A case study analysis of risk, trust and control in cloud computing

Cloud computing is an emerging new computing technology which has attracted much attention. Previous literature has pointed to the role of trust and control to mitigate the risks associated with the adoption of the cloud. However, there is a paucity of research on how the combination of different types of trust with formal control can mitigate the risk of cloud adoption involving highly confidential data. This paper improves our understanding of this issue by applying a framework adopted from the strategic alliance literature. Drawing on a case study of a Children's charity, this paper demonstrates how control and trust building helped the charity to mitigate the risk of adopting cloud computing involving highly sensitive and confidential data. Furthermore, the paper proposes integrative and technical capacities as facilitators of the trust building process.