Cloud Computing Adoption in Smes: A Study Based on Existing Data

Cloud computing provides small and medium-sized enterprises with pay-per-use flexible, scalable IT capabilities which can greatly affect their efficiency. This study summarizes available literature in order to assess cloud usage in SMEs, including, but not limited to, advantages, barriers, and future directions. One of the most important findings is that cost savings is the principal motivator in redefining organizational efficiency: 83% of the studies identified cost savings as a key driver researchgate.net. Cloud services can also enable greater flexibility, increase productivity, and improve access to the latest technologie pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov mdpi.com. However, SMEs are constrained by issues such as security/privacy, limited IT knowledge, lack of regulatory com Researchgate.net atlanticcouncil.org uncertainty. Adoption rates have also sped up rapidly, especially since COVID-19, as SMEs devote approximately half of their IT budget to cloud services cloudzero.com. Two case studies, one in Uganda that indicates SMEs were increasing efficiency and revenues by using cloud resources Researchgate.net Researchgate.net and another in Germany that highlights high concern for data sovereignty and compliance atlanticcouncil.org,. this study drew analysis from secondary data based on academic studies, industry reports, and surveys. The limitations are based on the review of published sources; and the risk of bias from the surveys. The study concluded with some practical recommendations: SMEs need to align cloud strategy with business strategy.