Adaptation and Effects of Cloud Computing on Small Businesses

Abstract

One of the popular technologies in the industry today is cloud computing and the use of cloud computing in small businesses is now fashionable, it has a remarkable impact on them by bringing a new way of working, accessing their data and storing it. The aim of the study is to examine the impacts and effects of migration to cloud computing on small businesses. The methodology used for this study is based on a review of past studies, which explains in broad terms each research question of this study. The results of this study shows that there are several benefits that cloud computing has to offer small businesses if cloud computing is adopted and that includes flexibility, cost reduction and automatic software/hardware upgrades etc. Cloud computing has a large storage capacity that helps small businesses store and access large amounts of data quickly and easily, and there are a number of cloud computing data recovery techniques that help to recover lost or damaged data in the cloud. In the same way that security is a major concern for all technologies, it is also a concern for data stored in the cloud; security techniques such as encryption, cryptography are mostly used to ensure that key areas of data security (data confidentiality, data integrity and data availability) are protected. The results of this study helps small businesses to understand the impact of cloud computing on their businesses and the various security measures that need to be taken while adapting cloud computing technology.