Post cloud computing implementation benefits and challenges realised for a South African technology company

Abstract

Cloud computing (CC) is a maturing concept that is changing the way information technology is deployed globally. The promotion of CC with an expected impact of transforming the competitive landscape introduced the need to make strategic decisions whether to adopt this technology or not. Organisations world-wide need to take a position amongst the maze of promises as to the benefits of cloud computing, as well as the highly publicised challenges and risks associated with it. Generally, there has been little research on post cloud computing benefits and challenges from users' perspectives globally and more so in the South African context. Subsequently this research explores, from a user's perspective, the post CC benefits and challenges a South African (SA) technology company experienced since cloud adoption. The contribution of this work is to inform potential cloud providers of the realistic benefits, amongst other cost saving and standardisation, as well as challenges they can expect to encounter from cloud computing in a South African context.