The Benefits of Cloud Computing: Evidence From Greece

CloudcomputingisgaininggroundintheglobalICTmarketanddaybydayasignificantnumberof SmallandMediumEnterprises(SMEs)areadoptingcloudserviceswithsolepurposetoimprovetheir businessenvironmentandbecomemoreefficient,competitiveandproductive.Migratingabusiness ITinfrastructure to thecloudoffersreductiononserverandstoragecosts,softwaremaintenance expenditures,networkandenergyexpensesaswellascostsassociatedwithdisasterrecovery.Since thecloudcomputingmodelworksona“pay-as-you-go”basis,itprovidestheoptiontopayforwhat isused.Thus,itsadoptioncanofferslowstart-uporexpansioncosts,creatinganenvironmentfor rapidinnovationanddevelopment.Intothatcontext,thisarticlepresentstheGreeksideofcloud evolutionthroughtworepresentativecasestudies,themigrationofanITsystemofaGreekindustry, fromanin-housedatacentertoGoogleCloudandastudyofthe“in-house”ITinfrastructureofthe NationalConfederationofHellenicCommerce.FindingsfromtheGreekindustry,indicatethatthe cloudproposalcouldcost50%,or24%lesspermonth(dependingonthesolution).Asfarasthe NationalConfederationofHellenicCommerceisconcerned,thearticleproposesonlyanewmeasure ofsecurityusingCloudservicesforreasonsthatwillbediscussedatthecasestudy.Bothcasestudies takeintoaccountthepresentcostsoftheITsystem(energyconsumption,thirdpartycontractsand maintenance)andproposealternativesthroughcloudmigration.Resultsindicatethatcloudcomputing offersbenefitsandsignificantcostsavingsforbothstudiedcases,showingpromisingwaysforthe successfuladoptionofthecloud. KEywoRDS Cloud Adoption, Cloud Computing, Cloud Migration, Switching Costs, Technoeconomic Analysis