Factors that Determine the Adoption of Cloud Computing: A Global Perspective

Cloud computing has spread within enterprise faster than many other IT innovations. In cloud computing, computer services are accessed over the Internet in a scalable fashion, where the user is abstracted in varying degrees from the actual hardware and software and pays only for resources used. This paper examines the adoption of cloud computing in various regions of the world, as well as the potential of cloud computing to impact computing in developing countries. The authors propose that cloud computing offers varying benefits and appears differently in regions across the world, enabling many users to obtain sophisticated computing architectures and applications that are cost-prohibitive to acquire locally. The authors examine issues of privacy, security, and reliability of cloud computing and discuss the outlook for firms and individuals in both developing and developed countries seeking to utilize cloud computing for their computing needs. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1761-2.ch012