A Method For Simulating Cloud Business Models: A Case Study On Platform As A Service

Cloud computing has changed how software is produced, distributed, consumed, and priced. The cloud paradigm has had a disruptive effect on existing business models and elicited a need for more thoroughly defined business models as well as the tools to represent and compare business models. In this paper, we address this research gap and present a structured approach that allows a systematic design of business models for cloud computing and provides tools to facilitate the business model design process through simulation. The resulting method is specified by means of a meta-model as well as a procedure model and is demonstrated by a software prototype. The developed method has been evaluated in three case studies in the context of Platform as a Service business models.

[1]  Tobias Mettler,et al.  Revenue Streams of Cloud-based Platforms: Current State and Future Directions , 2011, AMCIS.

[2]  Martin Bichler,et al.  Design science in information systems research , 2006, Wirtschaftsinf..

[3]  Salvatore T. March,et al.  Design and natural science research on information technology , 1995, Decis. Support Syst..

[4]  R. Amit,et al.  Value creation in E‐business , 2001 .

[5]  Paul Timmers,et al.  Business Models for Electronic Markets , 1998, Electron. Mark..

[6]  Randy H. Katz,et al.  A view of cloud computing , 2010, CACM.

[7]  B. Mahadevan.  Business Models for Internet-Based E-Commerce: An Anatomy , 2000 .

[8]  Raouf Boutaba,et al.  Cloud computing: state-of-the-art and research challenges , 2010, Journal of Internet Services and Applications.

[9]  P. Williams.  Practice management. , 2005, The Alpha omegan.

[10]  Katarina Stanoevska-Slabeva,et al.  Platform as a Service - A Conjoint Study on Consumers' Preferences , 2012, ICIS.

[11]  Nikolay Borissov,et al.  Cloud Computing – A Classification, Business Models, and Research Directions , 2009, Bus. Inf. Syst. Eng..

[12]  Anette Weisbecker,et al.  A Business Model Framework for the Design and Evaluation of Business Models in the Internet of Services , 2011, 2011 Annual SRII Global Conference.

[13]  Michael H. Morris,et al.  The entrepreneur's business model: toward a unified perspective , 2005 .

[14]  Sjaak Brinkkemper,et al.  Method engineering: engineering of information systems development methods and tools , 1996, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[15]  Alan R. Hevner,et al.  The Three Cycle View of Design Science , 2007, Scand. J. Inf. Syst..

[16]  George M. Giaglis,et al.  A research framework for analysing eBusiness models , 2004, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[17]  Yves Pigneur,et al.  Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present, and Future of the Concept , 2005, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[18]  R. Amit,et al.  The Business Model: Recent Developments and Future Research , 2011 .

[19]  John Viega,et al.  Cloud Computing and the Common Man , 2009, Computer.

[20]  Alan R. Hevner,et al.  Design Science in Information Systems Research , 2004, MIS Q..

[21]  H. Chesbrough.  Business model innovation: it's not just about technology anymore , 2007 .

[22]  Richard M. Johnson.  Trade-Off Analysis of Consumer Values , 1974 .

[23]  Katarina Stanoevska-Slabeva,et al.  Business Models of Platform as a Service (PaaS) Providers: Current State and Future Directions , 2012 .

[24]  Luis Rodero-Merino,et al.  A break in the clouds: towards a cloud definition , 2008, CCRV.

[25]  Markus Schief,et al.  Business Models in the Software Industry , 2012, 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[26]  Andreas Herrmann,et al.  Conjoint Measurement: Methods and Applications , 2000 .

[27]  P. Mell,et al.  The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing , 2011 .

[28]  David R. Firth,et al.  Communications of the Association for Information Systems , 2011 .

[29]  M. Lynn.  Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences , 1996 .

[30]  Eunmi Choi,et al.  A Taxonomy, Survey, and Issues of Cloud Computing Ecosystems , 2010, Cloud Computing.

[31]  Chris Rose,et al.  A Break in the Clouds: Towards a Cloud Definition , 2011 .

[32]  G. Karagiannis,et al.  Cloud computing services: taxonomy and comparison , 2011, Journal of Internet Services and Applications.

[33]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  Reinventing Your Business Model , 2008 .

[34]  Subhajyoti Bandyopadhyay,et al.  Cloud computing - The business perspective , 2011, Decis. Support Syst..

[35]  Samir Chatterjee,et al.  A Design Science Research Methodology for Information Systems Research , 2008 .