Factors affecting the adoption of cloud computing in Saudi Arabia's government sector

In an economic recession, cloud computing technology can play a significant role in public organisations and private sector companies since it decreases the cost of using information technology (IT) services besides offering several other benefits. Cloud computing technology is not currently used extensively in the public sector organisations, specifically in the case of Saudi Arabia for various reasons and factors. The aim of this study is to identify and understand these factors that may affect the adoption of cloud computing in the Saudi government sector; to understand the theoretical background of this problem by proposing a conceptual model; and to help and guide the Saudi government organisations to adopt cloud computing by proposing a practical implementation roadmap. This study has used a mixed-method research approach which consists of two phases in collecting and analysing the data. The first phase, an online survey was conducted and theoretically designed based on the literature survey. 169 respondents participated from four government organisations, the educational sector, and independent consultants. The quantitative analyses of the data were processed from descriptive and one-way frequency statistics to inferential and regression analysis. Nineteen hypotheses were tested. The quantitative data were analysed to identify the factors that may affect the adoption of cloud computing and to measure the significance of these factors. Based on that, the hypotheses of this research were tested and verified. The second phase, a qualitative study was conducted by using a multiple case study approach. The qualitative data were collected by conducting interviews with key people in the government organisations in order to analyse deeply and understand the nature of the problem then to find the potential solution that will lead to the adoption of cloud computing. Four Saudi organisations were chosen to participate in this study. The data were analysed by using a thematic analysis approach. The examined factors were classified into three main categories: the organisational and technological context; the environmental and external pressures; and the perceived benefits. This study contributes to the knowledge by: conducting a comprehensive survey of the literature that lead to identifying the potential factors that may affect the adoption of cloud computing; the study also found a theoretical model lacking that addressed the influences and challenges in the adoption of cloud computing and proposes a novel conceptual model that helps to better understand these factors; moreover, a practical roadmap is developed to guide the government organisations to adopt cloud computing in an effective efficient way in order to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The findings of this study are sequentially divided into two stages. In the first stage, the quantitative data were analysed to identify the factors that may effect on the adoption of cloud computing and to measure the significance of these factors. Based on that, the hypotheses of this research were tested and verified. In the second stage, a qualitative data were collected by conducting interviews with key people in the government organisations in order to dig deeply and understand the nature of the problem, and to find the potential solution that will lead to adopt the cloud computing.