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Higher Education Cloud Computing in Zimbabwe: Towards Understanding Trends of Adoption

Authors:
Maxmillan Giyane
Sheryl Buckley

Keywords: Cloud computing; Cloud adoption; Zimbabwe state universities; Higher education.

Abstract:
Cloud computing has gained attention in the field of Information Technology (IT). The technology has created new opportunities for many organisations worldwide. Organisations have adopted cloud computing due to its enormous economic benefits. Cloud computing can be used by the education sector as a computing solution required to deliver improved services to stakeholders. The majority of studies carried out are more biased towards business organisations. The educational sector has received little attention with regards to cloud computing technology. Therefore this study investigates the trends of adoption of cloud computing by Zimbabwe state universities. A sample of 5 IT directors was selected from 5 universities under study. In-depth interviews were used to uncover the trends of adoption of this cutting-edge technology. Literature was used to corroborate the findings. The encouraging factors and challenges confronting the extensive adoption and utilization of cloud services were also investigated. The results indicated that all the universities under study adopted cloud computing to a certain extent. The library services and anti-plagiarism systems were the major services adopted. The universities were though not fully enjoying the benefits of the technology due to bandwidth, security and privacy issues. The paper concludes by recommending strategies to mitigate the challenges being faced by universities.

Pages: 77 to 83

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2016

Publication date: October 9, 2016

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4499

ISBN: 978-1-61208-506-7

Location: Venice, Italy

Dates: from October 9, 2016 to October 13, 2016