The impact of cloud computing IT departments: A case study of Oman's financial institutions

The development of new technologies has changed the way computers are used in organizations, the type of applications used, and the way employees perform their tasks. Organizations need to pay attention to these technologies and keep up to date with the latest ones available because they can bring numerous benefits to the workings of the organization. A technology such as `cloud computing' has replaced the need for an organization to build a data centre, buy hardware, software, and other IT requirements. The use of cloud computing changes considerably the way IT services are used, especially for financial institutions such as banks. In the Sultanate of Oman, a number of banks are adopting cloud computing and experiencing its benefits. Therefore, the aims of the research are to explore their reasons for moving to cloud computing, its implementation in these banks, and how the move to the cloud has impacted their IT departments. To achieve the research aims interviews were conducted with domain experts, and it was found that cloud computing impacts the IT department of banks by shifting the roles and responsibilities of IT employees, and by helping them to focus more on providing better services rather than on technical issues. In addition, it was found that the main reason for moving to the cloud was the cost-saving associated with it. Before implementing cloud computing the banks evaluated the risks and benefits of adopting it, and then they signed a contract with the cloud provider. The implementation of cloud computing in the bank was then the responsibility of the cloud provider. Based on the bank's regulations, each bank found its own way of protecting its data, either by specifying strict SLA, or by signing a nondisclosure agreement.