PROMOTING COMPETITIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: USING CLOUD COMPUTING FOR OPTIMAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Abstract

Globally, adoption of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) especially emerging cloud innovations are increasingly becoming an integral aspect in enterprises’ decision for sustained growth and competitiveness. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) mainly adopt cloud services in order to facilitate their business operations and increase competitive edge. The key question is how to utilize available resources and opportunities for entrepreneurial success amidst constrained resources and competitive environment. Current advancement in ICT and in particular cloud-based Business Intelligence (BI) offer myriad of opportunities that have potential to accelerate SMEs growth, sustainability and competiveness. However, most SMEs especially in developing nations have not achieved anticipated level of cloud BI adoption and utilization. In particular, use of cloud BI services as an emerging technological paradigm in developing nations is characterized by challenges of slow adoption and sub-optimal use. This is mainly due to limited understanding of value of BI and uncertainties associated with new innovations. This review paper aims to enhance understanding on how to frame use of cloud BI within the five competitive forces model as a way to promote optimal use cloud computing for BI. The paper begins with a review of benefits of Cloud BI in SMEs. Further focus is on the hindrances and uncertainties that require mitigation in order to actualize the great opportunities of cloud BI for SMEs. The emerging insights will inform effective application of cloud computing for competitive business intelligence. This will potentially contribute towards realization of cloud BI in relation to promoting sustained growth and competitiveness in SMEs.