Promises and Challenges of Cloud Computing in Higher Education: A Practical Guide for Implementation

Dynamic education environment have forced universities to adopt state-of-the-art practices to optimize both the cost and operational efficiency of their information technology platform. Cloud Computing Technology (CCT) has emerged as a meaningful technology that could contribute to this optimization by providing infrastructure and software solutions for the whole IT needs of a university via Internet. It is predicted that 2017 will mark the rapid proliferation of educational institutions transitioning to the cloud-based computing technology. This study presents the main principles and potentials of the cloud, as applied to the world of education. It discusses potential strategic benefits of this technology in education, and highlights its evolving trends. Furthermore, this study highlights key adoption factors and illustrates some of the routs that might be taken to implement cloud technology in education. Finally, this study highlights successful implementations of cloud based technology in two universities, Bryant and Roger Williams.