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Trust in the Cloud

Pross, L.S. (2016) Trust in the Cloud.

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Abstract:The presented study is an examination of trust in cloud computing for organizations in the Netherlands. In this report the following research question will be answered: “What are the attributes of cloud computing for an organization to trust a cloud provider?” To answer this research question, a literature research was conducted followed by multiple case studies and an expert interview. The literature research was conducted to gather the attributes of cloud computing for an organization to trust a cloud provider and to propose a research model based on the literature and two main adoption theories. In order to test and validate the research model multiple case studies were held and an expert interview was conducted. According to the proposed research model trust is expected to have an influence on the adoption of cloud computing, with security, standards and certification, and reputation influencing the level of trust. Besides trust quality, divided into system quality and service quality, and compatibility also are expected to have an influence on the adoption of cloud computing by organizations. Eight organizations agreed to participate in the multiple case studies. In the multiple case studies the interviewees were asked questions regarding the use of cloud computing and their trust in cloud computing. In addition to the multiple case studies an expert in the field of cloud computing was interviewed as an extra validation of the results of the case studies. The results show that the organizations and expert concluded that security is one of the most important attributes. Although the cloud providers do need to work on their security level. The case study showed that the organizations are hesitant in using the cloud for their core business or private-sensitive information, which makes them use cloud computing in a smaller extent than they could have. While the expert mentioned that a cloud environment in most cases is more secure than your own and you should use it, even for the private-sensitive information. The expert also mentioned that certification and standards show the quality of the cloud provider. The organizations request a more dynamic certification and standards of the cloud provider so the transparency will be increased and a certain level of security can be guaranteed. The continuity and with that the reputation of the cloud provider is of an importance to the organizations when choosing a cloud provider. Concluding the results also show that the compatibility of the cloud environment with the systems of the organization is not validated. The overall quality of the cloud is of greater importance to the organizations and expert. . The quality of the system should meet the quality of their own systems if not exceed this quality in order to adopt cloud computing. Organizations require great service quality with a 24/7 helpdesk from the cloud provider. Not being able to access the cloud environment for even a few hours can be devastating for an organization. Organizations also expect some personalized service of the cloud provider and not being just one of the hundred organizations that have employed their cloud computing service. Looking at the attributes, no single attribute on its own can explain the trust and adoption of cloud computing. A trusted cloud provider may also not score on all of the attributes. Therefore a right balance between the different attributes is required for a cloud provider to ensure trust from organizations. This research shows that there is not one attribute or sample of attributes that explains the trust in all cases and that every organization and situation allows for a different combination of attributes. The trust in cloud computing and the increasing adoption of cloud computing is a widely debated topic, our study showed the perspective of organizations and their trust in cloud computing. In order to explain the attributes they require for trust and adoption of cloud computing. Looking at the literature study and research model no single study had encompassed all the attributes that were used in our research. With this our research aims to have practical and academic contribution and can serve as a guideline for future research.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:54 computer science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71524
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