Towards a holistic cloud computing taxonomy: Theoretical & practical findings

Although the concepts of cloud computing are well known and used in almost every domain and by companies of all sizes, new ideas and technologies in this area are emerging almost daily. As a result, cloud users often struggle to obtain an up-to-date overview of the most important dimensions of cloud computing and the services that are offered by various cloud providers. Therefore, this paper develops a cloud computing taxonomy that is theoretically grounded by performing a structured literature review and empirically validated by conducting workshops with participants from industry and science. By describing the most important dimensions and characteristics of cloud computing in detail and by applying the taxonomy using three large cloud providers, we aim to give the reader a holistic overview of the cloud and demonstrate the relevance of cloud computing for digital innovation.