The Application of Analytic Hierarchic Process-Ahp Method in Decision-Making Towards the Adoption of Cloud Computing

Abstract

Recent progresses in Internet and telecommunications have been changing the concepts of Information Technology -IT, especially with regard to outsourcing services, where organizations seek cost-cutting and a better focus on the business. Along with the development of that outsourcing, a new model named Cloud Computing (CC) evolved. It proposes to migrate to the Internet both data processing and information storing. Among the key points of Cloud Computing are included cost-cutting, benefits, risks and the IT paradigms changes. Nonetheless, the adoption of that model brings forth some difficulties to decision-making by IT managers, mainly with regard to which solutions may go to the cloud and which service providers are more appropriate to the Organization's reality. This paper describes the application of AHP Method (Analytic Hierarchic Process) to aid the decision-making in Cloud Computing. The data collection was performed through structured questionnaire answered electronically by IT technicians and the company's Board of Directors. The analysis of the data was carried out in a qualitative and comparative way. The software to AHP analysis, called Web-Hipre, was used. The results show the importance of applying the AHP method in decision-making towards the adoption of Cloud Computing, mainly because on the occasion the research was carried out in a company that demonstrated interest and need, however, the problem was how to decide for the best cloud model. The application of the AHP helped as a guiding tool to the choice of the best alternative, which points out the Hybrid Cloud as the ideal choice to start off in Cloud Computing.