Cloud computing is gaining in importance in the industry and especially within small- and
medium-sized companies due to the many benefits that may be generated in terms of cost savings
faster time to market scalability cost flexibility and the optimization of resources. Today
cloud computing is considered as the next IT revolution and the number of articles books
papers and technical reports flood literature. Within the scope of this book relevant cloud
computing applications for small- and medium- sized companies are identified and the key
success factors for the adoption of cloud computing services are analyzed based on the
empirical investigation performed as part of this work. Finally the benefits and constraints
of the different cloud computing service models are presented including also the
state-of-the-art research in the cloud computing area and a summary of the most important
results.
