The impact of cloud computing on the innovation performance of South African SME's

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of adoption of cloud computing on the innovation performance of South African SMEs. Cloud computing adoption amongst SMEs is explored on the back of widespread usage of cloud services in South Africa. Extensive availability of a unique range of features endows SMEs with competitive advantage to achieve superior performance. How then does adopting cloud computing drive performance of SMEs and growth of the South African economy? By way of an online survey, the degree of adoption of cloud computing, the management attributes of EO and performance are investigated. Spearman correlation and multiple regression analysis is used to test results and adjudicate on hypothesis. The results show that there is vast adoption of cloud computing in the SaaS rather than PaaS and IaaS cloud service models in South Africa. Findings indicate that the interaction between adoption and EO leads to significant performance in SMEs. Usage of cloud computing is still at its nascent stages; managers need to recruit IT specialists who have the skills and expertise to configure complex cloud computing deployments. They also need to invest in purposive cloud computing projects that can drive further adoption to enable business growth. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on cloud computing usage, and the role of EO in the adoption of cloud computing to influence performance in South African SMEs.