Invited joint seminar: Enterprise Cloud Adoption | Current Software Startup Research and Education at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

 – change of time –

12:00pm Enterprise Cloud Adoption: Benefits, Barriers and Implementation Strategies

1:00pm: Current Software Startup Research and Education at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (FUB)

Enterprise Cloud Adoption: Benefits, Barriers and Implementation Strategies

Abstract:
Cloud computing is applauded as a promising IT solution for an enterprise to promote cost efficiency, operational excellence, and continuous innovation. Even so, enterprises are still reluctant to migrate their core business functions and critical data into the cloud, fearing of losing controls and other undesired consequences. While the cloud has been predicted to reach mainstream adoption within a few years from now, the practitioner community is still lacking good-practice guidance to assist cloud adoption and adaptation to cloud dynamics. Nevertheless, the majority of cloud computing research focusing on the consumer-viewpoint considers only early adoption stages or the technical aspect. This situation leads to a clear lack of visibility on the implementation and adaptation which occur after an enterprise decides to adopt in the cloud, until it can be routinely used and more benefits are obtained.

In this seminar, Nattakarn will discuss the results based on years of research to answer the question: how can enterprises approach the adoption of cloud computing and achieve expected results? She applied quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate three crucial activities, i.e. the adoption decision making, the implementation and the benefit assessment. The research provides empirical evidences and frameworks to support the cloud adoption endeavor: 1) a framework to assist the adoption and assimilation of cloud computing, based on requirements and characteristics of enterprises in various domains; 2) a benefit framework that provides a holistic understanding on benefits of cloud computing based on organizational levels and
Balanced Scorecard perspectives; 3) influential factors that impact an enterprise decision to adopt the cloud. A model integrating the aforementioned results for assimilating the cloud in an adopting enterprise (MAGiC) is a key contribution of her research. The proposed model incorporates the strength of a stage-based model and a variance approach for describing cloud adoption phenomena, and integrates them with ten implementation dimensions and 41 subdimensions important to institutionalize the cloud. MAGiC can be used as a theoretical lens for longitudinal research in this area.

About the speaker:
Dr. Nattakarn Phaphoom obtained a PhD from Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and double master’s degree in software engineering from Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, and Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy. Prior to studying the master’s degree, she worked for three years for IBM Solutions Delivery Co., Ltd., Thailand. Her research interests include IT innovation adoption, emerging technologies, Cloud Computing, and Big Data analytics. Contact her at phaphoom@inf.unibz.it

Current Software Startup Research and Education at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (FUB)

Abstract:
Startups are extremely important for today’s economy. Apart from creating jobs they introduce a novel type of dynamics in local regions contributing to economic growth and prosperity in many ways. However, Startups face unique challenges to survive, including little or no operating history and extremely scarce resources. The landscape of software startups is especially dynamic, unpredictable and even chaotic. Software startups need effective practices to cope with these unique challenges. Meanwhile, multiple players are involved in software startup arena, including entrepreneurs, incubators, investors, large companies as well as governmental offices and agencies. They form startup ecosystems that would sustain local entrepreneurial initiatives. In this half-hour talk, Xiao will provide an overview of the emerging research opportunities, topics and challenges regarding software startup research and education, as well as the current research and teaching activities of the research group at FUB. These activities were built upon the past agile and lean software development research of the group members. They were further extended to other disciplinary areas including entrepreneurship and design.

About the speaker:
Dr. Xiaofeng Wang is a lecturer and researcher of software engineering and information systems at FUB, where she teaches Software Architecture, Software Factory and Lean Startup courses to bachelor and master students. Before joining FUB, she worked in Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre as a postdoc. She has more than 10 years of experience in agile and lean software development research. She is actively publishing in both software engineering and information systems venues, including IEEE Software, Journal of Systems and Software, Information Systems Research, etc. She is also active in serving various Software Engineering and Information Systems conferences. Contact her at xiaofeng.wang@unibz.it