Cloud Computing Business Case Framework: Introducing a Mixed-Model Business Case Framework for Small and Medium Enterprises to Determine the Value of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is still at the top of the agenda of almost every company. The market for cloud services grew consistently over the last year and is expected to continue to rise over the next few years. To justify the investment, companies need to carefully evaluate the costs, benefits and risks of cloud services and create a compelling business case. The formation of a strong case for an investment decision about cloud services presents two primary challenges for small and medium enterprises. Companies often cannot compare the true costs of different services since they do not know the current costs of their IT-systems and do not include all the cost factors of cloud services within their calculations. Secondly, it is difficult to include all the intangible benefits and risks of cloud services within the business case, as they are not possible to quantify or hardly quantifiable. A framework for the cloud business case based on the current state of the art literature can help to overcome those challenges by creating awareness for all relevant factors and defining a suitable business case method.