Cloud Computing and Information Technology Resource Cost Management for SMEs

This paper analyzes the decision-making problem confronting SMEs considering the adoption of cloud computing as an alternative to in-house computing services provision. The economics of choosing between in-house computing and a cloud alternative is analyzed by comparing the total economic costs of the two options assuming the quality of service is identical across the options. The decision-making process was found to require substantial information gathering to identify explicit and implicit costs to inform the final decision. Careful considerations of decision time horizons also matter in determining the relative value of cloud computing.