A comprehensive analysis of cloud-based big data challenges and opportunities for SMEs in India

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to do a comprehensive analysis of Cloud based Big Data challenges and opportunity for SMEs in India. Big Data (BD) are big buzz words, and many large enterprises are making significant advances in their product development, customer relations, and increasing profitability by targeting specific customers. Therefore, it has generated interest for both the academic and industry world as it has the potential to enhance the decision making process by providing valuable insights. The large organisations are benefiting from using BD as a tool to gain a competitive edge over rivals by driving new revenue streams and improving internal operational efficiency. The large organisations are already investing as well leveraging BD. On the contrary, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India are slow adopters of new technologies due to many factors and pose to lose their competitive edge on the world stage. SMEs can also leverage BD to gain a strategic competitive advantage but are resource poor in terms of investment in manpower and financial resources. Major challenges still exist in the adoption of BD especially in information technology architecture. Cloud Computing (CC) can eliminate the need to maintain expensive computing hardware, software, and networking resources. CC can also provide a solution to scalability issues, high speed performance, and fault tolerance for using BD. With CC usage, SMEs can take advantage of BD without significant investment in information technology and manpower. This research uses secondary data as a research data collection technique, which is its limitation. However, a quantitative research methodology using statistical surveys is planned to be conducted in the near future to understand the factors impacting on the adoption of Cloud based Big Data for Indian SMEs. This paper contributes to exploring and enhancing the understanding of the challenges and opportunities for SMEs in India for adopting BD. This study will also have both industrial implications for practitioners in India, as well as those in other developing countries, and academic implications for researchers who are interested in BD adoption in developing countries.

Keywords: Cloud Computing (CC), Big Data (BD), Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Challenges, Opportunities, India.