Assessment of readiness for launching cloud computing services: The case of Ethio‐Telecom in Ethiopia

Abstract

A nation's telecom system plays an important role in its socio-economic development. This case study assesses the technical and organizational readiness of Ethio-Telecom to implement Cloud Computing services to serve Africa's fast-growing demand for Cloud Computing. The study used the STOPE (Strategy, Technology, Organization, People, and Environment) model as a theoretical base. A structured survey questionnaire was used to gather data from 100 mid and operational level employees. An interview was conducted with top-level officials to elicit information about the strategic direction of the company. We used structural equation modeling software for analyses and model testing. The SMART PLS results point to the appropriateness of the STOPE model for the assessment of Ethio-Telecom's Cloud Computing readiness. Additional analysis revealed that Ethio-Telecom's Strategy, Technology, Organization, and Environmental dimensions need only minor improvements while the People dimension requires significant improvements to successfully implement Cloud Computing services. We mapped interview and document analysis data to the STOPE model constructs. This qualitative approach further validated the results we got in the quantitative analysis. We believe the mixed methodology, SMART PLS for quantitative analysis and e-Learning Readiness Survey to determine individual dimension readiness, and quantitative analysis, used in this study have added to the body of knowledge.

Acceptance factors of telemedicine technology during Covid‐19 pandemic among health professionals: A qualitative study

“…Moroccan doctors and nurses expect to improve patient access to medical services, especially in rural areas, simplify communication and relationships with patients, and increase their efficiency and productivity. This finding is consistent with the results of our previous study and other studies [ 5 , 13 , 37 – 41 , 56 ]. For [ 37 ] an increase in perceptions that technology is convenient can contribute to an increase in acceptance, so it is necessary to design technology solutions in a way that is convenient for users to minimize the prospects of non‐acceptance.…”

“…It is very advisable, when implementing this technology on a large scale, to have relays at the level of public hospitals, that is, people who are worthy of respect by their entourage, and who can influence other colleagues. This finding is consistent with the results of previous studies [ 38 , 39 , 41 , 48 , 56 ]. However, this finding is not consistent with our previous study [ 5 ], in which Moroccan physicians reported that they refuse to use telemedicine technology because someone else, important or not, is using it.…”

“…This means that the expectation of effort in telemedicine is an important factor in the acceptance of telemedicine technology by health professionals. This finding is consistent with the results of most previous studies [ 13 , 36 – 41 , 55 – 58 ]. However, this finding is not consistent with our previous study [ 5 ], in which Moroccan physicians were open to change and able to adapt, and they did not place much importance on the effort expectations related to the acceptance of telemedicine technology.…”

“…In the field of remote care technologies in general, a set of studies have attempted to use TAM and UTAUT to understand the behaviour of health care professionals towards these new technologies. Studies have used the original TAM model [ 8 , 10 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], and studies have used the original UTAUT model [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”