Cloud Adoption Decisions : Benefitting from an Integrated Perspective

The issue of businesses understanding “cloud adoption” exists, despite the diverse academic research on cloud adoption. The various approaches (business and technical), theories (Technology-Organization-Environment, Transaction cost theory, Resource based view) have resulted in a fragmented and piece-meal approach to understanding cloud adoption. The purpose of this article is to review and consolidate the diverse literature on cloud adoption. This can help organizations decide their cloud readiness and understand the business implications from multiple perspectives. The paper begins with a focused review of existing literature on cloud adoption. The articles in the literature are then systematically classified on various parameters such as the perspective used (business versus technical), the dominant theory used and the adoption factors that are identified. Two existing frameworks are also critiqued to highlight their strengths and limitations. Finally, a short check list based on the cumulative findings is prepared. The review reveals common themes in terms of examining cloud adoption. It shows that cloud adoption has been primarily examined from the innovative technology perspective using the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. The two other dominant approaches that come up include the economic/cost perspective driven by transaction cost theory and the use of multicriteria decision framework. The article contributes by reviewing and consolidating the diverse literature on the topic of cloud adoption. The study organizes the recurrent themes in the reviewed articles in terms four important areas. Within each area, the study also provides some commonly asked questions that could help organizations understand their readiness to adopt cloud. This way, the article integrates different perspectives and provides organizations with a simple, holistic check list to examine business implications of moving to cloud.