Empirical Study on Alignment of Cloud Computing in Enterprises

As the cloud computing is being adopted by users, the alignment of cloud computing is receiving increasing attention from researchers. On the basis of related theories about organizational fit of Information Technology (IT), this paper constructed a theoretical model to analyze factors affecting the cloud computing alignment in companies. In this model, task-technology fit and technology-organization compatibility are considered as two key factors for the alignment between cloud computing and enterprise business. Further the alignment is evaluated from two aspects: the depth of alignment and the breadth of alignment. Analyzing data collected via questionnaires with Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) and Partial Least Squares (PLS), this paper shows that the technology-organization compatibility has significant positive effects on both depth and breadth of cloud computing alignment. On the other hand, the task-technology fit has significant positive effects on breadth of cloud computing alignment, and it has no significant effects on depth of cloud computing alignment.