Latent Effects of Cloud Computing on IT Capacity Management Structures

Abstract

Cloud computing is a disruptive technology providing the occasion for change in the sociotechnical structures of IT capacity management, but what are the latent effects of this? With interviews from ten case study organizations, this qualitative research generates a model that describes a spectrum of IT capacity-management structures, from classic to cloud, and describes the patterned differences that were discovered. Among the ten organizations studied, the latent, or unintended consequences of IT capacitymanagement trying to “stay relevant” during a transition to cloud computing adoption appears to lead to its own obsolescence. This analysis can be used as a platform for more targeted hypothesis testing to provide evidence for or against the generalization and external validity of this exploratory research.