Cloud computing and economic growth

Cloud computing, is a rapidly evolving type of internetbased computing model that relies on sharing computing resources, rather than having local servers or personnel to handle them. It has already been adopted by a significant number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a business advantage able to improve their business environment and help them be more efficient and productive. Due to its beneficial characteristics, as flexibility of cost and scalability, cloud computing has the potential to transform the global ICT market techniques and contribute to the boost of economic growth. The provision of cloud computing services is a new and very promising business model and cloud service providers are already enjoying growing profits. This paper seeks to highlight the economic benefits of cloud computing adoption, its impact on the economic growth of a country, and to explore its diffusion using evidence from the European area. Another main objective is the demonstration of the economic benefits an SME can achieve by adopting cloud services instead of proprietary infrastructures. A case study of a new company entering the market is considered and the corresponding calculations are based on a software tool developed by our research team for the calculation of the total cost of ownership (TCO). Results, will reveal the economic benefits of the cloud and its contribution to the economic growth. General Terms Management, Design, Economics