Cloud computing financial & cost analysis: A case study of Saudi government agencies

Abstract

Cloud computing is an innovation in world technology. It is used to provide organization services as a utility service through internet and innovative uptake of cloud for improved effectiveness and efficiency. There is an absence of academic studies about the financial feasibility and implementation cost to uptake of cloud by government agencies. This paper seeks to identify the cloud computing financial indicators and implementation cost variables which are relevant to public organizations. The proposed model consists of Saudi case study findings based on analysis of evidence from Saudi government organization. Random samples from different categories in professionalism in Saudi Arabia participated in the questionnaire to extract and confirm financial indicators and implementation cost variables. The results indicate a return on investment (ROI) and total cost ownership (TCO) are the main financial indicators to study cloud adoption. Also, data centre variable and fixed cost parameters play the main role to calculate cloud implementation cost.