The impact of security and scalability of cloud service on supply chain performance

Cloud computing introduces flexibility in the way an organization conducts its business. On the other hand, it is advisable for organizations to select cloud service partners based on how prepared they are owing to the uncertainties present in the cloud. This study is a conceptual research which investigates the impact of some of these uncertainties and flexibilities embellished in the cloud. First, we look at the assessment of security and how it can impact the supply chain operations using entropy as an assessment tool. Based on queuing theory, we look at how scalability can moderate the relationship between cloud service and the purported benefits. We aim to show that cloud service can only prove beneficial to supply partners under a highly secured, highly scalable computing environment and hope to lend credence to the need for system thinking as well as strategic thinking when making cloud service adoption decisions.