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The purpose of this study is to determine the significant factors affecting the adoption of Cloud of Things (CoT) by Indian small and medium-sized enterprises, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

Significant factors that impact CoT implementation were identified through a detailed literature survey. A conceptual framework and hypotheses were proposed for linking the significant factors so identified, namely, cost saving, relative advantage, sharing and collaboration, reliability, security and privacy, technical issues and adoption intention. The data were collected from 270 Indian SMEs using an online survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model.

It was observed that factors such as “sharing and collaboration”, “cost saving” and “relative advantage” had a positive influence on CoT adoption. Findings of the study also supported the hypothesis that “security and privacy” were the prime concerns for CoT adoption.

Sample coverage across different geographical areas with qualitative data can be helpful. The SEM methodology is only capable of verifying linear relationships; to counter this, a hybrid approach with tools such as artificial neural network and multiple linear regression can be used.

This study intends to guide the managers of SMEs, cloud service providers and regulatory organisations for formulating an effective strategy to adopt CoT. It may be noted that CoT is the prime building block of Industry 4.0 and SMEs will benefit from government support for the same.

This paper highlights the influence of factors on the adoption intention of CoT with a focus on the SMEs of a developing country like India.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors influencing the cloud computing adoption (CCA) in the manufacturing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by employing a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology.

Through literature review and expert opinions, 30 significant factors were identified, and then a DEMATEL approach was applied for exploring the cause–effect relationship between the factors.

The results of study highlighted that five factors, namely, “hardware scalability and standardisation”, “cost (subscription fees, maintenance cost and implementation cost (CS1)”, “innovation”, “installation and up gradation (CS28)”, and “quality of service” were the most significant factors influencing the CCA in the case sector.

The DEMATEL model was developed by considering expert inputs, and these inputs could be biased which can influence the reliability of the model. This study guides the organisational managers, cloud service providers and governmental organisations in formulating the new policies/strategies or modifying the existing ones for the effective CCA in the case sector.

For the first time. interdependency between the critical factors influencing CCA was discussed by employing the DEMATEL approach in the Indian manufacturing MSMEs context.