Perception of cloud computing in developing countries

Abstract

Purpose

- The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of librarians engaged in Indian academic libraries towards cloud computing.

Design/methodology/approach

- A structured questionnaire was used to collect responses from the library professionals engaged in Indian academic libraries. Overall, 339 respondents participated in the survey. Descriptive survey method was used in the study.

Findings

- The findings of the study reveal that library professionals are using cloud-computing tools in their daily works. They want to adopt cloud computing in the libraries to improve library services and avoid redundancy of works. Ubiquitous availability, economy and the various service layers are the core drivers of its adoption in the libraries. The respondents showed their concern over security and data privacy in cloud.

Practical implications

- The study establishes the fact that the benefits of cloud computing are inadequate to convince the libraries to migrate from the traditional computing paradigm to the cloud. Technological advancement may not transform the cloud into a mainstream technology. To motivate the expansion of cloud computing adoption, emphasis has to be laid upon collaboration between the cloud service providers supplemented by solid cloud legislations which need to be worked out.

Originality/value

- The paper provides the perceptions of library professionals in response to the adoption of cloud computing.

Introduction

In recent years, the information technology sector has witnessed technological turmoil in the form of cloud computing. The concept of cloud computing has been defined as "an integrated package of computing services and applications on the web offered as a utility" (Yuvaraj, 2015), where the word "cloud" can be seen as the summation of Internet-based data access and exchange along with low-cost computing and applications. Cloud computing is an outcome of the advancements of various technologies: the Internet, hardware, systems management and distributed computing (Buyya et al. , 2009). The concept was in practice earlier, but the term was formally announced by Google in 2010, which most scholars feel was a marketing strategy.

A survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS, 2012) revealed that the rate of adoption of cloud computing applications is 19 per cent in USA, 12 per cent in Europe, 28 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 39 per cent in Latin America. Scholars have argued that by 2020, most services will be available in the cloud, which shows that the preliminary work for shifting to cloud is in progress. Apart from commercial avenues, medical care, agriculture, education and libraries in USA and Europe have widely adopted the cloud computing technology, seeing its merits. In India, there has been a wide increase in the adoption rate, with lots of investment in the small and medium enterprises (SME) and data centres. Service provider segments such as TCS, Wipro and Netmagic in India are evolving into major cloud offerings that are playing a major role in cloud computing adoption in India.

The environment in which academic libraries are operating has drastically changed in the past few years. With the emergence of the Internet era, libraries are facing problems to justify their services. Cloud computing is an approach to computing that could be worthwhile to academic libraries. Academic libraries can choose how to remain connected in the cloud, to become part of the cloud environment by opting for software, systems and hardware services offered by the cloud service provider. Whatever service they choose, cloud computing can help academic libraries to save time, money and resources, if servers and software were not needed on their premises as they are today. Libraries can focus more directly on services and materials for patrons if their computer hardware and software were handled by IT companies managing the cloud infrastructure. The present paper explores the status of cloud computing practices within Indian academic libraries.

Statement of the problem

A review of the available literature indicates that cloud-computing platforms are being used in academic libraries for collaborative and resource sharing work. Although cloud computing has been billed as a hot growth and there is a lot of literature on theoretical concepts, few articles deal with the perception of user groups towards the implementation of cloud computing in Indian academic libraries. Before investing in any technology, there is always a need to analyse its problems as well as prospects for the adopting individuals or organisations. Moreover, during the acceptance process of any technology, the perceptions of the user group must be considered.

Yuvaraj (2013) tried to explore how librarians in Indian central universities are using cloud computing tools in their daily library services and work, but the study was done during the period when the concept was emerging and gaining popularity. As per the Asia Cloud Computing Association's Cloud Readiness Index 2014, India recorded the biggest declines in index ranking, falling four positions to 13 in 2014 from 9 in 2012; this suggests insufficient preparedness for cloud computing in many areas (Asia Cloud Computing Association, 2014). However, in 2015, the Indian government has taken several initiatives, such as the Digital India programme, to boost the adoption of cloud computing. The key drivers for the growth of cloud computing solutions in a developing country like India is highlighted in the acceptance of technologies such as the Internet of Things, mobile technologies (3G, 4G) and big data catalysed by the initiatives such as Digital India taken by the government. It is estimated that the Indian government's Digital India project provides potential opportunities for cloud adoption at a cost of US$19 billion between 2014 and 2018 (CtrlS, 2015). As per the Cloud Computing Innovation Council of India (2014), India has a greenfield opportunity to develop cloud-based solutions that can leverage the latest technology and be optimally suited to the unique requirements of the emerging markets. The council further declares that in India, government departments, industry associations and affiliated bodies have taken a positive approach towards the adoption of cloud computing. In light of these developments, a need was identified to conduct a study to examine the problems and prospects of the implementation of cloud computing in Indian academic libraries through the perceptions of librarians in 2015, when several initiatives were being undertaken by the government to improve cloud-computing adoption in India.

The investigation of the problems and prospects of the implementation of cloud computing in Indian academic libraries was motivated by three emerging trends. First, among the library and information science (LIS) community, the perceptions of cloud computing are varied, and the literature suggests that there is no universal agreement on how and to what extent cloud computing is related to LIS. If LIS professionals are to be supportive in response to cloud computing technology, it is essential to understand what concepts they possess on cloud computing, how these concepts are interpreted and how their understanding might be developed effectively in response to the cloud-computing phenomenon. Second, there is a strong view in the cloud computing literature that cloud computing is especially beneficial to such organisations, as they have nothing to do with the business of buying, configuring, installing and maintaining servers that are not a part of the day-to-day library mission and services (Breeding, 2011; Corrado and Moulasion, 2011). One must engage in such affairs, unless the work profile demands to do such work. Third, cloud computing is a relatively new entrant to the library environment which requires additional competencies and guidelines for implementation. The biggest problems to be addressed are network connectivity and security (Armbrust et al. , 2009; Breeding, 2011; Buyya, 2010; Fox, 2011; McVittie, 2008; Leavitt, 2009). There has been an emerging discussion on the expectations of cloud computing, core competencies required to work in the cloud environment and the problems that affect the adoption of cloud computing in organisations.

Objectives of the study

The specific objectives of the study were:

to explore the perceptions of cloud computing among academic librarians;

to identify usage level of cloud computing among academic librarians;

to identify the benefits of cloud computing adoption among academic librarians;

to identify the present status of cloud computing in academic libraries; and

to determine the factors critical to the adoption of cloud computing in academic libraries.

Research questions

Overall, the study attempted to identify the prospects and problems in implementing cloud computing in Indian academic libraries through the following questions:

RQ1. What is the perception and attitude of librarians to cloud computing?

RQ2. What are the benefits of cloud computing for libraries?

RQ3. What are the competencies needed in adopting cloud computing in libraries?

RQ4. What is the present status of adoption of cloud computing in libraries?

RQ5. What factors are critical for the implementation of cloud computing in libraries?

Methodology

For the present study, a descriptive survey research method was used. To collect data, a questionnaire, and sometimes direct interviews, was used. For ranking the overall perceptions of respondents, a scoring system designed by Sarrafzadeh (2005) was used with some modifications, as represented in Table I below:

The study carried out by Sarrafzadeh was related to the study of perceptions, to examine the implications of knowledge management in the library and information professions. As the present study was targeted towards a similar theme - to study the perceptions - but a different research problem - i.e. cloud computing - the scoring system was adapted. Five-point Likert scales were used for the ranking of the perceptions.

The population for the study involved 450 library professionals (university librarian, deputy librarian, assistant librarian, information scientists, professional assistants, semi-professional assistants, technical assistants and library assistants) who were engaged in computer operations, collected from a pilot study. Data were collected from a sample of 339 library professionals. For all the responses, descriptive statistics including mean, percentile, etc., were calculated. The data were summarised by means of descriptive, associational and comparative statistics.

Data analysis

Most of the data were summarised by means of descriptive, associational and comparative statistics. Tables, pie charts and histograms were used to present the data visually in terms of the perceptions and opinions of the respondents.

Libraries under study

The details of the libraries selected in the study are presented in Table II. Before analysis, it would be appropriate to look into the basic facts of the libraries.

Library collections

Library collections are the mainstay of all library services. The total collections of the libraries under study have been presented in detail in Table II. As can be observed from the table, amidst the selected central university libraries, Delhi University Library System has a colossal collection of 1,400,000, followed by Aligarh Muslim University with 1,200,000. Banaras Hindu University ranks third with a collection of 1,050,000. Indian Maritime University, Tamil Nadu, and Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Madhya Pradesh, have the least collections of 8,000 and 9,000, respectively. When asked about the interest of library professionals towards the adoption of cloud computing in these libraries, about 95 per cent of respondents showed a high level of interest. It shows that, irrespective of big or small collections, libraries are interested in cloud computing.

Respondents' demographic information

Analysis unveils that 65 per cent of the respondents included information scientists, professional assistants, semi-professional assistants, technical assistants and library assistants, while 20 per cent were assistant librarians. Of the remainder, 9 per cent were deputy librarians and 6 per cent were university librarians. The results also show that in Indian academic libraries, 77.63 per cent are male library professionals and 19.87 per cent are female.

Attitude of librarians towards cloud computing

As a means to apprehend the attitude of librarians towards cloud computing, respondents were asked to show their level of concurrence on certain statements about cloud computing. The responses have been presented in Table III.

The majority of respondents (66 per cent) agreed that there was nothing new in cloud computing. Cloud computing, for them, was largely a platform where the services were being delivered through the Internet. To a larger extent, it was a form of Internet-based computing. However, about 20 per cent of the respondents dissented from the statement and considered it to be a new term which has emanated from pre-existing technologies, while 12 per cent remained undecided. Moreover, respondents stood disunited over whether cloud computing was a marketing strategy, a new technology, a new revolution or a new philosophy. The issue has been subjected to huge contestation of interpretations in LIS literature. Most scholars are of the opinion that cloud computing was largely marketing hype created by cloud computing giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

Most of the respondents (68 per cent) regarded cloud computing as something that they were already doing by another name and were unclear about the term. The finding validates the studies of Cohn et al. (2002), Hoy (2012) and Romero (2012), who discovered that cloud computing was already in use in libraries in the form of Gmail, Google Docs, bibliographic management and integrated library systems. Furthermore, respondents unanimously agreed that cloud computing enables librarians to focus on their daily mission and services rather than being involved in information technology operations. LIS literature shows that with the involvement of librarians into IT operations such as installation, configuration and updating, the day-to-day mission of libraries has been compromised (Breeding, 2011; Corrado and Moulasion, 2011).

Willingness of librarians to adopt cloud computing

The majority of respondents (86.97 per cent) showed high levels of consent with regard to the adoption of cloud computing solutions. Figure 1 shows the various reasons for the higher interest towards adoption of cloud computing in libraries.

Analysis reveals that "Less indulgence in library IT activities", "Ubiquitous availability", "Pay per use", "Unlimited storage capacity" and "Greener library services" are the core issues that attract the respondents and, driven by these issues, library professionals' keenness about its adoption. Figure 2 presents the various stages of cloud computing in libraries.

It is evident from the figure above that cloud computing is still in its preliminary stage, and the respondents are discussing the issues that revolve around the same. Although a few cases of use and pilot studies came to light, no library professional claimed to fully utilise cloud-computing-based solutions.

Familiarity with cloud computing technology

Cloud computing service layers

When asked about the familiarity of library professionals with various service layers, respondents showed higher variations in their opinions, as represented in Figure 3.

This shows that approximately 48 per cent of respondents were aware of free software as a service and 28 per cent were well acquainted with application as a service. In all, 12 per cent of respondents were familiar with paid subscription as a service, while 9 per cent were aware of platform as a service and 8 per cent of infrastructure as a service.

Cloud computing deployment models

Figure 4 shows the level of familiarity of the librarians with the various cloud computing deployment layers. It shows that approximately 44 per cent of the respondents were familiar with "Private cloud", 26 per cent with "Community cloud" and 15 per cent with "Public cloud".

Familiarity with cloud-based tools

A closer investigation of the results presented in Table IV shows that cloud-based productivity tools, cloud-based information collection tools, cloud-based social networking tools, cloud-based tools for social groups and cloud-based email and communication tools were heavily used. Remaining indicators were in the range of 3.22 to 2.85, which shows that they were moderately used by the respondents.

Benefits of cloud computing for academic libraries

To find out the perceptions of the librarians over the potential benefits associated with cloud computing, respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement over the benefits of cloud computing for academic libraries. The responses have been presented in Table V.

The respondents showed a strong position on the statements "Implementation of cloud computing will eradicate the requirement of libraries to own infrastructure facilities", "Cloud computing provides a large number of processing power as well as unlimited storage capacity to the libraries" and "Adoption of cloud computing can minimize the capital expenditure and check the wastage of library resources as the payment is based on the utilization of services" with mean scores of 4.50, 4.57 and 4.40, respectively. Furthermore, respondents agreed over the statements "Adoption of cloud computing will provides the opportunity of ubiquitous computing to the library users" and "Cloud computing is easy to deploy that offers the latest functionality and supports diverse platforms" with a mean score of 4.25 and 4.10, respectively. It is indicative of the fact that librarians foresee a new elixir for the library arena through cloud computing.

Adoption of cloud computing technology in libraries

It was essential to determine the extent to which the academic librarians were interested in adopting cloud computing. To find out that whether the mean of the respondents extended to the medium degree of agree, a t -test was performed. The results of the t -test are presented in Table VI.

The analysis reveals that, in general, approximately 79.49 per cent of the librarians agreed with the idea of the adoption of cloud computing within libraries. It can be concluded that, due to the inherent benefits of cloud computing, library professionals show eagerness for its adoption.

Support and integration of library services with cloud computing

To determine the possibilities of support and integration offered on cloud computing platform to library services, a t -test was used to find whether the mean of the respondents attained the medium degree of agreement. The results have been presented in Table VII.

The analysis reveals the fact that approximately 79.83 per cent of respondents contended that support and integration was offered on a cloud computing platform for library services.

Skills of library staff in cloud computing environment

This section deals with the skills of the library professionals engaged in IT operations. The results have been presented in Table VIII, determined through t -test.

The analysis reveals that approximately 77.33 per cent of respondents agreed that with basic IT skills, they could work in the cloud computing environment.

Security concerns of cloud computing

Security is a core concern for migrating to cloud computing solutions. This section was provided with various statements drawn from the available literature to find out the perception of the respondents, determined through t -test. The results are presented in Table IX.

The analysis reveals the fact that approximately 82.16 per cent agreed that security is the biggest impediment to the adoption of cloud computing in academic libraries.

Economic solution through the adoption of cloud computing

The section examines the pre-established notion that cloud computing will effectively reduce costs, determined through t -test. The results are shown in Table X.

The analysis revealed that approximately 78.04 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that cost reduction can be achieved through the adoption of cloud computing.

Impediments to the adoption of cloud computing in academic libraries: perception of librarians

Table XI indicates the ranked order of the obstacles expressed by the respondents.

The highest ranked problems of the implementation of cloud computing in academic libraries as ranked by the respondents were security, reliability, lack of standards, connection dependence and loss of IT control and ownership.

Summary of findings

Cloud computing has brought about a revolution, replacing traditional IT practices for organisations striving to cut down computing costs as well as to execute painless IT. Cloud computing is considered to be an engine of innovation and has the potential to grow into an unavoidable phenomenon for academic libraries due to its immense benefits. Being at a nascent stage, cloud computing has been subjected to scholarly argument regarding viewpoints on its status, as well as relevance within libraries.

According to the findings, there was a huge variation in the level of awareness and use of the cloud computing phenomenon among LIS professionals. Analysis revealed that LIS professionals were already working in the cloud computing environment by another name, which was therefore only a change in nomenclature. Further, they recognised cloud computing as a useful concept for academic libraries on various accounts and showed a high level of familiarity with the concept. LIS professionals in Indian academic libraries have a positive attitude towards the adoption of cloud computing in their libraries. They were already using cloud-based productivity tools, cloud-based information collection tools, cloud-based social networking tools, cloud-based tools for social groups and cloud-based email and communication tools. No formal initiative or cloud computing policy for the libraries has been taken up by the librarians to adopt cloud computing in academic libraries. However, librarians in this study acknowledged the fact that most of them used cloud-based tools over traditional software to accomplish their work.

On identifying the reasons for using cloud computing, it was found that reduction of cost, ease of use and painless IT operations were the major reasons for migrating to the cloud environment. LIS professionals foresee that cloud computing will offer new opportunities and avenues to serve library users efficiently and effectively. They expect that cloud computing will help libraries to improve their library services and make them more significant to their universities by means of effective library operations and user services, transforming academic libraries into learning organisations, reducing the chances of data redundancy and ensuring ubiquitous availability of the library services. Despite the fact that cloud computing offers enormous benefits, the findings reveal that the use of cloud services raises new issues with regard to privacy, security, trust, lock-in with service providers and data transfer capacity. Before planning to implement cloud-based solutions, there is a need to review aspects of privacy legislation. Trust agreements between service providers and the users of cloud services need to be carefully drafted. There is a need to overcome the fear of loss of data.

Implications of the research findings

The findings of the study have a number of theoretical and practical implications. To implement cloud computing effectively in academic libraries, LIS professionals need to clarify the concept of cloud computing. The implementation of cloud computing will not succeed if LIS professionals merely view it as online applications or consider it to be something that they were already doing by another name - as found in this study. There is a need to clarify the concept, the underlying technologies and the tentative domain of application in LIS services.

There is a clear understanding among the LIS professionals that cloud services represent both an opportunity for a massive rollout of computing services and also potential for the development of LIS services. Cloud-based productivity tools, cloud-based information collection tools, cloud-based social networking tools, cloud-based tools for social groups and cloud-based email and communication tools are the most popular cloud computing solutions used by LIS professionals. These platforms and tools can be brought to the notice of other LIS professionals, and they can be encouraged to adopt these solutions in their libraries. Moreover, cloud services and technologies also present challenges for privacy and security of data, an area that is receiving considerable public attention and also policy scrutiny. To adopt cloud computing solutions in an academic library setup, it is therefore advisable to draft a formal cloud library policy, as well as guidelines in which the concept, applications, and other concerns may be outlined. It is surprising that international library bodies such as international federation of library associations and institutions (IFLA), american library association (ALA) or special libraries association (SLA) have not yet shown concern over this issue.

Suggestions for future research

This study investigated the perceptions only of academic librarians, to identify the problems and prospects of implementing cloud computing in academic libraries. It is important to bear in mind that academic libraries are part of the university system, and cloud computing cannot function in isolation. Therefore, there is a need to investigate cloud computing from the viewpoint of different stakeholders; the cloud computing environment in conjunction with libraries involves not only librarians but also users and faculty members. Given the projections of cloud service providers over the next 2-3 years, as the cloud matures, researchers may evaluate cloud candidates playing an active role.

One of the limitations of the present study is that it covers only academic libraries, particularly central university libraries. To generalise the impact of findings, it should be replicated in other types of libraries, gaining an insight and a thorough perspective of cloud-based libraries. Another useful area of research may be the investigation of cloud computing practices in organisations other than the library sector. As the review of the literature suggests, cloud computing is being used in learning, health centres and agrarian practices. In the current study, no attempt was made to compare perceptions of cloud computing practices in various sectors. A comparative study of cloud computing in different sectors, as well as different cloud computing platforms would therefore prove to be useful. It would monitor the different sectors and avenues of cloud computing implementation and may help librarians to make informed choices in terms of the implementation of cloud computing.

Conclusion and recommendations

The results of the present research indicate that librarians are using cloud computing applications in academic libraries. However, librarians are also worried about privacy, security and legal jurisdiction in the cloud. Academic libraries work under larger structures with different objectives and missions to support their parent organisations. As an academic library is a unit in an organisation (university or institute), initiating cloud-based library services at its own level is a daunting task. Universities can support academic libraries by providing adequate finance to develop cloud-based services, but there are various issues on which higher authorities and administrators ought to take initiative. Besides the cost, academic libraries ought to think about the quality of cloud services and simply the viability of cloud computing for them.

Some of the central issues for implementing cloud computing in academic libraries that need to be worked out in the future are:

frame a "Canon of Cloud Libraries" that should be the guiding principle for the alliance of libraries with cloud computing;

frame cloud library strategic planning and guidelines;

addressing the problem of cloud library legislation;

addressing the expense and justifying the issues over cloud library budget;

defining the scope and boundaries of library services in the cloud;

resolving the data trust, privacy, migration and backups; and

identifying competencies for the new breed of cloud librarians.

Figure 1. Reasons for adoption of cloud computing in libraries

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Figure 2. Level of cloud computing adoption

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Figure 3. Familiarity with service layers

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Figure 4. Familiarity with deployment models

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Table I. Scoring system of the study

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Table II. Background information of academic libraries

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Table III. Librarians' attitude towards cloud computing

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Table IV. Level of the use of cloud computing tools and practices

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Table V. Perceptions of librarians towards the potential benefits of cloud computing

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Table VI. Means and test values for the adoption of cloud computing in libraries

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Table VII. Means and test values for support and integration of library services with cloud computing

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Table VIII. Means and test values for skills of library staff in cloud computing environment

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Table IX. Means and test values for security concerns in cloud computing

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Table X. Means and test values for economic solution through the adoption of cloud computing

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Table XI. Librarians' perceived problems of implementing cloud computing

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Corresponding author

Mayank Yuvaraj can be contacted at: [email protected]

References

References

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Further reading

Christensen, C.M. ( 1997 ),The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail , Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA .

McDermott, C. and O'Connor, C.C. ( 2002 ), " Managing radical innovation: an overview of emergent strategy issues ",Journal of Product Innovation Management , Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 424 - 438, available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.1960424 (accessed 23 November 2015).

McLoughlin, I. and Harris, M. ( 1997 ),Innovation, Organizational Change and Technology , Thompson Business Press, London .

Oldham, G.R. and Cumming, S.A. ( 1996 ), " Employee creativity: personal and contextual factors at work ",Academy of Management Journal , Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 607 - 634, available at: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0001-4273%28199606%2939%3A3%3C607%3AECPACF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F (accessed 23 November 2015).

Quinn, J.B. ( 2000 ), " Outsourcing innovation: the new engine of growth ",Sloan Management Review , pp. 13 - 28, available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/outsourcing-innovation-the-new-engine-of-growth / (accessed 23 November 2015).