cloud Adoption

Abstract

Besides the benefits are there possible challenges government agencies are likely to encounter should they decide to adopt cloud computing? What strategies should be deployed to overcome the inhibitors of cloud computing? These are but few questions this paper aims to investigate. Studies have shown that, cloud computing has become a strategic direction for many government agencies and is already being deployed in many critical areas of the government's cyber infrastructure. The benefits and the challenges of cloud adoption have heightened interest of academic research in recent times . We are however uncertain, per literature factors that hinder successful cloud adoption especially in the Ghanaian context. We posit that, understanding the challenges of cloud adoption and overcoming them must accompany the use of the technology in order to prevent unwanted technical consequences, and even greater problems from government information management. This study is based on unstructured interviews from selected government agencies in Ghana. The study is grounded on the theory of technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework. Major inhibiting factors identified include lack of basic infrastructure for cloud take-off, data security, unreliable internet connectivity, and general lack of institutional readiness.