The Impact and Challenges of Cloud Computing Adoption on Public Universities in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

—This study investigates the impact and challenges of the adoption of cloud computing by public universities in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. A sample size of 100 IT staff, 50 para-IT staff and 50 students were selected in each university using stratified sampling techniques with the aid of well-structured questionnaires. Microsoft excel was used to capture the data while frequency and percentage distributions were used to analyze it. In all, 2, 000 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the ten (10) public universities in the southwestern part of Nigeria while 1742 copies were returned which represents a respondent rate of 87.1%. The result of the findings revealed that the adoption of cloud computing has a significant impact on cost effectiveness, enhanced availability, low environmental impact, reduced IT complexities, mobility, scalability, increased operability and reduced investment in physical asset However, the major challenges confronting the adoption of cloud are data insecurity, regulatory compliance concerns, lock-in and privacy concerns. This paper concludes by recommending strategies to manage the identified challenges in the study area.