The impact of network related factors on Internet based technology in South Africa : a cloud computing perspective

Abstract

Outsourcing, consolidation and cost savings of IT services, are increasingly becoming an imperative source of competitive advantage and a great challenge for most local and global businesses. These challenges not only affect consumers, but also the service providers’ community. As IT is slowly becoming commoditised, consumers, such as business organisations, are increasingly expecting IT services that will mimic other utility services such as water, electricity, and telecommunications.To this end, no one model has been able to emulate these utilities in the computing arena.Cloud Computing is the recent computing phenomenon that attempts to be the answer to most business IT requirements. This phenomenon is gaining traction in the IT industry, with a promise of advantages such as cost reduction, elimination of upfront capital outlay, pay per use models, shared infrastructure, and high flexibility allowing users and providers to handle high elasticity of demand. The critical success factor that remains unanswered for most IT organisations and its management is: What is the effect of the communication network factors on Internet based technology such as Cloud Computing, given the emerging market context.This study therefore, investigates the effect of four communication network factors (price, availability, reliability and security) in the adoption of Cloud Computing by IT managers in a South African context, including their propensity to adopt the technology. The study investigates numerous technology adoption theories, in which Technology, Organisation and Environment (TOE) framework is selected due to it having an organisational focus as opposed to an individual focus.Based on the results, this study proposes that Bandwidth (Pricing and Security) should be included into any adoption model that involves services running on the Internet. The study makes an attempt to contribute to the emerging literature of Cloud Computing, Internet in South Africa, in addition to offering organisations considering adoption and Cloud Providers’ significant ideas to consider for Cloud Computing adoption.