Migration of government records from on-premises to cloud computing storage in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the public sector's willingness to entrust their records to cloud computing technology with the view to propose potential strategies to encourage cloud migration. This qualitative study, utilised interviews, and document analysis to collect data. The target population consisted of purposively chosen chief information officers and records practitioners from the national government departments in South Africa. A total of ten participants were interviewed and data were analysed thematically. The study made several findings such as that the government was hesitant to subscribe to the privately-owned cloud due to security concerns such as attack of a physical host, bankruptcy, cross-border jurisdiction, sovereignty, access to information, and data loss, as well as the absence of legislation on cloud storage. The study recommends for the enactment of cloud storage legislation and encourage the storage of digital records on a cloud within the borders of South African virtual space.