Business view of cloud : Decisions, models and opportunities – a classification and review of research

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the decisions related to business aspects of cloud computing and discuss the research density, models/techniques used and identify opportunities for future work. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, 155 research articles shortlisted through a systematic review were analyzed and a classification framework was developed. Using this framework, the research density is discussed and a detailed review of four widely researched decision themes is provided. Findings – It was found that current research on business aspects is spread across 23 decision themes. The distribution, however, is skewed with 50 per cent pertaining to just four themes, namely, pricing, markets, sourcing and adoption. Simulation appears to be the preferred modeling approach. Decision themes in consumer behavior, sustainability, auditing and culture offer opportunities for future research. Research limitations/implications – The classification framework organizes extant research on applied models and allows researchers to identify potential avenues for application, improvement and development of models to support business decisions. The review is limited to academic articles and does not include industry reports. Practical implications – Practitioners can readily understand various perspectives relevant to a decision theme such as pricing or sourcing, seek and use associated models such as simulation, optimization and game theory to support their decision-making. Originality/value – Most of the extant review paper deal with cloud computing technology. This study is the first systematic review on the models applied to business aspects of cloud computing. This study provides a classification framework and explicitly lists associated decision themes, models/techniques and opportunities.