Understanding potentials of cloud ERP adoption by large organisations: a case study

The emergence of cloud computing has both architectural and financial implications for on-premise ERP systems. ERP designed for and running in the cloud claim to be suitable for digital business environments. However, the cloud ERP adoption literature mostly refers to small and medium enterprises, since large enterprises are constrained by investment in existing resources, and rarely presents the complex stages of decision-making. The context of developing vs developed countries might also vary, given the variance and rate of internal and external environmental turbulence. This case study explores the contributing factors for the initiation stage of migration from on-premise to cloud ERP by a large organisation in a developing country. In-depth interviews with key IT decision makers were analysed and a combination of internal and external factors were identified. The findings have implications for IT decision makers as well as IT innovation researchers, interested in the complexity of the transition decision.