- Aug 18, 2025
- 48 min read
Ukwuru Business Vol 24(10): 1-34
UKWURU BUSINESS
Ukw Busi. 2025; 24(10): 1-34. Published Online 2024 January 11
UkwBusID: USBusi1
ENGINEERS AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES IN WALES: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY
Ukwuru, Edmund Ikpechi
ABSTRACT
Background
Cloud computing services is a type of technology that facilitates seamless access to services without intensive commitment to hardware infrastructure. Private individuals and organisations have adopted cloud computing services for various purposes. Therefore, this study set out to identify the perceptions of cloud computing services among engineers in SMEs in South Wales.
Method
Mixed-methods research method was adopted for the study; involving both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. Fifty survey respondents were reached using Qualtrics survey, while 5 interviewees were interviewed on Microsoft teams through digital media invitation. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data collected.
Findings
The findings are that basic web services, Gmail, and various Software as a Service cloud computing platforms were commonly used; Microsoft 365 and One drive, and Google drop box. The impact of cloud computing services is strongly related to the benefits; fast, high quality, efficiency, and cost effective while the disadvantages are skill requirement and data safety. The reasons for using cloud computing services include ease of access, cost effectiveness, and capacity to increase productivity.
Conclusion
Overall, the perception of engineers in SMEs in South Wales is that cloud computing services are highly cost-effective and low risk investments for productivity improvement.
Recommendations
It is recommended that the benefits of cloud computing services outweigh the risk of using cloud computing services; hence, management engineers can consider adopting cloud computing services in order to increase performance and productivity.
Keywords: Cloud Computing, SMEs, Hardware Infrastructure, Software as a Service
1.0 Introduction and Background
The arrival of new technologies is almost always a welcome development Ceptureanu and Ceptureanu (2019), especially in every field of business where technologies facilitate cost reduction, improve work performance, and makes operations smooth, even and swifter (Khalil et al., 2014). Organisations generally face a range of limitations that may be improved by the introduction of new technologies (Mikkonen and Khan, 2016). Also, the reverse case might actually occur in which, the adoption of new technologies by organisations may be limited by lack of skills, finance, and typical difficulty accepting new technologies as underpinned by technology acceptance model (TAM) (Rahayu and Day, 2015). Ullah et al (2019) then noted that the acceptance of new technology is swifter if organisations perceive the benefits of the technology. Clarity of this can be drawn from theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Davis, 1989; Ajzen, 2002; Venkatesh et al., 2003). Cloud computing is a relatively new technology based on the advances that have been introduced through the years (Dumitrache, 2014). Starting in the mid-2000s, it has become a major resource that enables users to adopt and use the most suitable features that computing services can provide. This is achieved by simply subscribing to the internet, and it is viewed as a very important advancement in technology in the last 2 decades (Arvantis et al., 2017). More recent technologies such as ChatGPT operate as software on cloud computing platforms. Others include, Microsoft office suite that runs on cloud computing services provided by Microsoft; it aids with seamless and borderless operations in that it is easy for users to access their data from anywhere (Hassan, 2017; Asghari and Navimipour, 2018; Oladele et al., 2021; Al-Mutawa et al., 2023; Al-Mutawa and Saeed Al Mubarak, 2023; Al-Sharafi et al., 2023).
Cloud computing has significant level of flexibility and cost-effectiveness. These are major benefits for users, like SME businesses Layo, (2014) that are most likely to adopt the technology due to the relative ease of integrating the technology into their business practices as opposed to large scale businesses (Ližbetinová et al., 2020; Neicu et al., 2020). The technology has relatively unique benefits of alleviating the limitations and weaknesses that conventional or traditional servers encounter (Adam and Musah, 2015; Khamis et al., 2016; Jayeola and Sidek, 2019; Khayer et al., 2020; Jayeola et al., 2020). This is simply by having more scalability, rendering faster supply, and efficient services that are capable of leading to improvements in returns and leading to the advancements in internal processes such as better organisation, decision-making, and acceleration of communication between work colleagues and clients (Zainuddina et al., 2015; Neicu et al., 2020). Cloud computing is a very effective resource that has the capability of improving work operations and ensuring more seamless and more convenient work practices (Rao et al., 2015; Karunagaran et al., 2016; Yu et al., 2018; Senyo et al., 2018; Stieninger et al., 2018; Gamage, 2019; Ooi et al., 2018; El-Haddadeh, 2020; Vu et al., 2020; Ge et al., 2021; Nguyen and Liaw, 2022). According to Lawan et al (2021) the adoption of cloud computing services is underpinned by several theories such as TAM Davies (1989), Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework Tornatzky and Fleisher (1990), Diffusion of Inovation (DOI) theory Rogers (1995) and the Unified theory of Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT) Venkatesh (2003). These theories demonstrate the level of acceptability and the perception that potential users have in relation to acceptance of new technologies. The importance of such a technology in the fourth industrial revolution is indicated by You and Kim (2018) when they noted that artificial intelligence has emerged as a very significant technology. Cloud computing facilitates operations similar to those of artificial intelligence by enhancing the operations of businesses. Cloud computing first emerged in 2006 starting as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a form of service model for development of computer and mobile applications that could also be stored in the cloud. IaaS provided computing power such as large servers, and storage networks that function as platforms for fundamental service (You and Kim, 2018). After the arrival of IaaS, PaaS otherwise known as Platform as a Service was developed to support program developers, it created an environment in which programmers could develop programs and it has become a very essential feature of cloud service (Vora et al., 2016). Consequently, Software as a Service (SaaS) emerged as an advancement combining private, public, and hybrid clouds, and it was accessible as the primary model of deployment of software. Thus, it enabled several organisations including construction, healthcare, and manufacturing to carry out operations by utilizing the resources that are available on the platform (Neicu et al., 2020). Small sized firms were found to have high level of reception and ease of adoption of cloud computing when compared to larger firms; more likely because of the challenges of adopting cloud computing at the time; example issues involving security and privacy (Adam and Musah, 2014; Zainuddina et al., 2015; Padilla et al., 2015; Yaseen et al., 2022).
Cloud computing service models; PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS as well as the models of deployment; private, public, and hybrid cloud are represented in operations as product and service designs like Amazon Web Services (AWS) that was first developed in 2006 to facilitate leasing of virtual computers by customers and enable them run application (Carcary et al., 2013; Widyastuti and Irwansyah, 2017; Senarathna et al., 2018; Khayer et al 2020; Jayeola et al., 2022). Particularly, the Amazon Elastic Cloud also known as the Amazon EC2 functioned as a key platform for operations such as the creation of a virtual machine or computer instance (Raut et al., 2017). These can run operating environments example; Ubuntu, Linux, Windows Server and Debian (Bandaru, 2020). It is made up of interfaces such as web services that facilitate service configuration as well as enabling complete resource control and the reduction of the amount of time required for startup (Rekik et al., 2019). This is very beneficial because it enables scaling of resources. Various storage options are available for users; these include the Amazon EC2 instance Store, Amazon Simple Storage System, the Amazon Elastic Book, and the Amazon Elastic File System (Chnar and Subhi, 2021). According to Srivastava et al (2018) Amazon EC2 renders optimal security features.
The benefits of Google App Engine which was developed 2 years following AWS have been described by Naldi and Mastroeni (2013) and they include; facilitation of scaling and easy building that is essential for maintenance of traffic and storage of data. Another benefit is that server maintenance while utilizing the App Engine is not of significant importance, also, the apps are ready on-demand to be used as soon as they are uploaded. In the study by Grozev and Buyya (2014), it was determined that the App Engine is highly reliable and it can function more effectively notwithstanding the amount of traffic. According to Madaan et al (2018) the App Engine is highly scalable and it supports swift administration and storage.
Microsoft Azure is another promising Cloud Computing Service Provider. It was developed in 2010, two years following the arrival of the App Engine. Microsoft Azure combines various features or services such as One drive (Zenuni et al., 2014). Microsoft Azure is an excellent public cloud that relies on several hundreds of data centres that are located around the world. These are combined to facilitate the operations on the internet as well as the numerous resources that guarantee that the operations are effective (Das and Mitra, 2016). Microsoft Azure is described by Islam and Islam (2017) as being capable of providing application hosting via several data centres. This makes it easier to grapple with the reasons why installation of the applications on one computer are easily accessed on other computers once the User logs into the Microsoft network on an internet connected computer. Also, updates occur instantly to sync all activities performed from different locations (Kharade and Kharade, 2017). Pathak and Sahu (2017) have demonstrated through comparison of cloud computing service providers and revealed that there are differences between these various service providers. In one study conducted by Richa (2017), findings showed that RedHat, Amazone, Azure, Google, and IBM differ in terms of effectiveness on the basis of their uses because they were all used for different purpose and were capable of running different applications. Thus, Aljamal et al (2018) reached the conclusion that cloud computing service providers are very effective depending on the reasons why they are used.
Lawan et al (2021) conducted a systematic review and revealed that readiness to accept a new technology, the relative advantage, compatibility, top management support, data security, competitive pressure, and complexity are serious factors that limit the adoption of cloud computing in organisations. Different findings were obtained by Alkhater et al (2018), they noted that trust and quality of the service were considered very crucial by IT staffs that were studied in Saudi Arabia in relation to adopting cloud computing. Nonetheless, both studies demonstrated some of the key reasons why adoption of cloud computing can be relatively slow in various regions. The study by Yoo and Kim (2018) is like that of Lawan et al (2021), it showed that factors such as competitive pressure, top management support, and compatibility are very important for ensuring adoption of technologies such as cloud computing. This aligns with the Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework (Selznick et al., 1969; Barney, 1986; DePietro et al., 1990; Penrose, 1995; Rogers, 2003). Several groups of firms and business have taken up significant development in technology as well as technological transformation (Ali et al., 2019). The benefits that cloud computing provides such as the relative ease of accessing the stored data from any internet connected device, the opportunity for unlimited storage space and the ease of file sharing as well as storing of application in the cloud (Salleh et al., 2018). Some cloud computing service providers include; Microsoft Windows, Digital Ocean, Amazon Web Services (Bhattacherjee & Park, 2014; Alkwasi et al., 2015; Ratten, 2016; Bruque-Cámara et al., 2016; Awa et al., 2017; Tașcu et al., 2017; Radu et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2017; Aquilani et al., 2017; Ajimoko, 2018; Ceptureanu et al., 2018; Habahbeh et al., 2018; Popescu et al., 2019; Pankowska et al., 2020).
To investigate the perceptions of cloud computing services among Engineers in SMEs in South Wales. The question to be answered is, what are the perceptions of cloud computing services among Engineers in SMEs in South Wales?
Rationale/ Significance of the Study
According to Aljamal et al (2018) cloud computing services are very effective, but their effectiveness depends on the reason for their use. This agrees with Richa (2017) who noted that cloud computing services serve different purposes. This study therefore seeks to understand the perceptions that managers have in relation to cloud computing service providers based on their preferred uses. Carrying out this research has the benefit of unearthing the level of adoption or acceptance of cloud computing among SMEs in the United Kingdom. Thus, in carrying out this study it will result in understanding the use of cloud computing services under professional practice and facilitate making recommendations for improvement. Carrying out this study also has the likelihood of identifying the level of adoption of cloud computing among study participants.
2.0 Research Methodology
Research Method
This study was carried out using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods (Aliyu et al., 2015; Biesta, 2015; Alharahseh and Pius, 2019; Antoniuk et al., 2021); using survey and grounded theory research strategies (Saunders et al., 2006; Park et al., 2019; Khatri, 2020).
Quantitative and qualitative methods of knowledge seeking or data collection were applied in this study in line with the philosophies and research approaches that underpin the research methods (Levers, 2013; Rehman and Alharthi, 2016; Kamal et al., 2019; Otoo, 2020; Vitale, 2023; Handema et al., 2023). Hence, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the study participants through surveys and interviews (Gannon et al., 2022). This has implications on the quality and reliability of the findings because both methods are complementary to each other Saunders et al., 2016; Alexander, 2016; Rehman and Alharthi, 2016; Kaushik and Walsh, 2019; Muchanga, 2020; Park et al., 2020; Ugwu et al., 2021).
Study Population and Sample Size
The population of interest is management engineers working in organisations within South Wales. It is not clear what the total population of potential study participants are but a specific sample size was determined by considering the basic requirement for the study. Since the study is a mixed-method study, five study participants were included in the qualitative investigation, while 50 study participants were included in the quantitative investigation. The process of sampling the study participants was based on purposive sampling in which participants were randomly approached and debriefed about the study. Those participants who showed interest were included in the interview and survey.
Time Horizon
The study is a cross-sectional study and Wales is the primary study location for this study. The potential participants of the study reside in Wales United Kingdom, with high preference given to participants in the South Wales area during the period of study. South Wales is bordered by England and mid Wales to the east and north respectively. South Wales is predominantly known for the Glamorgan county and Monmouthshire county. The South Wales area also extends to Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire in the west. Particularly, Glamorgan hosts the University of South Wales where the research author is currently studying an MSc course.
Interviews
Participants were recruited to participate in interviews. Only five (5) participants were included in the interviews that lasted for about 1 hour. The interview was based on a structured questionnaire (Clarke and Braun, 2013; Mishara, 2016; Basnet, 2018; Tümen and Ahmed, 2021). The interview session was held individually as opposed to focus group discussion (Orabah, 2021). Interviews have an advantage over focus group discussion when considering the privacy that is involved. Unlike focus group discussion where participants can influence each others responses as well as stimulate responses, study participants in an interview provide their own responses to questions, unbiased, and unaffected. Overall, it warrants an interaction session where the researcher can engage with the interviewee and discuss in-depth about their views concerning the findings of the study (Muijeen et al., 2020; Nibbeling et al., 2021; Santosh et al., 2021). The interviews were held on zoom because of time schedules and convenience.
Survey
Fifty participants were recruited for the survey. Some of the 50 participants were people who work with the participants of the survey, while others were randomly sourced from organisations. The survey required a survey questionnaire with questions regarding the perception of the participants about their use of cloud computing services for their operations. The survey was scheduled to last for about 30 to 40 minutes. The survey was developed electronically on Qualtrics and distributed to study participants to allow them provide responses at their own convenience. The use of online survey technique was highly suitable considering the availability of suitable technology that could facilitate the process (Tümen Akyildiz, 2020).
Method of Data Analysis
The Data collected from the study participants through interviews were analysed using thematic analysis via NVivo software, while the data from the survey were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis on SPSS (Sutton and Austin, 2015; Maguire and Delahunt, 2017; Lochmiller, 2021).
Ethical Concerns
The study participants were informed and advised about the study and its requirements prior to participating in the study. This was to ensure that consent was obtained from the study participants and that they know what the data would be used for. The participants were also informed of their rights to participate in the study and also withdraw from the study at a time of their choosing. The study also acknowledges the ethical principles of respect, autonomy, equality, fairness, and social justice. The ethical principles upheld in this study are peculiar to carrying out a research study that involves human participants.
3.0 Results
3.1 Interpretation of Survey Findings
Participant Company Information
The details about the company or organization where the participants work are presented in Figure 6 and seven. The industry where the participants company operates; technology industry is the largest 49%, this is followed by manufacturing industry (24%), and energy (15%), the least (12%) is the other’s category which include healthcare, and hospitality (Figure 1).
The market scope of the company, 37% of the companies are local, 24% are international companies, 22% are national, while 17% are regional. Figure 2 contains the description of findings.
Types of Cloud Computing Services Used
Figure 3 shows the data on the information system application that is adopted by the participant’s company. The finding shows that 55% of the participants where the participants work have adopted basic internet services such as email and web. Twenty-four (24%) of the participants have adopted transaction processing systems such as payroll, and order tracking, 14% of the companies where participants work have also adopted information systems that facilitate decision-making, while 5% have implemented management information systems such as inventory control and sales management.
The findings in figure 4 show that the companies where the participants work have decided to adopt individual software packages (40%), infrastructure such as storage and network (22%), operating systems and software packages that are available in the cloud (11%), none (19%), security services (8%), and others (0%).
The Impact of Cloud Computing Services
The findings on table 1 are based on the impact of cloud computing services; 78% of the respondents to the survey acknowledged that cloud computing contributes to faster services, 70% acknowledge that it contributes to increase in productivity, while 41% stated that it may result in loss of privacy of data. Also, 46% of the respondents acknowledge that it can result in loss of control of data, while 43% agree that it may not perform well and it can create problems with IT operations.
Table 1: the impact of cloud computing services
Factors Affecting Adoption of Cloud Computing Services
The factors that are affecting the adoption of cloud computing services are presented in table 2. The findings show that 34% of the participants noted that it is not essential for the top management team to be involved in the review of recommendations from consultants of companies that provide cloud computing service, 34% noted that it is essential, 32% indicated maybe. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the participants stated that their company would experiment with a new information technology if they heard of it. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of respondents also indicated that their firm has sufficient knowledge about technologies that are similar to cloud computing. Most of the respondents (86%) agree that it is essential to have support from top management. Also, 74% of the respondents are of the position that sufficient technical support is required before and after the cloud computing service has been adopted.
Table 2: Factors Affecting Adoption of Cloud Computing Services
3.2 Interview Results
Ease of Access
The theme ease of access was developed from the definition of cloud computing services that was provided by the respondents of the study. There were several codes formulated, these included; the ease of use in the absence of maintenance, seamlessness, remote access, flexible resources, lack of a requirement to invest in expensive infrastructure, ease of maintenance, and high data security without corruption. Thus, to the respondents, these were the main affiliations of cloud computing services that underpinned their use. The respondents had a range of overlapping opinions relating to what cloud computing services are.
Participant 1
“Without needing to install the application to configure to manage the software locally, you can make use of this application. It's been configured by the producers or the owners, but it can be used without you having to do those configurations yourself.”
Participant 2
“The seamlessness, I'm able to access my files on the Internet from another device; it gives me that convenience and it reduces the need for me to have to carry my computer around.”
“The ease of access to my files. Yeah, that's like the most optimal reasons for using.”
Participant 3
“For me, cloud computing service involves the delivery of computing service such as servers, storage, databases, networking software and several analytics that's over the Internet or. As the name implies, over cloud to offer faster innovation. Flexible resources and economies of scale. And cloud computing eliminates the need for organisations to invest in expensive infrastructure and allows them to access computing resources on demand. So I think and that's what I can say about class computing.”
Participant 4
“It provides us the opportunity to maintain an underlying resources.”
Participant 5
“You it offers you the advantage that for the most part it's not you. There's less chance of corruption of your data. So there's that security kind of. So yeah, so those are the three cloud computing.”
These responses given by the respondents evidently overlap with the benefits of cloud computing services. It implies that the respondents were unable to clearly define cloud computing services, but they could state what they know about cloud computing services.
Commonly used Software
Respondents were also required to state the cloud computing services that they used. The finding was that the respondents provided similar responses. Hence, the commonly used cloud computing software are; Software as a service e.g. Gmail, Microsoft 365, and CRM software, and Microsoft teams, Infrastructure as a service. Personal responses given by the respondents are outlined below.
Participant 1
“The clouds software I use often is the software as a service, just like the Gmail, the Microsoft Office 365, the CRM. Customer relationship management software and an example, the one we are making use of now, the Microsoft team. So that's it, yeah.”
Participant 2
“You know, the cloud computing services that are used brilliantly. Another reason is that both OneDrive and Google Mail are like the most. Popular, popular computing services. And that fits my needs. Yeah, so. That's the reason.” “Gmail, you know, like Google Services and Microsoft OneDrive. You know, they don't exactly send the same people.”
Participant 3
“We primarily utilise infrastructure as a service which is I think that was one type of class computing. And then there's another one we use which is. Software as a service SaaS cloud computing service.”
Participant 4
“Stand in cloud computing services refers to delivery of computing services over the Internet. That is to say, providing us to a variety of resources. Infrastructure and the databases and also help us to manage our latest features and updates.”
Participant 5
“Well, my understanding is that cloud computing is a model or framework for. Delivering resources like servers, storage, databases, so and software over the Internet on sort of like a pay as you go pay on like a pay as you go basis allows customers store network infrastructures and storages that users can access and manage remotely. So it's just like you have a hard drive somewhere, but it's not a physical hard drive. You can actually store. You can store data, manage your data without having to like without having to physically store it on a hard drive.”
These responses from the respondents indicate that they all use similar cloud computing services. The most used cloud computing services such as Gmail and Microsoft offices are acclaimed as effective and seamless infrastructures that make file retrieval very easy.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
There are several views from the respondents in respect to the benefits of using cloud computing services. As stated already, the respondents' belief that the definitions of cloud computing services overlap with the benefits of cloud computing services. However, when asked about the benefits of cloud computing services, the respondents gave responses that overlapped with their earlier responses as reflected earlier and went ahead to add new benefits to the list. These include; cost efficiency or cost-effectiveness (which was a recurring code), automatic updates, easy to access the files, security and safety, and scalability, flexibility and reliability. The views of the respondents are stated below in quotes.
Participant 1
“it's the cost efficiency. You know now the upfront cost of operating these cloud computing services, it's no longer there for an end user. You know you, you, you forget about buying the expenses.”
secondly you, don't have to deal with the updates and maintenance because it's automatic the the operators they do these things for you. It prompts you that there's an update. All you have to do is just click on it and automatically you get a new update. So you as the end user, you don't have to worry about planning times for updates working behind the scenes to create an update for your application.”
Participant 2
“They make it easy to access the files from virtually anywhere. I could receive my files from a different computer as I explained before.”
“They also cost effective the cost of running the cloud computing service is very low compared to the benefits you know. For example, the benefits of security and the benefit of data safety to the best of my knowledge.”
Participant 3
“Cloud Computing services offered numerous benefits, including cost effectiveness.
Scalability, flexibility and reliability.”
“Furthermore, cloud computing enhances agility, enabling faster deployment of application and updates, and it improves disaster recovery capability through redundant data centre and automated backup solution.”
Participant 4
“Cost savings because by utilising these cloud services and cloud computing organisations such as ours can reduce capital expenditure. You really don't have to spend so much on maintenance and infrastructure. Also, you could also talk about flexibility and agility is also very accessible.”
Participant 5
“Well, I think the first one would be flexibility because. You have more control over the infrastructure that you use. There's also the scalability aspects that allow you can actually move your resources up and down based on demand. So that makes it suitable for dynamic.”
“Then there's also the fact that its cost effective, because you really don't have to. You know how much it would cost to acquire and maintain actual physical network infrastructure. If you are going to either install or upgrade.”
The responses obtained from the respondents imply that there are several upsides to using cloud computing services. However, most of these upsides are associated with cost-effectiveness, and ease of using cloud computing services; this includes updates, remote access and a host of others.
Challenges associated with Cloud Computing services
The interview resulted in codes or sub-themes; risk of data breach or theft, high demand for internet, and skill requirement. These were the most notable challenges of using cloud computing services. Many of respondents as highlighted in the quotes below; are concerned about the high chances of data breach rather than data loss.
Participant 1
“I remember going through your ethical form and this document you sent me, you said this data would be protected and as we can see it's online. So as long as it's online, there can be data breach. So the organisation they need to have a secure data system to ensure all these data they have online while using the cloud computing services are being protected.”
“Also I will talk about the skill because making use of some of these cloud computing services it requires loads of skill and these skills are lacking you know for organisations in order to get these skills, they have to spend loads of money to hire people who are competent in doing these things and sometimes even with the money you find out that it's difficult to get.”
Participant 2
“It has to be linked to the internet during the process of saving the work” I was doing some work on Microsoft word and I lost the file because the file had not uploaded due to lack of internet. Subsequently, I realised that the file wasn't actually lost, in such instances it may have been stored temporarily and would only upload if internet was available on time.”
“There's also the challenge of having to be linked to the Internet in order to use cloud computing services, which means that if you were in the location where the Internet was probably insufficient or weak or non existent means that you can't enjoy the services you know provided by those clouds, cloud computing platforms.”
Participant 3
“The major challenges is security and compliance concerns and also potential data breaches.”
“A reliance on a single cloud provider can lead to vendor lock.”
Participant 4
“There will always be security and privacy concerns because of breach and we live in a world where so many things are fly, nobody Internet and there's also the data loss.”
Participant 5
“The major challenge is the issue of data loss because you're basically placing your sensitive information and relying on a cloud platform that can fail at any time. So in as much as, like I said, it's a safer alternative to physical, the cloud computing storage devices are more prone to data loss.”
These responses reveal the main concerns or challenges associated with cloud computing services. The topmost of them is the issue of data loss, safety, and security.
Areas for Improvement
There are aspects of cloud computing that the respondents believe, require improves. These include, making it more user friendly, ensuring it has control or operating manual, and prioritise operation. The respondents had several views as outlined below.
Participant 1
“Making the user interfaces of these services, making them user friendly. You understand these applications, they have to be user friendly. The product, the production team, they should find a way to make the user experiences fun. It should be easy to use. I've heard of people compare using Microsoft Teams and using Google Zoom, most people they will tell you I prefer to use Zoom because it's easier to assess. It's easier to operate on like Microsoft Teams, so that is something like that.”
Participant 2
“Oh, in order to improve cloud computing service, to starts with mitigating some of the challenges, for example there should be some sort of guide or instruction instructions provided or using cloud computing service, especially with Microsoft OneDrive that I use more often. Yes, the cloud computing features should be such that.
The company or the provider should be able to inform users that this is what will happen if your computer is not linked to the Internet while working, or if there was a disruption.”
Participant 3
“Focus on enhancing security and privacy measures. Improving security and privacy measures, that's very, very important and by doing this, I think this includes implementing advanced encryption techniques, strengthening the identity and access management control and providing transparent audit log for monitoring and compliance purposes.
Providers should prioritise Interoperability”
Participant 4
“Enhance the security measures, which is still in line with data breach. On the data loss that would involve continuously evaluating and enhancing our security measures to protect that of the users. And by this we could implement multi factor authentication. Better encryption. Stay in our breasts with regulatory requirements with regards to compliance.”
Participant 5
“Systems to ensure that they protect their data and applications that are hosted on the cloud, they must make use of features of such as encryption, segmentation.
Two factor 3 factor multiple factor authentications to ensure that and also to ensure that they don't lose data. They don't lose valuable data that they host on the cloud. It's also important to conduct regular independent audits of their security systems to ensure that they are in top shape.”
These responses from the study respondents indicate that the main areas of improvement are in security and safety to ensure that data is neither loss nor stolen.
4.0 Discussion
The type of cloud computing services used by Engineers in SMEs in South Wales
The findings from the survey aligned with those obtained during the interviews; 55% of the respondents in the survey use basic internet services such as Gmail and web, in the interview Gmail was among the most frequently used cloud computing service. The study by Stieglitz et al. (2014) highlighted software as a service (SaaS) as a commonly used cloud computing service among their study participants. The finding aligned with that obtained in this study because Gmail is a SaaS or Software as a Service. Gmail is one of the foremost forms of cloud computing services, it makes it easy to access files from any location. The study conducted by Jones et al. (2017) contrasts with those obtained in this study because they found that enterprise resource management was the most frequently used SaaS among the study participants in addition to Big data storage (Infrastructure as a Service; IaaS), and virtualised Servers (Platform as a Service). The main reason for the difference between their findings of Jones et al. (2017) and this study is because of the study population; the study was focused on the public sector organisation. This differs from the private sector population that was focused on during the survey and interview.
The findings on the common types of cloud computing services used by the engineers in SME agrees with the findings of Imhanwa et al. (2015), they noted that the implementation of cloud computing among SMEs in tourism was crucial and the most frequently used cloud computing services were based on Software as a Service. Apparently Software as a Service is expected as the most frequently used because most individuals who use cloud computing services are expected to use them for personal purposes rather than commercial purposes. Another view is that individuals who use SaaS are not looking to develop software, rather they intend to engaging with their customers, and keeping records about their activities. This might explain why cloud computing service users rely on SaaS such as Gmail and Microsoft 365 or One drive as identified during the interview.
The findings obtained by Gholami et al. (2017) also confirmed the assertion that SaaS-related cloud computing services are commonly used by private individuals who are looking to engage in peer-to-peer interactions rather than Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). In a study conducted by Aiyebelehin et al. (2020) the observation was that Google docs was the most frequently used cloud computing service among the study participants. Google docs is a SaaS or Software as a Service, and requires Gmail for its sign up in order to be accessible. The implication is that inferences can be drawn in this study; respondents having acknowledged that they use Gmail most frequently may actually be using it to access other related SaaS including Microsoft 365 or One drive. This also means that SaaS is the most popular cloud computing service and it further confirms the earlier assertion that due to private demand or uses, SaaS is the most likely to be adopted when compared to PaaS and IaaS. The contrasting instances in which PaaS and IaaS may be considered over SaaS are when IT (information technology) firms or professionals are involved; the study by Raghavendran et al. (2016) confirms this, According to Raghavendran et al. (2016) majority of IT firms and individuals who work in IT have moved their operations to cloud storage; this falls within the category of Platform as a Service (PaaS).
The adoption of cloud computing services is a major advancement for SMEs and individuals. This is because the transition is a representation of significant technology change that eases the way operations are carried out in the firm. The ease of operation which encompasses the definition of cloud computing services as identified during the interviews further demonstrates the importance of cloud computing services. Banimfreg (2023) found that cloud computing services present numerous benefits, it explains why various organisations have transitioned to implementing cloud computing in their operations. In a study by Hassan et al (2022) it was stated that the numerous advantages that cloud computing services confer, warrant the need to transition and adopt them. Hence, it is not unexpected that various SMEs are using one or more types of cloud computing services. The next section discusses the impacts; benefits and challenges of cloud computing services.
The Impact of Cloud Computing Services.
Benefits of Cloud Computing Services
The findings of the study demonstrate that there are several benefits of cloud computing. During the survey 78% of the respondents to the survey acknowledged that cloud computing contributes to faster services, 70% acknowledge that it contributes to increase in productivity. The study by Haniyi et al. (2020) agree with those obtained in this study in terms of increase in productivity. The justification for increase in productivity is associated with the fact cloud computing services can guarantee faster operations, lower cost of operations; for example subscribing to software rather than buying the software. Productivity is also increased because of the time saving and swift operations, and because files are stored in the cloud and can be accessed from any place, it makes it easier to access the files. The interview also led to the identification of related finding; the benefits of cloud computing include, cost efficiency or cost-effectiveness (which was a recurring code), automatic updates, easy to access the files, security and safety, and scalability, flexibility and reliability. These findings agree with those of Al-Nassar et al. (2021) they argued that cloud computing services increases flexibility of operations for SMEs.
The study by Al-Sharafi et al. (2023) revealed that cost reduction (NI = 82.67%) is a significant advantage of using cloud computing services in operations. Apparently, the expenses saved can be converted towards increasing productivity. Thus, in the event that a firm was considering productivity improvement, they could attempt to adopt cloud computing services for their operations. This can be the potential consideration for future studies as there are scarcely any studies that have investigated the extent to which cloud computing services are capable of improving productivity. In the study by Modisane and Jokonya (2021) on the benefits of cloud computing in SME organisations, the routine automatic updates was considered an essential benefit or advantage of cloud computing services because the business were able to benefit from having the most updated versions of software. Modisane and Jokonya (2021) also found that SMEs could profit from the reduced capital expenditure and the increase in access to improved ICT systems as well as heightened data security and low cost of implementation. These findings by Modisane and Jokonya (2021) agree with those obtained in this study. The benefit of low cost and reduction in capital expenditure i.e. the cost of infrastructures was ideal for SMEs. Although, the idea that there is increased data security is a complexity because respondents believe that despite the security of cloud computing services, there remains a slim possibility of data theft. The study by Cresswell et al. (2022) provides contrasting views in which they argue that lack of knowledge of the benefits of cloud computing can negatively impact on the adoption of cloud computing among businesses.
Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Services
There are a range of disadvantages of cloud computing services. The findings from the survey showed that 41% of the respondents stated that it may result in loss of privacy of data Also, 46% of the respondents acknowledge that it can result in loss of control of data, while 43% agree that it may not perform well and it can create problems with IT operations. The study by Rezaeian and Wynn (2022) showed that there are certain limitations associated with cloud computing and they include security concerns and the need for reskilling. This aligns with the findings from the interview; respondents views resulted in themes that stressed the importance of data safety and reskilling or upskilling of workers. It is not unusual because new technologies come with new interfaces that need good level of knowledge in order to operate them. The lack of knowledge that may surround new technologies has the likelihood of increasing resistance towards adopting the new technology.
The interview resulted in findings such as risk of data breach or theft, high demand for internet, and skill requirement. These were the most notable challenges of using cloud computing services. Many of respondents as highlighted in the quotes below; are concerned about the high chances of data breach rather than data loss. Gupta et al. (2022) found that security, privacy and trust, complexity, relative advantage, compatibility, and reputation had positive impact on adoption of cloud computing. These findings by Gupta et al. (2022) highlight a range of limitations that are similar to those identified in this study; particularly, in the case of privacy and security which can have a big impact because if users feel that there could be a potential data breach it is guaranteed to reduce or limit the likelihood of adoption. In general, cloud computing services are potentially at risk of cybercrimes because sophisticated programmers can attempt to crack the encryption, unsuspecting individuals may unknowingly grant access to their cloud computing storages. These risks elevate the chances of security breach.
The study by Opara-Martins et al. (2016) also expressed concerns regarding the impact of vendor lock-in as a disadvantage of using cloud computing services. This was indicated by one of the study respondents as a limitation of using cloud computing services. Hence, the study by Opara-Martins et al. (2016) aligns with this study and it argued that suitable strategies are required to prevent such incidences. In another study conducted on the impact of cloud computing vendors on the adoption of cloud computing; Zhang et al. (2021) found that the quality of service provided can influence the adoption of cloud computing. This finding is unrelated to the findings in this study; nonetheless, the role that cloud computing vendors play is very crucial as a barrier or enabler of adoption of cloud computing services. What Opara-Martins et al. (2016) found was that cloud computing vendors can impact on the scalability of cloud computing services and this can affect customers negatively. Hence, it is imperative to pay attention to the contributions of cloud computing vendors.
The study conducted by Gianfranco and Christopher (2015) revealed that cloud computing was negatively affected by organisational factors such as the risk appetite and the benefits. This similar to the role that top management is expected to play in the adoption of cloud computing. Nonetheless, in this study 34% of the participants noted that it is not essential for the top management team to be involved in the review of recommendations from consultants of companies that provide cloud computing service, 34% noted that it is essential, 32% indicated maybe. Based on this finding, it is possible to argue that top management may or may not have significant role to play in the adoption of cloud computing. However, considering the findings of Gianfranco and Christopher (2015), it is then necessary to recognise that this study is limited by not having a larger sample size. This gap can be filled in future studies that examine directly the role or involvement of managers in the adoption of cloud computing services or new technologies in their organisations. Such a study will shed sufficient light on the importance of top management in decision making regarding adoption of new technologies. In the study by Jones et al. (2019) the observation was that top management was very instrumental towards the adoption of cloud computing services. This further confirms the views of Gianfranco and Christopher (2015). The main differences between these studies Gianfranco and Christopher (2015); Jones et al. (2015) and the findings in this study is that while this study focused on SMEs, the aforementioned studies focused on public sector organisations. Hence, this may account for the disparity in findings and should be taken into consideration in future studies. For example, carrying out a comparative examination or assessment of the involvement of top management in the adoption of new technology in both private and public organisations.
The purposes and reasons for use of cloud computing services
This study revealed that ease of access when using cloud computing is a major conception about the importance of cloud computing services. Ali et al. (2017) obtained findings that are related to ease of access; they found that flexibility and improved capacity for collaboration as strongly associated with cloud computing services. It implies that users would want to take advantage of such features because it stands the chance of increasing their performance. The findings by Mosewu et al. (2019) also identified efficiency as a key reason for using cloud computing in light of the disadvantages of using cloud computing; it is also capable of increasing the management of records. Findings in this study align with those of Mosewu et al. (2019) the ease of use in the absence of maintenance, seamlessness, remote access, flexible resources, lack of a requirement to invest in expensive infrastructure, ease of maintenance, and high data security without corruption were major reasons to use cloud computing services.
The findings obtained by Abusaimeh et al. (2023) revealed that commercial organisations generally adopt cloud computing in order to gain a competitive advantage. Earlier, findings discussed indicated that cloud computing contributed towards increase in productivity. Therefore, it is not surprising that additional findings in this study revealed that (58%) of the participants stated that their company would experiment with a new information technology if they heard of it. In addition, Abusaimeh et al. (2023) noted that the elements of competitive advantage such as cost, quality, innovation, reliability, and responsiveness were key to adoption of cloud computing. Therefore, it implies that SMEs also seek to adopt cloud computing in order to increase their productivity, reduce costs, and increase quality. This potentially explains why findings in this study also revealed that suggested areas for improvement in cloud computing include, making it more user friendly, ensuring it has control or operating manual. This is because such changes that make operations easy are capable of limiting errors and lowering resistance to adopting cloud computing services.
The study by Uzoma and Okhuoya (2022) identified some of the reasons why individuals and business would want to use cloud computing services. These reasons included storage, communication, customer relationship management. Their findings align with the findings of this study in which 58% of respondents indicated that their firm has sufficient knowledge about technologies that are similar to cloud computing. This implies that they know the purposes of cloud computing services and its related technologies and are willing to implement them. Other studies such as Golightly et al. (2022) also found that cloud computing is commonly adopted for its security features and a host of services that it provides. Also, the quality of service is very instrumental to the implementation of cloud computing services. Considering that cloud computing offers seamless operations. The study by Alhomdy et al. (2021) also found that cloud computing services are commonly used because they provide remote access opportunities. Most users are likely to use cloud computing services because they provide the opportunity to work remotely.
Strengths and Limitations of the Study
The major strength of this study is in the use of mixed-method research method. Mixed-methods make it possible to use two methods, these usually includes quantitative and qualitative methods as implemented in this study. Hence, the quality of findings are complementary and highly reliable.
The weakness of this study can be seen in the sample sizes used, apparently due to the small time frame for the study. However, this weakness is inundated by the choice of mixed-methods because the findings from the quantitative surveys are complementary to the findings of the interview. Both survey and interview respondents provided findings that were related; this implies that despite the small sample size, there is some measure of reliability for the findings of the study.
The study is also strengthened by the level of effort committed to carrying out the study despite the tight schedules. The student ensured that various feedback provided by the supervisor of the study were covered in all areas towards ensuring that the outcome of the study is of high quality.
5.0 Conclusion
Findings were obtained for the three objectives that were set in this study. This is because the questions that were developed for both the interview and the survey were developed in line with the objectives of the study. Hence the main findings from the study in relation to the objectives of the study are given below.
The types of cloud computing services used by respondents included Software as a Service (SaaS) such as Gmail, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft One drive, Google drop box, and various software for business management. these cloud computing services have a unanimous feature, they are linked to the internet or dependent on the internet in order to work effectively. This also means that the cloud computing services can be accessed from any device that is connected to the internet and from any location. they have the capability of increasing the performance of users and ensuring that operations are faster and of high quality. Use of these cloud computing services is related to the type of business or activities that users commonly engage in. For example, Gmail is suitable for email communications, and the mail address can be used to gain access into other SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365 and Google dropbox.
The second objective on the impact of cloud computing services; there are several impacts or implications of cloud computing services for engineers in SMEs. Firstly, the beneficial impacts include faster operations, high quality performance, ease of access and use, remote access, limited storage, and data safety and security. The main limitations are the likelihood of data or security breach, and the need for skills when using them. Other major benefits or advantages is that they are consider highly cost effective, and can increase efficiency and productivity as well as comparative advantage for users. These benefits outweigh the limitations and increases the chances that users will continue to use them. They are better for businesses and they guarantee better operations and activities. Example, when engaging with customers through email, or keeping customer records on Microsoft spreadsheet (excel) or managing customer relationship. These types of benefits increases the chances that people would use cloud computing services not to mention the low cost of subscribing. The main limitation; the likelihood of data security can be discouraging or warrant the need for personal extra-precaution surrounding the type of data that is shared or stored on cloud computing services.
Finally, the purposes or reasons for using cloud computing services. The topmost reason is associated with ease of access. Majority of users appreciate the ease of using cloud computing services, how easy it is to retrieve files, and carry out operations much faster. Also, concerns about quality, efficiency, and productivity increases the likelihood of using cloud computing services. Cloud computing services provides several advantages especially in the competitive business world; therefore, the users of cloud computing services are willing to put up with minimal risks such as potential data breach in order to enjoy the main benefits of cloud computing. Also, there are various cloud computing services with variations on their uses and purposes; thus, this expands the chances of using cloud computing services.
Overall, the perception of engineers in SMEs in South Wales is that cloud computing services are highly beneficial and easy to use modern technologies that are capable of improving efficiency and productivity at low-cost. Another view is that they are cost-effective and low risk investments for productivity improvement.
Recommendations
The benefits of cloud computing services that were identified in this study outweigh the risk of using cloud computing services. This implies that management engineers can consider adopting cloud computing services if they have not, this is because it will result in high level of performance and productivity.
The goal of every business, regardless of size is to generate profit. Cloud computing services are highly cost effective, this means that that the cost of adopting cloud computing services is negligible compared to the benefits that they come with or the effectiveness associated with them. Hence, SMEs can consider implementing cloud computing services in their operations.
There are several types of cloud computing services, they vary based on the needs of the user. Both SMEs and management engineers are expected to examine and determine the type of cloud computing services that are most useful to them or that are better suited to their operations. This is ideal so that they can get the best outcomes of using cloud computing services.
Cloud computing services may require special skill training. In majority of cases, apparently sophisticated cloud computing services contain training tools such as in the case of data analytical cloud computing services. Management engineers are therefore required to engage in practice and skill upgrade. SMEs should ensure that they upskill their team towards using the sophisticated cloud computing services. This expands on the role that support provided cloud computing service providers can play in the adoption of cloud computing services.
There is also the issue of security risks or risk of data breach while using cloud computing services. What SMEs and Management engineers can do is to ensure that they store highly confidential files by using necessary encryption or take caution in uploading such files or documents across cloud computing service software applications.
Further studies can consider increasing the sample size and dedicating more time to obtaining findings. The importance of doing that is to validate the findings of this study considering that this study targeted a small population group and then included a small sample size due to time limitations. Larger studies may show some variations that could not be identified in this study. Further studies can also adopt mixed-methods in order to keep the methods consistent and ensure that there is good basis for comparison and validation.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the contributions from the Ukwuru Science Study Group.
Funding
Not Applicable.
Author Information
Dr. Ukwuru, Edmund Ikpechi is a leading dynamic researcher in the social sciences.
Corresponding Author
Dr. Ukwuru, Edmund Ikpechi
Competing Interests
There are no competing interests for this study.
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Cite as
Ukwuru, E.I. (2025). Engineers and their Perceptions of Cloud Computing Services in Wales: A Mixed-Methods Study. Ukwuru Business, 24(1): 1-34.
Received: 24 November, 2023
Accepted: 22 December 2023
Published: 11 January, 2024
Keywords: Cloud Computing, SMEs, Hardware Infrastructure, Software as a Service
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