Cloud computing is rapidly becoming integral to higher education in Malaysia, driven by technological advancements and the demands of Industry Revolution 4.0. However, there is a lack of research on its impact from the perspective of students. This study focuses on scrutinizing the influence of cloud computing on Malaysia's higher education sector, emphasizing variables like cost reduction, resource availability, data confidentiality, and learning motivation. A comparative analysis of Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365, and Blackboard App will be conducted. Employing the snowball sampling technique, the research will involve 385 tertiary education students out of a total population of 1.2 million. Questionnaire data will be analyzed using IBM SPSS for a comprehensive understanding.
TopIntroduction
The tertiary education sector in Malaysia has undergone substantial growth over the decades, and recent years have witnessed the widespread deployment of cloud computing. This adoption is propelled by the dynamic scalability and utilization of virtualized resources (Kmar Anuar & Hajar Umira Md Zaki, 2024; Hussein & Hilmi, 2020; Darus et al., 2015). At the same time, the rise of the digital classroom idea corresponds with progress in educational technology, catering to the increasing demand for assistance in digital learning (Kumar et al., 2020).
The integration of cloud computing enables educational institutions to shift their focus from intricate IT configurations and software systems, allowing them to concentrate on enhancing the quality of education through research activities and teaching (Hussein & Hilmi, 2020; Mircea & Andreescu, 2011). The fundamental concept of cloud-based e-learning empowers users to access information irrespective of time and location, presenting an infrastructure capable of bringing new value to the education system (Kmar Anuar & Hajar Umira Md Zaki, 2024; Hussein & Hilmi, 2020; Alghali et al., 2014). Cloud technologies have implications that support the ease of learning materials and unveil issues inherent in the traditional education system, which constrained the range of activities (Mary et al., 2020; Darus et al., 2015).
As the usage of cloud applications intensifies, understanding its impact becomes crucial prior to its widespread implementation in Malaysia's tertiary education sector (Hussein & Hilmi, 2020; Shahzaad et al., 2014). Numerous studies in this domain highlight the positive impacts of implementing cloud computing technologies in higher education, emphasizing cost-effectiveness, convenience, and flexibility (Hussein & Hilmi, 2020; Mircea & Andreescu, 2011). Some papers suggest that cloud computing enhances resource availability yet caution about hidden risks related to data confidentiality due to diverse hardware attacks and software vulnerabilities (Zhang et al., 2018). While much research focuses on user adoption, acceptance, opportunities, and challenges (Isa et al., 2020), Arfan et al. (2016) have indicated a notable scarcity of research on the impact of cloud computing on Malaysia's polytechnics from the students' perspective, particularly its influence on learning motivation. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify and validate the impact of cloud computing adoption in Malaysia's higher education sector. The problem statement posits that the use of cloud computing has a more positive than negative impact on the higher education sector in Malaysia.